Gabe Muterspaugh steps down as Mt. Vernon coach: 'He made people realize tennis was fun.'

Gabe Muterspaugh was 21 years old, freshly graduated from Indiana University and considering dental school, when he talked to former Mt. Vernon athletic director Ernie Oden about coaching the tennis programs.

Muterspaugh, a former standout in doubles at Mt. Vernon with teammate Jeff Brandes, figured it would be a good way to stay involved in the sport in 1996. He had been working camps as an instructor for the United State Tennis Association national junior program.

“I had a good relationship with Ernie when I was in high school and thought it would be fun to come back,” Muterspaugh said.

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Almost three decades later, Muterspaugh, nearing 50, decided this week it was time to step away. The impetus behind his decision: his kids, twins Mack (son) and Quinn (daughter), who are entering eighth grade this school year.

“They just turned 13 and are big-time into soccer and basketball,” Muterspaugh said. “At the end of the day, God probably knew I needed to have kids later in life so I wouldn’t be the psycho sports parent. They are doing the things they love. Tennis wasn’t in the cards for them, but that might be the for the best.”

Muterspaugh is not technically calling it a “retirement” from coaching at his age. “You never say never to that,” he said, “because you never know where life is going to take you.” But even if he does not coach again, Muterspaugh leaves behind a legacy that goes beyond the more than 600 victories and 26 sectional championships (18 in girls) in his 28 seasons (27 as boys coach and one year as an assistant).

When Muterspaugh posted his decision to step away from coaching on social media Tuesday, a flood of responses followed from former players, parents and students who did not even play tennis at Mt. Vernon.

“The responses were touching,” Muterspaugh said. “My cup is running over with gratitude.”

Ben Holliday, though he was not among those posting on social media, is a good example of Muterspaugh’s influence. When Holliday was in elementary school, he was a football player. But he suffered an injury going into seventh grade that ended his football-playing days. Muterspaugh reached out to him about coming to the high school practices.

“He allowed me to come to every practice, which at least back then was very uncommon,” Holliday said. “He gave me as much attention as he could with the rest of the team and helped me develop into a high school player. He’s the kind of guy when you meet him, you feel like you know him. He has a personality where you feel like you are the only person in the room on or off the tennis court. He has that passion that fills up your cup.”

Holliday, whose parents were Muterspaugh’s youth pastors at church, had known the coach as long as he could remember. Muterspaugh gave him his first tennis racquet. But it did not matter if Muterspaugh had a previous relationship with you or not. Holliday remembers the football players stopping by the tennis courts after practice to hit the ball around just because they liked being around Muterspaugh.

“He made people realize tennis was fun,” Holliday said. “It wasn’t a sport; it was a community. He wanted kids to come out and learn the game. The football players would come pick up a racquet and play — even though they were not good — just because they wanted to be around him and be part of the culture. Tennis was not a popular sport, but he turned Mt. Vernon into a powerhouse all the way down to his summer camps working with kindergartners. It took a lot of time and dedication.”

Oden retired as Mt. Vernon’s athletic director in 1997, but Greg Roach kept Muterspaugh on when he took over in the AD role. Muterspaugh was a passionate player when he teamed with Brandes to put up a 21-1 record in doubles. He wanted that passion to translate to the players he coached.

“I always wanted to be as energetic and positive as possible,” he said. “I think if kids see that, they play with passion. We had an old sign made that said, ‘Play with heart, play with passion, play to win.’ Sometimes I was the most fired-up one out there, but I hope that meant something to the kids. I wanted them to take everything bad they had going on in their lives and put it into the tennis ball. If it’s my face they had to imagine, so be it. Your brother, whatever. You only have so long you can do this, so the more you enjoy it, the more you are going to get out of it.”

Muterspaugh said he approached coaching tennis “probably more like a high school basketball or football coach.” But one of his biggest mentors in coaching was Ed Yarbrough, who coached boys and girls tennis at Jasper for more than 40 years, winning more than 900 matches and taking six boys and six girls teams to the IHSAA state finals.

Yarbrough, the 2007 National Tennis Coach of the Year, died in 2010 after he was diagnosed with pre-leukemia and developed bleeding around the brain.

“Ed Yarbrough was a great mentor for me once I got the job,” Muterspaugh said. “He was on the board of directors for the (Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association). He encouraged me to coach the way I want to and encourage my kids to play with fire. Emotion is not all of what it’s about but if you can coach with energy and transfer it, the kids will have fun. Ed Yarbrough was a really important mentor for me.”

Muterspaugh, who owns Butler M-K Heating and Cooling with his brother Nate and father Larry, said it took a community to make Mt. Vernon tennis what it became during his tenure. He singled out his parents, Larry and Debbie, for attending matches, his brother Nate for stepping up for him at work and his twins’ mother, Cinda, for her support and sacrifices “while I continued to live out my dream as the coach of MV tennis.”

“I truly believe there will never be another Gabe Muterspaugh,” Holliday said. “It’s remarkable what he’s done for Mt. Vernon. It wasn’t him alone. It takes a community and it really was. You felt like you were part of something that was a full family effort. Gabe was able to live out his dream coaching.”

Muterspaugh will certainly miss coaching. But he is also looking forward to his next adventure. First up is taking the kids to Chelsea FC vs. Manchester City in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

“I thought this was a great time to do it,” he said. “I don’t want to look back said say, ‘Well, I got 200 more wins but missed all my kids’ stuff.’ If I walk away right now, I can go out on top as much as I can and watch my kids and have fun.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649 .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gabe Muterspaugh steps down as Mt. Vernon coach: 'He made people realize tennis was fun.'