Plano West continues to flourish under Morgen Walker
PLANO, Texas (BVM) — Morgen Walker joined Plano West High School in 2002. Since then, the tennis program has captured four state titles and has had an abundance of success.
But Walker didn’t find this success all by himself. He credits his dad for sparking that love for tennis he has today.
“My dad would go out and play tennis with his buddies every weekend and I’d tag along,” Walker said. “As a little kid it was fun to hit the ball back and forth over the net.”
Walker would play in his first tennis tournament in the fifth grade and go on to be a multisport athlete in high school. But when he reached college, he had a decision to make. Although he grew up loving tennis, Walker really anticipated coaching football for the foreseeable future.
But a man named Novice Kniffen would help sway Walker’s plans.
“He had heard about me and reached out to my dad to see if I’d be interested in coaching tennis because he was looking for an assistant coach,” Walker said. “He sold me on it [coaching tennis] and the rest is history.”
To coach alongside a Kniffen in Texas was an opportunity Walker couldn’t pass up.
When it comes to tennis, the Kniffens are one of, if not the, most well-known name for the sport. John, Barry, Fred and Novice are all members of the Texas Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame. Fred’s daughters, Janet and Judy, were both national champions at Tyler Junior College.
“It’s like royalty for tennis,” Walker said. “I worked with him [Novice] for four years and he left the reins in my hands and I’ve gone forward from [there]. It was a lot of fun working with him…and he was a big factor for me leaning [towards coaching] tennis.”
In 2002, Walker would land at Plano West High School. It would take him only two years to win a state championship for the Wolves. Under his leadership, Plano West would win three more championships. With Walker at the helm, the Wolves have appeared in the state finals 16 times.
And just a few weeks ago, Walker won his 500th match as a head coach.
What a great night celebrating Coach Walkers #500th career win! Congratulations to the Wolfpack on a great win over Hebron and to you Coach Walker! We are so proud of this huge accomplishment! @PWSHWolves pic.twitter.com/K1igszQTgz
— PISD Athletics (@PlanoISDAthDept) September 29, 2021
“It’s been about three weeks and I don’t think it’s fully set in,” Walker said. “I don’t know if it’s truly going to set in until the end of this season or even when I retire.”
Coach Walker has coached over 600 matches. And in the long tennis season, teams usually play 24-25 matches.
“It blows my mind that I’ve been at this that long,” Walker said. “You’ve got to have players that trust in you and [that] trust the system in play and that are willing to buy into what you’re trying to get done. And when you have that, good things are going to happen.”
Those good things continue to happen during the 2021 season. On Tuesday, Plano West defeated No. 6-ranked Allen in the quarterfinals.
Congratulations to the Plano West Wolfpack for defeating Allen 10-2 in the Regional Quarters tonight! Can we get a Wolfpack!! @PWSHWolves pic.twitter.com/yLfVIliGh6
— PISD Athletics (@PlanoISDAthDept) October 20, 2021
The Wolves will now take on Southlake Carroll in the regional finals on Friday after defeating Keller High School in the regional quarterfinals on Thursday.
This season has the potential to be another special one for Walker and his team, but as he continues his coaching career, he gives credit to the athletes, their families and others involved with the program.
“When I look back on my career, I truly believe one of the things I’ll be proud [of], in addition to working with all the kids and helping them become better people, is the fact we’ve been able to maintain this [level of play for so long]. [But} it really is about the kids and the other people that are involved that make this happen. I’m just along for the ride.”
