It all started over 40 years ago, at the small age of three, Darcy Rabenda’s tennis interest sparked a life changing pathway that led her to a successful tennis playing and coaching career. 

As Rabenda grew up her passion for tennis only grew and her focus to become a champion strengthened. Her senior year, Rabenda made a big decision to move to Florida and train at a Tennis academy. This was a big jump for a kid but Rabenda stated, “I wanted to be a professional tennis player,” and she knew it was the next step to further her tennis career.

After a year of training college decisions needed to be made. Rabenda was recruited by Temple University to join their tennis program and she thought it was the right fit. When Rabenda joined Temple’s team, she was greeted by diverse teammates. Rabenda said, “There were some serious growing pains,” in regards to the team. She explained that although tennis is a very individual sport, you need to be one with your team and the initial click didn’t happen right away. When the tension on the team grew uncontrollably, Rabenda’s coach finally told the team they needed to figure out the problems with one another. This is something that never feels good coming from a coach, so the team understandably took action. One thing led to another and the team had been united through a gargoyle statue they named George. Quickly, everyone accepted everyone and Rabenda personally saw how valuable team was. Rabenda worked throughout the season to win a championship.

Once Rabenda’s collegiate tennis career ended a new chapter had begun. Coaching. Right after college Rabenda landed herself a coaching position at Temple University. She coached at her alma mater for a few years and then transitioned to Chestnut Hill College. Rabenda enjoyed her collegiate coaching careers however she decided to come to Pennridge High School and coach at the high school level.

Rabenda described the change as, “as a big shift in gears,” coming from college to high school. She explained in college there are major consequences if you are late to practice. However, in high school the kids are younger, some still may be learning, and it is important to create a team atmosphere and encourage students to play. Rabenda stated, “At the end of the day, my 10 years coaching here at Pennridge I have probably learned the most from and probably got the most gratification from.” 

Several years later, Rabenda got a once in a lifetime opportunity to start a collegiate program from the ground up at Delaware Valley University. She thought it would be easy but quickly retracted those thoughts. She got a lot of input in how she wanted the courts to look and was overwhelmed. She was asked which way she wanted the doors to swing and what colors do you want the courts to be. Once a beautiful facility had been created there was still something missing. Players. Rabenda struggled selling the school to athletes because they had little to base it on. Slowly, Rabenda created a strong program at DelVal and the wait was worthwhile.

Now, Rabenda can still be found with a tennis racket in hand. She is still an avid player and coach and may see her in the news winning national championships.