GSB Welcomes Three New Tennis Coaches

On a sunny afternoon during the first week of September, bright yellow tennis balls scattered the newly-renovated tennis courts at Gill St. Bernard’s School as middle school athletes hit volleys with a continental grip.

The volleys were served by their coaches – head coach Brett Michel, JV coach Dragana Trivic, and Middle School coach Erik Borup –  all of whom joined GSB this fall. They’re gearing up for the Girls’ Tennis season this fall followed by Boys’ Tennis in the spring. 

“We’re very excited to be here and to build on the success the program has had,” Michel said. 

The varsity Girls’ Tennis team ended the 2025 season with a 13–7 record. They’ve been practicing for the fall 2026 season since early August. Under Michel’s leadership, the varsity team has already won their first four matches.

“I love the idea of taking a team from pre-season and seeing what you can build from it,” Michel said. “To build something – to have someone who hasn’t played a lot and watch how much they improve – it’s been the thing I’ve enjoyed the most as a coach.”

Michel joins GSB with nearly 20 years of coaching experience at the varsity level. Borup has over a decade of experience coaching at the high school level, and Trivic has been coaching at the high school level since the spring of 2021. 

That’s when she joined forces with Michel and Borup at Morristown Beard School. There, Michel accumulated 215 career wins as the girls’ and boys’ varsity tennis head coach. When Michel saw the tennis coach position openings at GSB, he was immediately interested and contacted Trivic and Borup.

“It makes life a lot easier when you have familiarity with your fellow coaches,” Michel said. “It made the transition to GSB seamless.”

It isn’t the first time Michel has walked onto GSB tennis courts– he remembers playing against GSB as a high school athlete at Morristown Beard School.

“It’s always been a place where we’ve had good matches and a good competitive spirit,” Michel said. 

For Michel, Borup and Trivic, competition is a part of what makes coaching exciting. But it’s seeing the athletes have a good time that makes it the most rewarding, they said. 

“Seeing their faces light up, that’s a big reward for us as coaches,” Borup said, recalling the moment a middle school athlete came up to him during a practice early in the season and said she “had the best day of her life”’ playing tennis alongside her classmates. 

“It’s exciting to build a team culture. For us, it’s building a team that people want to play on,” Michel said. “It’s having that belief that as an athlete, you can compete. You can go out there, you might win and you try your best.”

“It’s trying to get them to have as much fun in a match as they do in practice,” Trivic added. “We all start from somewhere.”

As head coach, Michel brings a player-first approach to coaching. He wants players to be an active part of the coaching process by having them direct conversations during matches and practices. It’s an approach Borup said he adopted from Michel.

“I want them to be engaged in that process of problem solving,” Michel said. “If you give them that power, I think it makes them more engaged in the match.”

Michel, Borup, and Trivic look forward to continued success during the fall tennis season. They hope to inspire GSB athletes to take value in the game in similar ways they have. 

“It’s a sport they can play for the rest of their lives,” Michel said.