Janet Disbennett inducted into the 2023 OTCA Hall of Fame
CHILLICOTHE — Janet Disbennett of Chillicothe is a member of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Class of 2023 Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony was held on February 26th at the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club in Chagrin Falls. She has coached high school tennis in Ohio for the past 43 years.
Disbennett got into tennis when he was 10 years old. She’s been in love with the game since she held the No. 1 singles spot on her middle school and high school teams. She began teaching summer tennis programs during her sophomore year of high school and continued for 14 years.
After high school, Disbennett played tennis at Bowling Green State University for four years, graduating with a degree in health and physical education.
After graduating, Disbennett returned to Chillicothe, where she spent the next 30 years teaching health and physical education at Smith Jr. High (later a middle school) and coaching junior high school girls’ tennis. During those years, she also coached middle school girls’ volleyball.
In the ’70s, Disbennett began coaching boys in collegiate tennis and continued to do so for the next seven years. When the all-girls high school college coach retired, she took over the girls’ program and has coached at the Chillicothe School District ever since with a record of 451-270. Her coaching record included her in the OTCA Circle of Honor.
Disbennett has coached 15 league championship teams, coached two state championship doubles teams in 2000 and 2005, and qualified seven doubles teams and one singles qualifier for the state championships during her career.
She has been married to Keith for 42 years and they have two sons, Ryan and Trent. They have six grandchildren with their first granddaughter on the way to her great-granddaughter.
The Ohio Tennis Coaches Association was formed in 1963 and includes junior high school, high school, and collegiate tennis coaches in the state of Ohio. The organization promotes the game of tennis statewide with efforts aimed at developing excellent players, establishing high standards of play, and encouraging as many students as possible to participate in tennis. Established in 1971, the OTCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor a tennis coach can receive in the state of Ohio.
