Bruce and Megan Mastel, a father-daughter pair, experience one last season of Mitchell girls tennis

September 17—MITCHELL — Bruce Mastel has been with Mitchell High School girls tennis through championship victories and heartbreaking losses, as well as the small moments throughout the season.

The longtime assistant coach is about to leave the program.

Mastel is stepping down as coach of the girls tennis team after 24 years, coinciding with his daughter Megan’s senior season on the Kernels and his retirement from teaching at MHS. He was on the coaching staff for Mitchell’s three consecutive Class A state girls’ team championships from 2019 to 2021.

Mastel, who joined the tennis program under former head coach Gayle Klein and has been working with current girls tennis head coach Pat Moller since 2011, says he’s ready for a change in his daily routine.

“Right now, I’m working from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.,” explained Mastel, who also works as an information technology specialist. “Trying to get whatever they need done if I’m not available during the day. I’m just switching gears, but I’ll only have one career, which is nice.

Throughout his time on the Kernels coaching staff, Mastel’s main goal has been to provide a positive experience for the children in the program, thanks to his kind-hearted personality and ability to make the best of any situation, such as working with more than 20 tennis players alone with other assistant coaches unable to attend a practice at Hitchcock Park.

He also demonstrates his support for not only the players on the roster but also the coaching staff when it comes to making difficult decisions, which Moller values from the time he became head coach despite having no formal tennis experience until now.

“Once I made a decision, he backed me 100%, whether he agreed if it was the right thing to do or not,” Moller recalled. “He’s been a very valuable asset for us and he’s going to be hard to replace.”

Moller, who has prior playing experience in both high school and club leagues, notes that several of the Kernels will seek Mastel’s advice on how to handle a critical moment or anticipate an opponent’s next move, while his passion for tennis has inspired his daughter Megan’s simple goal for 2025.

“I’m focusing on having fun,” Megan Mastel said. “Obviously, I’ve been competitive, but if I go out and give it my all, that’s enough. I want to remember my last year as a good one with my teammates and a good year of tennis.”

Bruce Mastel, an eighth-grade student in Aberdeen, was introduced to the sport by his friend Ryan McGinnis, who asked if he wanted to learn how to play. Mastel went on to have a long playing career, playing high school tennis for Aberdeen Central and adult men’s tennis leagues.

He came to Mitchell in 1991 to accept a teaching position, and not long after, then-Kernel athletic director Scott VanDerMillen asked him if he wanted to be an assistant tennis coach. Mastel, who was initially skeptical of the idea, eventually came to enjoy the journey that the job provided for him.

“I wasn’t sure (at the time),” Mastel admitted. “I’d never coached before, but I was like, ‘You know what, let’s do it’ and see if I had the ability to share it. There have been many ups and downs, highs and lows, but it has been a great time.”

Mastel, who never shied away from responsibilities, contributed to the structure of practices throughout his time as a coach, particularly during the first few years under Moller when he was getting to know the sport. Bringing the organizational aspect gave the other coaches confidence that the players would receive the necessary instruction to develop on the court.

“He really was someone that helped me understand what a practice with 40 girls is supposed to look like,” Moller told me. “To have someone who can take some of my responsibilities and give me the confidence to say, ‘OK.'” “He’s going to make things work; that’s what he’s brought to the program.”

Mastel was ultimately the reason his children participated in the sport, albeit for brief periods of time. His son Evan played on the boys tennis team for a season, and his daughter Allison spent three years with the Kernels, helping them win their first of three consecutive Class A titles in 2019.

Mastel’s youngest daughter Megan picked up the sport during those early training sessions with Allison, frequently running around the court and hitting any ball in sight as a fourth grader. Despite having a false pretense as a child that the ball had to hit the net before going over, Megan was convinced to give tennis a try.

“Just watching my dad and sister, you eventually get the urge where you’re like, ‘I want to go do it if you’re doing it,'” said the young lady. “Being around the court and being around him definitely helped get me into the sport of tennis.”

Those involved with Kernel tennis knew Megan Mastel was going to be a special player from the moment she arrived at practice with her father and sister.

Mastel was often practicing with the beginner tennis players as a fifth grader, despite not being on the roster, and was ahead of the others in terms of development, according to Moller, quickly setting an example for executing proper techniques for a specific drill.

Mastel began to understand what it took to play a proper tennis match as she entered seventh grade in 2020.

“All the skills involved started to click,” Mastel explained. “I was beginning to understand the sport. As a 12-year-old, I understood what was going on, but I didn’t anticipate the pressure that would come with it.

Moving to varsity at a young age appeared to be a smooth transition that resulted in instant success. Mastel won consecutive Class A state singles championships in 2020 and 2021 while playing in Flight 6, and a Class A state doubles championship in 2021 with Delaney Degen in Flight 3.

However, Mastel’s confidence dwindled as she moved up the ranks due to the expectations she set for herself after winning state championships. She also missed most of her freshman year due to an illness caused by her battle with an eating disorder, and she spent the majority of the offseason regaining strength.

Mastel had one constant presence guiding her through all of the challenges she faced: her father, Bruce.

“He’s my rock in tennis,” Mastel said. “If I want to find someone, I look for him. My father guided me through each step, and he got me back to where I am today. I’m at the best point in my life so far.”

“I tell her all the time almost every match, win or lose, that I just love watching her play,” according to Bruce Mastel. “Truly watching her play tennis for the first time, seeing her progression and teaching her to play come to fruition, that hooked me right here and I think it kind of hooked her as well.”

Mastel came back to win his fourth state championship as a sophomore in 2023, this time in Flight 2 singles in Class AA. For the second year in a row, she is playing at the top flights in both singles and doubles. This year, she has made many changes to her match strategy.

Mastel has been praised for using a strong backhand to control a match, and he has been encouraged to attack opponents based on their position on the court, anticipating where a shot will come from and playing to specific spots to score points. She’s also demonstrated strong mental fortitude as a result of her focus on having fun rather than worrying about what might happen.

“Lately, she goes into a match and she’s like, ‘I have a chance to win if I go out and hit my shots and try to take control points,'” Moller said. “She’s discovering that she can beat anyone and has proven it time and again. She just needs to go in mentally prepared to compete and willing to suffer a little if things don’t go well.”

The Mastels and the rest of the Kernel girls tennis team are less than two weeks away from the Eastern South Dakota Conference tournament, which starts on Monday, September 29 in Yankton. The Class AA state tournament is set to begin on Thursday, October 9, in Sioux Falls.

Megan Mastel hopes to continue playing club and intramural tennis after this season while studying biochemistry and pursuing a pre-med track at the University of South Dakota next fall. In addition to his career transition, Bruce Mastel is looking forward to spending time with his wife Michele and visiting their two grandchildren.

Looking back on his time as an assistant coach, Mastel is always pleased to see the players improve their game enough to compete at the state tournament, which reflects their dedication to the Mitchell girls tennis program and the coaches’ dedication to developing their skills.

“We really did dig deep and gave them all the training they needed to take them to the level that they’re at,” he told me. “That’s a huge motivator for us to work even harder to develop them. We compete at the state level every year, and it’s always a source of great pride.”

Megan Mastel has treasured the memories made on the court since she was given her first tennis racket, from her state championships to the bonds she’s formed with her coaches and teammates. Tennis is also where she developed her strongest friendship, which she shares with her father.

“I made my best friend in life, and that is my dad,” Megan Mastel said. “Tennis truly brought him and I together the most and I don’t think I’ll ever be as close to anyone as I am with my father.”

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