Wareham High School Coach Geoff Swett expects something spectacular from the girls tennis team.

He expects something that may strain their abilities, may stretch them to new heights, and may even challenge their self-confidence.

He expects them to like the game.

With a lack of tennis culture in Wareham and most girls not starting tennis until high school, Swett tries first and foremost to give team-members a love for tennis that will last a lifetime.

"When you have a love for the game, you'll be committed, you'll practice hard … and you'll play in the summer and in the off-season," said Swett.

Nine out of the 16 players on this year's tennis team are completely new to tennis, Swett said, which is a challenge in a sport that takes a couple of years to truly develop competitive skill.

"There was not a single student who didn't come not knowing how to play tennis," Swett said.

The struggle, then, is not to create a team that can compete against other towns where students have been playing since a young age. Instead, it is to foster an interest in the sport that will keep the students playing well into the future.

"A love of the game produces a sport for life, and that's great -- for their bodies and for their minds," Swett said.

Learning tennis, like learning anything, is a bit about practicing that perfect swing, Swett explained.

"It's a process of creating muscle memory, which is control in tennis," Swett said. "Doing things to the point it becomes natural."

Some of that is plain old repetition. But other parts of tennis are more about the fun aspects that produces a love of sport -- playing with friends and engaging in competition.

Playing doubles, Swett explained, adds teamwork and the challenge of coordinating two people over an area. Often, Swett said, the doubles teams are made up of best friends.

And since tennis is a game of skill over strength, Swett explained, other times it can mean competing against, and perhaps beating, the boys tennis team in a "friendly" contest.

"It's good fun, a great way to meet people, and it's a social experience," Swett said.

While Swett concentrates on whether his students are enjoying their experiences, he does give some thought to how he can hone his team into a stronger, more competitive team.

The high school girls tennis team does not technically have a junior varsity component. It only has a varsity team which consists of the usual seven players.

That means that a lot of the younger freshmen and sophomores on the team won't get the chance to hone their skills in competition, something that is very important, because they will eventually make up the seven-player team when they become upperclassmen, Swett said.

But Swett seizes every opportunity to give the younger players an opportunity to play. After competitions at other towns during away games, as long as the opposing team agrees, Swett stays to give the younger players a chance to unofficially compete.

And at home games, he asks the opposing players to stay -- until their bus leaves, that is.

The Vikings are currently 0-3 in their league and 0-4 overall, having yet to win a game yet, and their next game is scheduled for April 19 at home against Old Rochester Regional High School.

Win or lose, there is a high chance that sophomore Kendra Wright will keep on playing.

"It's an active sport," Wright said. "It's a sport I can play when I get older."