Photo courtesy of Carlee Petro
Carlee Petro is the new Mountain Brook High School tennis coach, following six years as the women's coach at Birmingham-Southern College. Photo courtesy of Carlee Petro.
The timing could not have worked out better for Carlee Petro.
Petro, the Birmingham-Southern College women’s tennis coach for the last six years, heard the rumors like everyone else. No one was certain what the future held for the institution she had called home during her playing and coaching days.
But once the doors of BSC closed for good at the end of May, she was unsure what was next. Fortunately for her, she wasn’t left wondering for long.
Susan Farlow, the longtime tennis coach at Mountain Brook High School and Petro’s coach during her high school days there, retired at the conclusion of the school year.
Petro, a 2014 graduate of MBHS, was certainly interested in the position. After going through the interview process, she was announced as the Spartans’ new boys and girls tennis coach June 28.
“It was just wild the way it all fell,” Petro said.
Petro has worked for several years as an assistant tennis pro at Pine Tree Country Club, so she already knows many of the Mountain Brook players.
“It’s been fun watching some of them grow up and now I’m excited to grow the team culture with them and with the ones I don’t know yet,” she said.
Petro goes from her college alma mater to her high school one, following yet another legendary coaching figure. She played for Ann Dielen at Birmingham-Southern and took over for her following a 41-year coaching tenure. Over the last 17 years, Farlow has led Mountain Brook’s teams to 18 state championships.
“Things have been run so efficiently and effectively, and it’ll be fun to bring a fresh perspective to the team,” Petro said of the Mountain Brook opportunity.
In a sport that is an individual one at its core, one of Petro’s favorite parts about the game is the team construct that high school and college tennis is played in. That was what she was prepared to miss the most after BSC closed, but now she is equally excited to continue working to create a team environment.
“I want them to be proud of what they’re doing,” Petro said. “I’m excited to plan practices and build team camaraderie and make sure these kids are proud of what they’re representing and the legacy of a team.”
The Mountain Brook girls have won the state championship seven seasons in a row, while the boys have won it the last two years.
“It’s a privilege to be part of something like that,” she said.
