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The legacy and career of LaGrange High tennis coach Kenny Moore just keeps getting enhanced. In just the last few months, Moore has received three prestigious awards: the Section 3 Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High School Sports, the USTA coach of the year for the state of Georgia and the Georgia High School Association tennis coach of the year awards. 

“I guess I hung around long enough for them to notice me and they finally ran out of good options,” Moore said with a hearty laugh. “It really has been an amazing experience and a real surprise.

“I have been a part of four major proposals to the GHSA and it has been a lot of work, so I think this just sort of fell at the right time to get me noticed.”

The Section 3 Coach of the Year award was given to just one tennis coach across the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Mississippi. 

Moore was recognized alongside other coaches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the GHSA award in December, in what was a pretty special moment for Moore.

“It was super cool,” Moore said. “They brought me out with a bunch of other coaches that won from other sports. It was a really neat experience.”

It has been a lifetime of giving back to student-athletes for Moore, whether it is teaching calculus in the classroom or tennis on the courts. Moore’s legacy is securely intact, but he is creeping towards a major milestone that few coaches at any level ever reach. In 34 seasons as coach, Moore has tallied 969 wins (501 as the boys coach and 468 as the girls coach) and could very well eclipse 1,000 career wins as tennis coach this year.

“I wish I could tell you it doesn’t mean anything to me, but I think it’s pretty cool. How many coaches can say they’ve done that? I doubt anyone in the state of Georgia has (coached 1,000 wins in high school tennis,” Moore said with his trademark smile that reaches from ear to ear. “Most coaches don’t coach as long as I have and if they do they coach just boys or girls.”

While the state championship remains ever elusive (Moore has taken the boys and girls programs to state runner-up finishes on multiple occasions including the girls most recently in 2022), the impact Moore has on kids goes well beyond the wins and losses. 

“If I win a state championship life is good, if I don’t win a state championship, life is still good,” Moore said. “I get to coach tennis and teach calculus for a living.”

When Moore walks into a room, his aura calls people to him. His infectious and positive energy has served him well during his time as both a coach and a teacher. No one knows the sort of positive impact he has had on LaGrange better than LaGrange High athletic director Mike Pauley, who graduated from the school in the 80s. 

“He is the epitome of a leader,” Pauley said. “He’s in the top ranks of being an educator and a coach. He is exactly what we want at LaGrange High School as a teacher and a coach. He’s an absolute leader in both of his fields (tennis and calculus).” 

There is no way around it, Moore is a Granger legend and these awards just go further to confirm it. Moore has been at LaGrange High since 1989. This is home for him and his wife Teresa and he would have it no other way.