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Maddie Trow, senior at Urbandale High School, has recently decided to continue her tennis career as a Grand View Viking. The difference between Maddie and other players is that her dad, Kirk Trow, is Grand Views’s head tennis coach.

Maddie grew up going to practices with her dad when he coached at Valley High School. That is how her love for the game started. Maddie and Kirk’s relationship as athlete and coach became official her freshman year of high school when Kirk became a volunteer coach at Urbandale. They continued to work together for the next four years.

Maddie hasn’t always been set on coming to Grand View to play tennis. She also considered going to Iowa State University and focusing on school rather than tennis. After visiting both schools, she decided she liked the small, private school feel opposed to the big university atmosphere. She wasn’t ready for her tennis career to be over, so she decided Grand View was the perfect fit for her.

Kirk didn’t only recruit Maddie because of their relationship as father and daughter. Maddie will be graduating from Urbandale with various honors as a tennis player. She has been a part of a qualifying team that finished in the final four each of the past three seasons, and she also qualified individually in 2014. She is finishing her high school career as a four-time letter winner.

Maddie is most looking forward to meeting all the girls on the team and continuing to grow as a player and a student. Her plan is to major in kinesiology and health promotions. She is not worried about her relationship with her dad but is more concerned with balancing her classes and tennis commitments.

Kirk is also excited for Maddie’s transition from high school to college. He knows who Maddie is as a player and as a person, so it’s easy for him to coach her. He knows when she needs to be pushed and when she needs to be supported.

Although both Maddie and Kirk are mostly excited about the next four years, they do face some difficulties when it comes to their relationship on the tennis court. Some people might worry about favoritism between the two, but Kirk is more concerned with his change in coaching style with her.

“When it’s your own daughter, there is a tendency to over coach, because from the parental side, you know, you want to do as much as you can,” Trow said. He had to learn how to coach without overdoing it.

Maddie and her dad’s relationship has benefited from the time together on the court, and they are both looking forward to continuing that pattern at Grand View.