Most college students have never had one of their parents sitting in class watching every day.

For Todd and Mandy Jenkins, it would be odd if their father wasn’t there.

The Jenkins siblings both play on the Cerritos College tennis teams.

Their father, Mike has been coaching tennis for more than 50 years and has been coaching Todd and Mandy ever since they could lift a racket.

“Her first racket was actually a decoration from a cake, ” Mike said pointing to a picture of an infant Mandy holding a tiny racket.

“She took to it so natural. She knew just what to do with it,” he said.

“We used to roll the ball back and forth with our rackets when we were tiny,” Mandy explained.

“Tennis was just always there.”

Participation optional

Although tennis was always part of their family, participation was optional.

Mandy quit playing for about five years but returned to the courts before graduating high school.

“There was a time where Mandy didn’t say the word tennis for years,” Mike explained, “It quit being fun so she tried other things for a while. Whether they want to play or not, you can’t force it.”

When she returned to the sport, she quickly regained her skills and now plays on the women’s team for Cerritos College.

Top 10 in the state

Todd, an anchor, plays on the Falcons’ men’s team.

Unlike his sister, Todd has played consistently for many years.

He ranked among the top 10 of 12-year-old tennis players in California, and has done so every year for his age bracket ever since.

“It tests you in all sorts of ways,” Todd said of tennis.

“It challenges you not just to win. It’s more like being better than you’ve ever been before every time,” he added.

Cerritos College men’s and women’s tennis head tennis coach Alvin Kim has been focusing on rebuilding the Falcons’ fundamentals.

Todd and Mandy receive additional coaching from their father that re-enforces it.

“He reminds us of things, keeps us on track, and focused. “It’s not just physical,“ Todd said of tennis. “It’s psychological, emotional. He can read that.”

Mike said, “I’m lucky and thankful that he (Kim) gives me permission to participate like this.

“It lets me see them play and be there for them every day.”

Todd said, “He’s always been there since the beginning.”

“Sometimes, he’ll be picking up balls or something and he’ll just say a word or two and it makes me see what he sees. It can make a difference.”

Coaching the community

Mike not only coaches Todd and Mandy, he also coaches many younger players on his personal mission to, “bring tennis to as many young people as possible.”

Over the years, he has coached many players who went on to play college and professional tennis including professional tennis playing sisters Venus and Serena Williams when they were seven and eight years old.

His calendar is full of tennis camps, seminars, tournaments and related events.

Todd and Mandy accompany him to many of these events, sometimes participating and sometimes coaching the younger players which includes their 17 year old brother, Connor, who will join the Cerritos men’s team in the fall and youngest sister, 10th grader Brittni, 13.

Tennis made living in a single-parent home for the last 10 years a bit easier on everyone.

All four siblings were often at the same event and “that saved on tires,” Mike joked.

The common interest kept the family close and mutually supportive.

The younger Jenkins siblings

The younger Jenkins are enrolled at Cerritos High School where they both play tennis.

When their schedules allow, they attend Falcon tournaments. The younger siblings often practice along side Todd and Mandy on the campus courts, with their father coaching.

Both look forward to joining the Cerritos College team. There may be a season with three Jenkins on the team, the youngest sister about to join and the father who’s always there.