Last June, Clarke Central High School assistant tennis coach Evan Adams received life-changing news.
At just 33 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
A steady presence on the Gladiators’ courts for more than five years, Adams has always led her players with close connections and a strong emphasis on sportsmanship. But this past season tested her and her team in ways no one expected.
“It’s definitely made this year way different,” said Riley David, senior captain of the girls’ team.
The boys’ team finished the regular season undefeated, and the Gladiators are now back-to-back region champions. They advanced to the second round of this year’s state championships.
Their success set a new standard for a team that, before last season, hadn’t won a region title for decades.
As the Gladiators prepared for the postseason, Adams’ influence was deeply woven into their motivation.
“Her presence is everything,” said Miles Lawrence, senior captain of the boys’ team. “Without Coach Adams, our team would be so much different because she is both a positive uplifter and a strong hand.”
That dedication was powerful this season, as Adams continued to show up for her team while privately fighting a battle of her own. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by 28 rounds of radiation, which she completed in March.
“The biggest battle has been having enough energy to get up and go to these matches and put on a coaching face when you are not feeling great,” Adams said.
The players, she said, “make it easy.”
While head coach Elliot Slane manages the roster and focuses on mental preparation, Adams focuses on player communication and match strategy.
She coached junior varsity volleyball for a season, meeting some of this year’s seniors as freshmen. She built meaningful relationships through her warmth and consistency in their high school years.
“It’s very comforting when she’s here because she’s always been there,” David said. “She’s been my only real coach since I’ve been in high school for anything.”
While the girls’ team did not have its strongest season, a close-knit group of seniors shared a lasting bond with Adams. For their last match of the season, all the players wore pink to honor her.
“I honestly don’t have words,” she posted on Instagram. “I’m so lucky to be at Central, to be their coach, and to have so much support.”
Adams’ background in tennis began in high school, where she played doubles and developed a love for teamwork and strategy. That experience shaped her coaching philosophy. For Adams, it has always been about respect, character and life lessons.
“She’s introduced ideas to me in ways that have made the team better with things that I wouldn’t have necessarily thought of,” Slane said. “The best example is having teams vote on captains each year. That gives us less work because we have player representatives who their peers have chosen.”
Though Adams was unable to attend every match, she remained a constant source of support. Through FaceTime calls, texts and regular check-ins, she stayed connected with her players, ensuring they felt her guidance even when she could not be physically present.
Even in her absence, the routines and strategies she instilled in the Gladiators remained central to their preparation and focus. The players still relied on the structure she put in place, from pre-match warmups to in-game tactics.
“She always says, ‘Kill them with kindness,’” David said. “She never wants us to be nasty or anything. She wants us to be better than them morally.”
Her focus on character is just as important as her strategic expertise, the players know, creating a sense of unity among them.
She just gets along with everyone and has a general desire to want to make the team better,” Slane said.
Through every message and moment of encouragement, Adams reminded her team of what it means to be strong. In return, they continued to fight for every point, every match, and for the coach who has never stopped showing up for them.
Isabella Swartz is in the undergraduate certificate program at UGA’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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