Tennis is often considered a sport of individual powerhouses and dynamic duos. But Nina Bramhall, new head coach of the varsity girls’ tennis team at the regional high school, has a different perspective.

“I really love that tennis can be a team sport,” she said.

Ms. Bramhall knows a thing or two about tennis teams, especially this one. Since 2009 she has been an instructor at the Vineyard Youth Tennis Center, and was part of the group that brought the youth tennis center executive director Scott Smith to the Island. Being at the youth center introduced Ms. Bramhall to most of her future high school players. She remembers seeing twins Sam and Charlotte Potter first learning the game. They are now co-captains, along with Josie Iadicicco. To coach the varsity team, Ms. Bramhall is taking some months off from her job at the center.

On the court, Ms. Bramhall was part of the inaugural class of the Vineyard’s United States Tennis Association team and later spearheaded an initiative to form a USTA league based on the Island. She is the captain of the over-40 women’s team in that league.

But focusing on tennis started later in life for Ms. Bramhall. In high school and college she played field hockey and lacrosse. Tennis was just for fun, having first learned the game at summer camp when she was in middle school, and continuing to play with her parents and brother as she grew up. Then she moved to New York city to work as a magazine photo editor and photographer, and for the most part tennis was sidelined.

“I didn’t know anybody who played tennis in New York so I didn’t play much at all except when I came [to the Vineyard] on the weekend.” But when she and husband Paul Schneider moved to the Island full time in 1998, she began taking her first private lessons, and one of the pros, Yale Scott, suggested putting together a tournament team.

“He was the guy who said to me and my group of friends, you know, you guys should really consider playing USTA league tennis,” Ms. Bramhall said. “None of us really knew what that was.”

At first, the Vineyard competed in a Cape Cod-based league, and had to travel off-Island at the height of the season, since league play starts in June.

“It was a couple of teams out of the mid-Cape, and a team out of Falmouth, and to our sort of utter amazement, we won our first year. That got the whole ball rolling.”

Her experience of getting to know the youth center paralleled the journey of her son Nathaniel, who went on to be a member of the two-time state champion boys’ tennis team at the high school, anchoring first singles for the team that won in 2013.

Another member of the adult tournament teams, Liz Roberts, is helping out with the girls team as assistant coach.

“We thought it would be a fun thing to do, and to do together,” Ms. Bramhall said of working with Mrs. Roberts. “It’s another way to be involved in a team, besides being a parent and besides being a player.”

“We have some wonderful depth on the team,” Ms. Bramhall added. In addition to the captains, senior Avery Hazell and sophomore Madison McBride return to the doubles court, and freshmen Kat Roberts (Liz’s daughter) and Lizzie Williamson bolster the ranks at the number two and three singles spots. Kat and Lizzie were members of the youth tennis center’s Future Stars team that Ms. Bramhall has worked with for the past six years.

The Vineyard has won all of its matches so far, including their opener against division one squad Barnstable, which had not lost an opening match in 10 years. There are 16 players on the full tennis squad, and although not all are starters, the emphasis is on what the entire group can take away from this season.

“I think they can learn a lot watching the older girls. And for the seniors, it’s a great opportunity to show up-and-comers sportsmanship and team solidarity,” Ms. Bramhall said.

“I loved it,” Ms. Bramhall said of high school sports. “I would say even more than college. They’re kind of one of the best things in life. Generally, you’ve grown up with these kids, everybody knows each other, the parents of the kids all know each other. Particularly in a place like the Vineyard, the whole community is behind you. You’re playing for a community, not just your school. It’s great.”