For 49 years, Dave Sukup has been a coach at Forest Hills Northern High School.
"I love kids," Sukup said when asked about the highlights of his career. "That is what stands out in my mind."
Sukup has made the decision to retire from coaching after spending the last 40 years as boys tennis coach and 23 leading the girls program.
He always knew being a coach was his calling.
"My father was a coach at Grand Rapids Union," Sukup said. "And I knew that's what I wanted to do."
In 1974 he arrived at Forest Hills Northern and never left.
"They were wonderful to me," Supkup said about FHN. "I coached football and a lot of tennis, even swimming and a little baseball. To be with the kids and having so many kids that come back in the years and say 'geez coach, we liked you years ago.'"
Sukup played football, basketball and baseball at Grand Rapids Union.
It wasn't until college that found the sport of tennis.
"We played a lot in the summer, my friends and I," Sukup said. "I played everyday and got good at it and loved."
In 1982 he took over as head coach of the Huskies boys team, 1999 he started coaching the girls too.
Sukup won 16 state championships between the two programs, 12 with girls.
"I've been blessed with a lot of good kids, there is no doubt about it," Sukup said. "We have kids, go way back, and they blessed me with good play."
Perhaps the secret to his success came from another sport that has now become very popular, but wasn't so much when Sukup began coaching.
"I was playing pickle ball at Northern in 1982 and I was kind of picking my tennis lineup from pickle ball.
Sukup has many great memories of coaching, including having his son John and daughter Luara help him.
"Oh, it was wonderful,"Sukup said. "They helped me out, they worked with the kids and that was a big part of us doing well."
Sukup feels like he has left the program in a good place with both the girls in the spring and the boys in the fall expected to have strong teams.
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