Perhaps the only thing Dick Wedel enjoys more than tennis is fishing.

Soon, he’ll have a great deal more time to devote to the latter.

The Lawrence High icon decided Tuesday the time was right to close the coaching chapter of his tennis career, officially informing LHS athletic director Ron Commons of his decision to step down at the end of the current boys season after nearly three decades at the helm.

“It’s ideal for me. I’m not mad at anybody. I’m not grinding any axes. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work this job for so many years,” said Wedel, 60. “It’s a great job. I’ve enjoyed the heck out of it.”

Known for his sense of humor, his laid-back attitude and his refusal to cut players from his teams, Wedel has taken a laissez-faire approach to the actual duration of his career – to the point that he’s not even sure how many seasons he has patrolled the LHS tennis courts.

He does know he took over the boys program first, added the girls program the next fall, and has kept with it for what he believes is 27 years.

“I’ve actually called the personnel office and asked them a couple of different times, written it down, and I don’t know where I put it,” Wedel said.

He originally joined the Lawrence School District in the fall of 1974 as an employee in the district’s maintenance shop, began teaching social studies at Lawrence High the following January and two years later moved over to the since-closed alternative high school. He retired from teaching in June, 2002.

That allowed more free time with his wife, Diane, whom Wedel said has been hinting he should end his coaching racket for the last two years.

Now that he won’t have to worry about the girls season this fall, he’ll have the chance to extend his annual summer vacations in Montana, where his twin passions of fishing and tennis fill the docket.

“Coming back August 15th isn’t the best time to be in Lawrence,” Wedel cracked.

In the future, his local commitments will center on tennis clinics at First Serve – an indoor facility in southwest Lawrence – and finding more good places to drop a line.

“I’m actually soliciting the location of local bass ponds,” Wedel said. “So if you know any of them, you can let me know.”