The past two years have marked a first for Lincoln tennis, with four pros having sons on local high school teams. While all four players - Drew Bartek of Southwest, Court Clark and Sam Tipton of East and Seth Garnett of Southeast - are standouts, each family has taken a little different approach handling that unique relationship.

Ann and Drew Bartek

The pro -- Ann, currently the assistant general manager at the Lincoln Racquet Club, was the director of tennis at the club from 1988 to 2000. She's a member of both the Nebraska and Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame, a former player and coach at Nebraska and a two-time state champion at Grand Island. Her children's book, "I Want to Play Tennis," earned national recognition.

The son -- Drew (pictured), a junior, is in his second year of playing No. 1 doubles at Lincoln Southwest after playing No. 2 singles as a freshman. Bartek and partner P.J. Bell are seeded fourth in the state tournament.

The tennis relationship -- When asked if he listens to the advice his mother gives, Drew smiled and said "occasionally."

While Ann has handed over most of the coaching for both Drew and her daughter, Alexis, to pros at the club such as junior director Rick Stempson, she still feeds balls to them and makes suggestions.

"With Drew, it's better if I ask his opinion and then make it his idea," Ann said. "He likes to figure it out on his own rather than having someone tell him."

Drew was active in basketball, football and soccer when he was younger, but chose to focus on tennis once he got to high school. "I started working at it year-round to see where it would take me," he said.

Court and Brian Clark

The pro -- Brian is the general manager of the Nebraska Tennis Center and director of the Nebraska Tennis Academy. Prior to coming to NTC four years ago, he was general manager of the Kansas City Racquet Club for six years and served as director of tennis at clubs in Yuma and Sedona, Ariz. The former Northern Arizona player has coached juniors to NCAA Division I college scholarships to Pac-10, ACC and Big Sky schools.

The son -- Court (pictured) started the season playing No. 1 doubles for Lincoln East, then moved to No. 1 singles after Zach Northey quit the team in late September. Court won No. 2 singles at state last season as a freshman and took the 16-and-under title at the Nebraska Junior Closed championships.

The tennis relationship -- Except during the two-month boys high school tennis season, Brian directly coaches his son. And the coach is not afraid to get on his pupil when things aren't going right.

"But it's never anything too bad," Court said. "It's more motivation than punishment, and I've learned not to take it personally. It's nice being able to do something with my dad that we both enjoy."

For Court, tennis was No. 1 from the start. "I'm not very big, so football and basketball were never an option, and I'm not a big fan of running, so I was never into track or soccer, either," he said. "Tennis just seemed like a natural choice."

Brian says his son handles the parent/coach-athlete relationship "much better than I do.

"He knows when not to resist," Brian added. "He's able to separate when I need to be a parent and when I need to be the coach."

Seth and Sig Garnett

The pro -- Sig (pictured) played his senior season of high school tennis at Southeast 40 years ago. That was the start of an illustrious career in which he played at No. 1 at Nebraska, coached the NU women to a Big Eight title in 1977, coached at Nebraska Wesleyan and worked with nationally ranked juniors during stints at clubs in Hawaii, Texas and Wisconsin. He's been a pro at the Lincoln Racquet Club since the early 1990s.

The son -- Seth, a senior, played No. 1 singles for Southeast as a freshman and most of his sophomore season before a successful switch to No. 1 doubles. He and Seth Shimerda, state runners-up as sophomores, are seeded third in this year's state meet.

The tennis relationship -- Sig and Seth enjoy watching tennis together, analyzing pro matches and talking in general about the game. But getting on the court together, with Sig coaching, is a different matter.

"We've never gotten through an hour on the court without it ending in a fight," Sig said. "I don't coach him. He won't listen to me."

Seth says his father "definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to tennis. I'm just used to a different coaching style."

Seth has worked with numerous Racquet Club pros the past three years, most recently with Rob Simpson last year. Before high school, when Seth lived in Omaha, he worked with his step-father, longtime Omaha pro Dave Weber. Seth moved to Lincoln to live with his father prior to his freshman year after his mother, Carol Weber, died.

"Seth learned a lot from Dave," Sig said.

Sam and Tom Tipton

The pro -- Tom played at Nebraska in the 1960s and has been active in local tennis ever since. Tom coached the Nebraska Wesleyan men to conference titles in 1989 and '90 and national tournament berths. A member of the Nebraska Tennis Hall of Fame, he's organized numerous tennis events and leagues in Lincoln through the years and has volunteered his time to help teach free junior clinics.

The son -- Sam (pictured) is in his second season on Lincoln East's No. 1 doubles team as he and Preston Bradley are seeded seventh at state. Sam combined with Northey to reach the state tournament semifinals last year as a junior.

The tennis relationship -- A high school tennis career seemed unlikely for Sam as he was into karate (he earned a black belt) and racquetball as a middle-schooler. It wasn't until the summer before his ninth-grade year he began seriously considering tennis.

The family went to Bellingham, Wash. to visit Sam's older brother, T.J., who teaches tennis part-time at a club there. "We played every day and that's when Sam really started getting into it," Tom said.

Sam works with Woods Tennis Center manager Kevin Heim, but he's got a lot of Tom's strengths in his game, like the kick serve and solid volleys at the net.

"Dad never pressured me to play, which I think is good because you see a lot of kids get burned out on it and never play after high school," Sam said. "If I slack off, he lets me know about it, but he never overpushes."

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.