Edwardsville Coach Dave Lipe Earns National Tennis Honor

EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville High School head boys and girls tennis coach Dave Lipe said he was “happy, shocked, and surprised” after being selected as the National High School Coaches Association Boys Tennis Coach of the Year, an honor. He recently received a plaque for the prestigious honor.

Lipe, who was also recognized in a separate “Citizen of the Year” vote in the community that he said he did not nominate himself for, said the national coaching award came after Edwardsville High School athletic director Amy Boscola sent him an application last spring and wanted to nominate him.

Lipe said what made him most proud about the national tennis honor and also the citizen of the year honor was to share it with his mom, Dianne, and dad, Larry.

"My mom and dad had a huge impact on me," he said. "They are both very positive people. I also thank all the players, assistant coaches, the Edwardsville administration, and my parents for the honor. I have great parents in the tennis program.

"I dedicated the awards to my parents because they have done everything they could for me and supported me as a kid and an adult. They taught me right from wrong and so much more. I wanted to celebrate both of these with them."

Lipe is not one to easily accept high recognitions for himself, so he said firmly, "I dedicate it to my parents.

"I know this is something they will not forget."

Lipe is also a highly regarded English teacher at EHS. He has left a legacy for his efforts as a high school instructor, as many of his former students still talk about how much they learned in his classroom setting at EHS with his innovative approach.

Lipe was inducted into the Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024, another honor he said he is thankful for.

Coach Lipe has amassed more than 1,000 victories in his career. The boys tennis team has notched 24 Southwestern Conference championships, 23 IHSA Sectional titles, and several top 10 finishes in state tournament competition.

Lipe's competitive tennis career began at now-closed Granite City High School North and later at Granite City. He was coached by John Van Buskirk and Dick Harmon before graduating in 1984. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2019.

He also established the Futures - an annual professional tennis tournament in the summer at Edwardsville High School that he described as “a world-wide attended event” that “has put EHS on the globe in tennis.” It is a classic event that runs more than two weeks each summer and has a massive tourism impact on the area.

Asked about his own start in tennis, Coach Lipe said sports were not a major focus in his family, and that he found tennis by trying different sports.

“Dad played tennis,” he said, adding that “sports weren’t really a thing” because his father “had to work,” and his mother’s family was “unathletic.”

"I discovered tennis by trying every sport," he said. "Tennis was one of the sports I happened to have a little talent at."

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