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First-year Hutchison High School coach Carol Woodard knows the tennis scene in Fairbanks is considerably different than the one she experienced in Boston.

“Out there, tennis is a way of life, and that’s the motto of the Weymouth Club,” Woodard said Friday night while her players scrimmaged Juneau-Douglas on the outdoor courts at the Alaska Club South.

“Out there, there’s about a tennis court on every corner,” she said.

However, the 55-year-old mother of 10 is just as excited about working with the 11 Hutchison Hawks as she was about working with promising players at the Weymouth Club, which produces junior players who are ranked in New England and nationally.

“We don’t have that much (experience), but I tell you one thing I love more than anything is a person’s desire, a young person’s desire to play,” Woodard said, “because when they’ve got that taste and they’ve got that gleam in their eye, it’s like nothing can stop them.”

Hutchison opens the sixth season of high school tennis in the Interior by taking on the Eielson Ravens at 6 p.m. today at the Alaska Club South. Also, the West Valley Wolfpack host the Monroe Catholic Rams at 3:15 p.m. at the club and the Lathrop Malemutes visit the North Pole Patriots at 5 p.m.

Woodard grew up in Nunica, Mich., and attended the Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music from 1972-75. She was also a gymnast there and competed as the only woman on its tennis team.

Last October, she came to Fairbanks after her husband, Phil, got a job here as a machinist. Before she journeyed north, she commuted between the family home in Dorchester, Wis., and Boston, where she spent parts of three years (2005-08) mostly working as a teaching professional in the area, particularly at the Weymouth Club.

“It was a tennis machine,” Woodard said. “There’s 13 courts and if you want your junior or young person to learn tennis, that’s where you sent them.”

Woodard saw several professional players visit the club, including James Blake, Luke Jensen, Ann Smith and Tom Gullickson. Woodard hit balls with Blake’s brother, Tom, who also plays professionally.

Woodard has taken some things she learned from the pros and is applying them to her first season with the Hawks, who have two returning players, junior Kelsey Peterson and sophomore Nico Wehner, and another player, Skyler Evans, who is back on the team after taking last season off.

“I learned so much from those pros out there — their skills, the way they hit, the way they teach,” she said. “There’s a lot of things you can glean from them.”

Monroe coach Joe Trujillo’s Rams scrimmaged Juneau-Douglas after Hutchison finished trading shots with the Crimson Bears.

Trujillo has a strong group of six boys, led by juniors Eric Ringstad and Dan Bunten and senior Jim Winfree, but he has only one girl, junior Cassie Ringstad.

He expected to have two other girls, but they were attracted to other sports. Senior Christin Davis is now kicking for the Monroe football team and freshman Sabrina Marriuto earned a spot on the Rams varsity volleyball team.

“Their practices conflicted with our practices and she flipped a coin and we got the short side,” Trujillo said. “She was pretty sad about making the decision, but I told her ‘good for you.’”

As an eighth grader last year, Marriuto practiced with the Monroe tennis team.

Trujillo, though, might have an all-boys squad this season because Cassie Ringstad is competing as a gymnast.

“She’s looking at her gymnastics schedule now,” Trujillo said.

Whatever lineup might emerge for Monroe, Trujillo is looking forward to today’s opener.

“I like the attitude and devotion of the kids,” he said. “Everybody seems to have a very positive attitude.”

Debbie Miller’s West Valley squad is coming off a fourth-place finish at last year’s state tournament in Anchorage.

The Wolfpack, though, graduated some key players from that group, including boys doubles state champions Forest Owen and Ken Sample.

West Valley has three solid returning seniors in Joe Sample, Sean Markle and Logan Little, and a trio of promising freshmen in Robbie Zehmeier, Jeremy Weaver and Kelly Ranchoff.

Miller is working with five varsity girls, including seniors Jenna Powers and Loni Ellsworth.

“We came in fourth overall last year out of 20 teams (at state),” the second-year head coach said. “I hope we do as well if not better this year if we work hard.”