Mark Seidenberg coached Mills Godwin High School girl’s tennis team to 11 Virginia High School League state championships, more than any other girl’s tennis team in the history of the VHSL. His teams also had an amazing 14 consecutive opportunities to compete for the title, winning 10 of those. His teams’ incredible record of consistent excellence also includes 16 consecutive Regional Championships. For the 25 years Mark served as the coach of the Godwin girls, his teams won 432 matches and lost only 53.

During his tenure as coach at Godwin, Mark had many talented players, but the formula for the success of Mark’s teams was built on the depth of his lineup. That depth was the product of the hours of practice his teams put in to develop their consistency, endurance, and confidence. His tennis program has been one of the most respected in the state’s history because of their sportsmanship, competitiveness, and most of all, their doubles play. His practices emphasized the development of winning doubles teams. Because of the daily doubles drills and practice matches, his teams always seemed to pull victory from defeat thanks to third set wins by his doubles teams.

Mark’s impact on the tennis community extends beyond the high school courts. He has worked with RTA for over 20 years, serving on the Board of Directors from 2007 until 2021 but before then, he volunteered to coordinate RTA’s annual clinic for all area high school and middle school tennis coaches. Perhaps his most significant contribution to RTA was the way he “encouraged” his team members to serve as volunteers whenever the RTA needed help with events and tournaments throughout the metropolitan area. To say that his teams have been the primary source of RTA volunteers over the last 25 years would be an understatement.

Mark joins another distinguished high school tennis coach, Sam Woods, as he enters our Hall of Fame. Welcome, and thanks to Coach Seidenberg… and to the Godwin girls!