APEX - Steve Spivey says his golf game is suffering from his return to coaching. But he's not complaining about being called out of retirement to guide the Apex boys tennis team this spring.

Spivey, who retired from teaching and coaching at the end of the 2009 season after 33 years of directing Broughton's powerhouse program, had been splitting time last year between his condo in Chapel Hill and a new home in North Myrtle Beach.

When he was in the Triangle, he was substitute teaching at Apex. When he was in North Myrtle Beach, he says the best place to find him was the golf course.

"I was able to shoot par a couple of times last summer," he said. "I've been shooting in the high 70s."

But Spivey's first love is tennis, and he's a tennis coach at heart. So it didn't take much persuasion on the part of Apex boys tennis coach Ryan Phelps when he approached Spivey last fall about replacing him for the 2011 season.

With Phelps' wife pregnant, he was looking for a way to spend more time with his wife and newborn baby while feeling confident Apex's strong program was in good hands.

"It's all worked out," Spivey said. "I did this as a favor to Ryan to give him some time off with his wife and baby. I love coaching and this is a great group of kids with tennis skills. Everything is working out great."

The transition of a new coach at an established program isn't always a smooth one, but Apex senior Gibson Smith says the players knew enough about Spivey's reputation when he took over that they welcomed his addition.

"We knew he's an experienced coach and we had high expectations," Smith said. "He knows a lot about the sport and he's helping us with things we needed to work on. He's good at strategy and the mental game of tennis."

In some ways, Smith says the Cougars feel they're playing for two coaches because they still see Phelps around campus.

"I have a class with coach Phelps and still call him 'coach' every day," Smith said. "We gave him a card after they had their baby. He's come to our matches already and supports us."

It's not unusual for career coaches to have a tough time adjusting to retirement, but those are the coaches without hobbies. Spivey, 58, says he has plenty to keep him busy and his intention is to hand the team back to Phelps next year and hit the links again.

"I missed coaching some because tennis is a great game and I've played it my whole life," he said.

"But I enjoyed living at the beach with the sunshine and playing golf. I've worked hard my whole life and I'm looking forward to getting back to retirement on the golf course."