KAILUA — Deteriorating tennis courts and the lack of a coach had the Kalaheo High School tennis team scrambling for leadership and practice space just days before its first match. The season was saved after the Marines came through with courts and a Kala-heo graduate agreed to coach.

The tennis courts at Kalaheo were closed to students this year after years of wear and shifting soil left the three-court facility cracked, uneven and pitted. But there was an even bigger issue.

"About a year ago, there was a determination that we had an erosion problem," said James Schlosser, school principal, "There's a sinkhole there."

Kalaheo High School is built on the slopes of Oneawa Hills.

The biggest threat to the courts is the shifting hillside that is undermining the courts' foundation. And constant runoff from the slopes that washes over the courts' surface has taken a toll not normally faced by other campuses on level ground.

Because of the erosion and sinkhole, a resurfacing project scheduled for this year was changed to a drainage project that meant delaying the surface fix, Schlosser said. Instead of having a new surface this year, the school will have to wait until next year for everything to be completed for about $230,000.

On top of that, there was doubt about even having a tennis season because there was no coach, said Reid Adams, who wanted his granddaughter to play.

Adams said he called everyone to complain and to try to find a place to practice. Finally the school was able to enlist Marine Corps Base Hawaii last week. Greg Siok, a Kailua resident, had already volunteered to coach.

"When my granddaughter first signed up, they told her there was going to be no team," Adams said. "At least they got something going."

Adams said he had been frustrated because no one seemed too concerned, and for some students tennis is their way to college.

Students were told to practice on their own, and the first match was scheduled for March 1, he said. That game was postponed because SAT tests were scheduled the same day.

Now the team is scheduled to have its first practice together on Wednesday and play their first competition Thursday, said Siok, 38.

Siok, who has played since his days at Kalaheo High, said he volunteered when he heard there was no coach. He said one look at the Kalaheo courts told him they weren't safe for students.

"The cracks are half an inch wide and the weeds were 3 feet tall," he said. "This was before the power wash. Even after the power wash, there was too much of a safety concern."

So he and the school's athletic director, Lewis Fuddy, called every Kailua court but ran into one obstacle after another, including how to get the kids on the base.

"I told (Lewis) Fuddy I didn't want to coach if I was just going to be a chaperone and not actually practice," Siok said.

Finally a team member's mother cleared the way to get the students on base, he said. Now the biggest challenge is getting them to practice, because they have to drive on base in their cars or hitch a ride with the coach.

Schlosser said he was grateful that the tennis season can move forward because the program benefits students.

"Any time a high school doesn't have a facility, programs can suffer," he said. "Facilities don't make the program, but they provide opportunities, and that's certainly important."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.