CARIBOU, Maine – The iconic phrase "if you build it, they will come" only half applies in Caribou.
The town recently opened a new six-court tennis facility at Caribou High School, which has given a tennis-mad community more access to the game it loves.
"We had just four courts in town that were open to the public," said Caribou High School athletic administrator David Wakana. "Between the high school teams and other people in the town, there just wasn’t enough court availability to accommodate everyone, so something needed to be done about that."
That something turned out to be a community-wide drive to make the beautiful facility a reality, and thanks to generous donations from area businesses and citizens, the dream became reality in July.
The USTA contributed a $50,000 grant, as did Maine Mutual Insurance Group.
"We couldn’t have done any of this without donations and volunteers," Wakana said. "The engineer donated his time, and the $60,000 of material and labor donated by Soderberg Construction (of Caribou) was a major part of this getting done."
The facility, which was completed fro around $200,000, has seen a steady stream of player traffic since its opening.
"I’ve gone by and seen people waiting (to play) and all six of the courts were full," he said. "It’s amazing. People come from all over to use the courts."
The courts will be used to host state high school tournaments this spring and plans are in the works to host adult open tournaments beginning next summer.
In a town of just about 8,000, Caribou is churning out talented young players at a breakneck pace.
Caribou High School’s tennis teams are among the most dominant in the state. The girls’ team recently strung together a streak of 14 consecutive years without losing a regular season-match. In that span, it won four state titles. The boys’ team captured the 2008 state championship.
"Our tennis coach (John Habeeb) does a great job in getting these kids to try the sport and become very good," Wakana said. "He runs a program in the summer with the rec department and he has about 150 learning and playing the game."
Habeeb, who has been teaching tennis to children and adults since 1983, is especially grateful for the new courts.
"The newly built tennis courts at our high school have been a big hit with our tennis playing population and are even drawing interest in our surrounding communities," Habeeb said. "Our town benefits as summer tennis enthusiasts no longer have to wait for our morning and afternoon programs to be done before they can play."
Wakana expects the new courts to help make the high school programs even stronger.
"We’re a small school, but the students love tennis," Wakana said. "Our athletes play other sports – basketball, soccer – and they’re competing against some kids who play tennis year-round, and they hold their own."
"Hopefully, these new tennis courts, with thanks to the USTA and many local donations, will spur on a continuing tradition of tennis excellence as well as promote tennis as a lifetime sport," Habeeb added.