October 17, 2016 - The ribbon cutting for the recently named "Coach Leon Dykes CISD Tennis Complex" will be held on October 31, at 12:15 p.m. following a resolution voted on by the Center ISD school board Thursday.
Coach Leon Dykes has been the head tennis coach for 18 years in addition to teaching PE. Under Coach Dykes, CHS players have earned the 2007 Boys State Doubles Championship, numerous state and regional medals and qualifying positions, and 17 district team championships.
"The visible part of Coach Dykes is the tennis students and their successes," CISD Superintendent Dr. James Hockenberry said, "but when you look beyond that, there is so much more. He is very accessible to the students, their parents, and the community; Before school, after school, weekends, and his camps that take place in the summer - almost anywhere that you see coach dykes, a student, whether it is a tennis student or not, is nearby. But I think the biggest testament to his impact in the school district is each year we have a Seniors Who Make A Difference banquet."
Banquet guests include 12 seniors who have been nominated by the faculty for their positive legacies. Each senior chooses a faculty member to attend who has made an impact on their lives within their years as a student in CISD.
"Every year we have been doing Seniors Who Make A Difference since I have been superintendent," Hockenberry said, "Coach Dykes has been selected. I get to hear that evening the impact that he has had on that particular student's life, and rarely is tennis ever brought up.
"Tennis is a byproduct of the great teaching and coaching that takes place, but the impact that he has had on these students' lives is not necessarily the success on the court. You can hear that if you talk to some of his students, especially his recent graduates. That's his greatest impact."
In 2007, Coach Dykes was recognized as the recipient of the USTA Lloyd Sessions Educational Merit Award. In 2014, the Texas Tennis Coaches Association named him the 4A coach of the year, and the University Scholastic League named him Texas Tennis 4A Coach of the Year in 2015.
"He has consistently achieved at a high level," Hockenberry said. "He built this program when he arrived, and it was not doing very well. He built it and sustained it for a long period of time, so the complex being erected is obviously for the students now and into the future, but it's a symbol of the program's success over the past many years under his leadership."
