When McCallie School's tennis campers reached the courts Friday morning, they came face-to-face with a snow cone machine, which signaled the start of Snow Cone Friday.
That tasty surprise had been preceded by Starburst Wednesday, as well as McCallie coach Eric Voges' homework assignment calling for campers to learn lines from the Dr. Seuss classic "The Cat in the Hat."
"Eric makes it fun," said University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis coach Jeff Clark, who starred for Voges at McCallie and has sent two of his own children -- Peter (8) and Caroline (5) -- to the camp.
"He never stops learning new ways to excite and challenge kids, and he's continued (late McCallie coaching legend) John Strang's legacy of using tennis as a vehicle to show love and guidance to young people."
Today being Father's Day, we all celebrate a father's love and guidance toward his children. It's what a parent is supposed to do every day. It's what Yo Strang did his entire adult life after his tortured time as a World War II prisoner of war, though he was never a parent in the biological sense.
And much of Yo obviously has rubbed off on Voges, a father of three and a former Strang pupil who has been named a finalist for the United States Tennis Association's 2010 Starfish Award.
The USTA annually presents the award to a high school coach who implements a no-cut policy for his high school team, something the McCallie coach has done for at least 15 of the 23 years he's directed the Blue Tornado.
One of 18 finalists from an original pool of 3,300, Voges won't learn whether he wins the award until Aug. 30, when it's presented during the U.S. Open in New York City.
"I just hope it encourages more coaches to keep more kids out for sports," said Voges, who had 38 players on his roster this past spring. "As a parent who wants to teach the benefits of good health, it's great for the kids."
This is how great:
"Those kids got to play tennis five days a week, got to exercise instead of going home and watching TV. I've coached nationally ranked players and beginners, and it's always wonderful to see the confidence that comes with learning a new sport and the pride that's gained in making a team. And tennis is a lifetime sport."
Laura Henry coaches tennis at Signal Mountain Middle. Voges coached her when she was home-schooled before she was a UTC walk-on player for a year.
"I had 16 girls and 16 boys on our team this past year," she said. "Eric would help me any way he could with coaching tips and drills. When I had a preschool class at Brainerd Baptist, he found tennis rackets and balls for my kids to use."
She'll also second Clark's belief that tennis is never more fun than when taught by Voges.
"I got the hustle award at his camp one year," Henry said. "He gave me a big trophy. It was the coolest thing ever."
Voges' influence hasn't ended at the high school level. Four of his former players, including Clark, now coach on the Division I level. More than 30 of his former players have played collegiate tennis. Then there's the civic work he's done to help introduce young people to the sport.
"His knowledge of tennis is vast," Clark said. "But his love of young people is bigger. Here's a guy who's a Type 1 diabetic, but he'll still use candy to reward kids. The irony of that has never escaped me."
At some point in our lives, we all get cut from something we love: a sports team, a job, a relationship. You could argue that getting cut is a life lesson worth learning as soon as possible.
But in this age of rampant childhood obesity, of too many kids feeling left out, alone and isolated, there's also much to commend Voges' coaching style.
"I've always said," Clark noted, "that whether you're a ranked player or you've never picked up a racket, Eric makes you feel special, and the most important person on the court."
As any father or father figure should.