Bishop England tennis coach faces uncharted times

There’s a meme going around on social media featuring some worldly gentleman named Newton and boredom, the latter which is a byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The way the meme spins it, Sir Isaac invented calculus during the Great Plague.

 

“Do you have any idea of how bored you must be to invent calculus?” the meme asks.

 

Yes, indeed.

 

Some people are bored during these uncharted times as schools, businesses, churches and just about everything else have been shut down.

 

But boredom for Kristin Fleming Arnold? She doesn’t even have time to think about it. She’s a wife, mother of four, a high school tennis coach, and a small business owner.

 

She’s busy, but savors every second.

 

“The biggest thing I have learned is that time is precious,” said Fleming Arnold, who coaches both girls’ and boys’ tennis at Bishop England High School. “You have little control over things like this. But, we know we will get through it. It’s times like these that make us stronger as people, families and in business.”

 

Fleming Arnold played at BE during her high school days and was a state champion. She’s just as successful as a coach. The girls’ team has won nine consecutive state titles, while the boys’ team was seeking its third in a row until the High School League canceled spring sports shortly after the state ordered schools closed for the rest of the academic year.

 

Fleming Arnold’s coaching salary probably reflects her loyalty to BE. Her business bread and butter is East Coast AP Marketing, located off Clements Ferry Road. She’s the owner and operator.

 

“We are a certified women’s-owned marketing company that specializes in promotional products and embroidered apparel,” Fleming Arnold said of the company she created in 2009. “We work with schools, events, health care and various businesses around the Southeast. I have four employees and eight sales reps.”

 

With social distancing and working from home the norm, she relies on her website, eastcoastap.com, as an introduction for potential clients to see product offerings.

 

“Like everyone else, these days are very difficult on our families at adhering to social distancing and staying at home,” Fleming Arnold said. “In addition, being a small business owner, my business has been greatly impacted by the pandemic. I am working hard to keep my business afloat at the same time balancing staying at home to be with my family. I am looking forward to the time when our businesses can open their doors and resume normal business operations and schools are back in session and I can get my players back on the court.”

 

Fleming Arnold and her husband, Charlie, have four children — Jake, a freshman at the University of South Carolina; Sean, a senior at Wando High School; and 4-year-old twins, Kyleigh and Sawyer, who attend Christ Our King.

 

“The older boys understand what is going on with the virus and how we need to be cognizant of social distancing, washing hands,” she said. “It’s hard to explain to 4-year-olds the severity of the virus. They know that we need to be extra careful of germs, and germs are the reason that they are not in school. Like everyone, they just want to be around their friends and play.”

 

That’s something the Bishops boys’ tennis team won’t be able to do this year: play to defend their state championship.

 

“I am sad for the boys and the seniors who have worked so hard to position themselves to play this year,” she said. “I told the boys that we are in uncertain times and that we need to make sure we are taking care of our health and families health. It’s very hard to process that many kids are not going to have a senior year with activities like sports season, prom and graduation.”