Ormond Beach Observer
Sports

For Todd Palmer, tennis has always been about the love of the game, the love of his team, the love of his family. Ever since he took the reins of Spruce Creek High School’s boys tennis program in 1991, that’s the code by which he’s brought up his children and the players he coaches.

Honor. Integrity. Respect.

That was how tennis, a game where many high school players are left to call their own matches, was supposed to be played. Now, it’s starting to change, according to Palmer. Opposing players jeer at their rivals through the fences at matches. They hurl insults and slam rackets in disgust.

The worst part came when he saw that, to many young high-profile players, high school tennis didn’t matter anymore. The myth that high school tennis couldn’t get you a college scholarship, that only strict individual training could, spread. There was no “team.” Only “I.” And for someone who prided himself on the value of a team, of family, that’s what cut Palmer the deepest. It burned him out.

After 24 years and 21 conference championships, he stepped down as the Hawks’ boys coach in 2015.

But still, the program — the game — continued to tug at him. Every once in a while, he’d slip into the stands to catch a glimpse of a match. He watched, for the first time truly helpless, as his Hawks floundered under new leadership.

For the first time in nine years, they failed to win the conference championship.

Palmer felt like everything he helped build, the legacy and pride he created at Spruce Creek, was starting to crumble. He had to do something about it.

He had to come back.

A FAMILY’S BOND

For as long as Bailey Palmer could remember, she always envisioned herself coming back home to Port Orange.

Bailey, along with her twin sister, Ragan, starred on the Hawks’ girls tennis team from 2008 to 2012 under the direction of their coach and father, Todd Palmer. Mirror twins of each other — Bailey is left-handed and Ragan is right-handed — they made the perfect doubles pair.

“We never had to talk during a point at all because I knew what she was going to do,” Bailey said. “I knew where she was going to be at all times. We were perfect for each other.”

They carried their high school success to the college ranks, first to Florida State College and then to Division II program Coker College in North Carolina. Regardless of the success, however, it was family that was always the most important aspect of the Palmers’ lives.

Todd Palmer and Bailey Palmer play a father-daughter doubles match. Courtesy photo

Every summer since 2008, Todd Palmer has packed his family of five into their motorhome and driven across the country for a vacation. They’ve been to 42 states. Their goal is to reach 50. They’ve gone sledding down mountainsides and ridden mountain bikes across treacherous terrain. But through all their adventures, the time spent within the confines of the motorhome is where the Palmers have learned the most about each other — the good and the bad. It’s these moments that have made this family stronger.

“If you spend three months with your family out west in a motorhome, you have to have a pretty tight bond,” Todd Palmer said. “We definitely get on each other’s nerves sometimes, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Bailey and Ragan’s relationship, however, is on a different level. The twins, who always shared a room growing up, finally got their own rooms when they went to college. They slept together anyway.

Bailey and Ragan graduated from Coker College in 2016, both dead-set on becoming teachers. Ragan, for the time being, stayed in North Carolina.

But when the the boys and girls head coaching positions at Spruce Creek became vacant, it was the perfect opportunity for Bailey. She came home.

“I didn’t want to see what I had built over the years fall apart,” Todd Palmer said. “We didn’t hesitate.”

The Hawks’ longtime coach was back, and along with him, his protégé. Bailey, who is now an ESE teacher at Spruce Creek, took over as the girls coach in 2016. And with her new position came the pressure of upholding a legacy as deep and tightly knit as her family.

REMEMBER THE NAME

Spruce Creek tennis is synonymous with the Palmer name. The Palmers plan to continue to add to that legacy. Starting in the fall, Todd Palmer will most likely step down as the boys coach for an administrative position with the team. Ragan, who is set to take a teaching position in Volusia County, will most likely take over coaching duties along with her sister.

And with their father’s passing of the torch, he also passes on everything he’s accomplished at the school, which had never won a postseason title prior to his arrival. The weight of numerous conference, district and regional titles presses on their shoulders, but beyond the championships, it's the way Todd Palmer built his program — through hard work, respect and integrity — that is the most challenging to emulate.

Spruce Creek boys coach Todd Palmer celebrates a conference championship with his daughter Bailey Palmer, the girls coach. Courtesy photo

It’s a challenge only a Palmer can bear. But it’s also one they’ve always dreamed of.

“My dad, he’s been so successful here, and we need to carry that on,” said Bailey, who captured her first conference title as a coach on March 22. “But with him leaving slowly, it won’t be so bad. He’ll always be there if I need help.”

As for Todd Palmer, Hawks tennis, whether he’s coaching or not, will always be a part of him.

He can thank his family for that.