In his quest to become the best tennis player he can be, Andrew Painter never lets sports eclipse academics. And TV, goofing around and procrastination never get in his way either. That’s because Painter’s parents – Cathie and Cary Painter – are both teachers.
“So, I have that influence in my life,” said Painter, who is the No. 1 singles player on W.F. West High School’s tennis team. “When I get home, I do my homework before I do other things.”
Grades, not backhands and winning overhead slams, remain his focus. As a result, Painter, who’s a senior, has a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. He’s never had a B or an A minus in high school. He’s the true definition of student athlete.

“Grades have always been important,” Painter said prior to a recent match against Tumwater.
And there’s something else that Painter has excelled at in school. Despite being a bookworm and a brainiac, he’s not a recluse, a social introvert who can barely nod a “howdy” to classmates he’s passing in the hallways. He’s a social extrovert. For the second straight year, Painter is his school’s class president. He was his class treasurer as a sophomore and freshman.
“I just like being able to lead my class,” Painter said when asked what he liked about being part of the ASB. “I also like being in the discussions on what we can do to make our school better.”

But Jack State, W.F. West’s longtime tennis coach, isn’t too surprised by Painter’s talent for excelling in the classroom and on the tennis court.
“Like a lot of tennis players, he’s very smart,” State said.
Like Painter, Jason Chung, the Bearcats’ No. 2 singles player, has the knack for acing serves and acing classroom tests. Chung has a 3.97 cumulative GPA. His only “blemish” was an A minus his freshman year in English.
“English really has not been my favorite class,” Chung said with a chuckle.
As a Running Start student, Chung, who was homeschooled until seventh grade, is already taking college classes at Centralia College full time this fall. He has a perfect 4.0 GPA in his college classes so far.
Unlike many of his teammates, Chung has no aspirations for advancing to the state tournament. That’s because he knows, since he’s attending a Seventh Day Adventist Church, he can’t participate in tournaments on Saturdays. That’s the day reserved for church. Districts and regionals are held on Saturdays. But even though Chung knows he can’t get the big prize, he’s still all in on his commitment, working and practicing hard.
“I guess I like playing tennis mostly for the exercise, for staying in shape,” Chung said. “Cause I don’t really do a lot of exercise usually. Also, I think it’s fun to play with other people and also my dad says tennis is a sport you can play even when you’re older.”

So, when he is older, Chung hopes to still be playing tennis. And, eventually, he hopes to be a doctor.
“Probably ophthalmology,” Chung said.
While the Bearcats’ No. 1 players have come and gone over the years, State remains a constant. He started coaching at Chehalis in 1974, making this his 42nd year as a coach there. Year after year, he goes from boys tennis in the fall, to basketball in the winter and then girls tennis in the spring.
“I’ve coached three sports for almost all those 42 years,” said State, who retired as a P.E. teacher in 2000. “I love it.”
The motivation, his “why” for coming back year after year, is simple.
“It’s the kids,” State said. “The kids in tennis are such great kids. They’re smart. Just kids you want to be around. That’s the biggest thing. You get a kid who is a pretty good athlete they do pretty well.”
Initially, after graduating from Eastern Washington University, State’s dream was to play pro basketball. After earning All-American honors at Eastern his senior year, the 6-foot-8 State had a tryout with Oakland in the old ABA. Then he played briefly in Europe. State then taught P.E. and coached at a high school in Spokane for five years before coming to Chehalis.

For State, winning has always been secondary to the life lessons kids learn from participating in sports.
“They learn if they work at doing the things the right way, they can succeed at the things they are going to do,” State said. “We take not necessarily the best athletes, they’re okay athletes, and they learn if I do it right I can be pretty good at it.”
And the 22 kids turning out of the boys tennis team this fall also are learning about teamwork.
“They learn that it’s not all about me” State said “They learn how to work with a group of people and to give up for the group.”