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For top players, tennis is year-round commitment
(by Steve Novak - May 13, 2009)
For top players, tennis is year-round commitment
By STEVE NOVAK
If one looks at the schedule of regular-season matches this spring for boys' high school tennis, it seems as if it begins in April and doesn't even run through all of May.
Things aren't always as they seem. This is a good example. The current quality of tennis talent in some area schools is often the product of year-round practice, games, tournaments and private drills.
Within the past couple of decades, scholastic tennis has evolved from a game played outdoors in good weather, into a game played anywhere in all weather.
Bruce Thomas, the boys' tennis coach at Orange High School, likes to tell a story about when he coached tennis at another high school more than 10 years ago. He said it happened in the years before many of the off-season advantages were available for teenage tennis players.
"Before the tennis season began, I remember going up to the high school basketball coach. I told him, 'I need one kid to play doubles for me. He has to have good hand-eye coordination and be good with his feet. Can you help me out?'" Thomas recalled. "So we picked out this one tall, skinny kid. I taught him how to play for our doubles team. He became a very fine high school player. I doubt if I could do that today -- with the level of competition there is now."
Both Sam Ubersax and Zak Deutch are members of this year's Orange tennis team. Both of them said that they have taken part in off-season programs for several years.
Deutch, a senior, has participated in tournaments, and he still takes private lessons. Ubersax, a sophomore, is the first singles player for the team this year. He said he has been playing tennis since he was "about 5 or 6 years old. And I won my first tournament when I was about 10."
Ubersax said that during the off-season, he takes part in many of the weekly U.S. Tennis Association tournaments. Many of the tournaments are held in the Greater Cleveland area and are open to all high school players.
Three months ago, Ubersax qualified for the USTA Midwest Regionals in Kalamazoo, Mich. He made it to the final round of 16 before being eliminated.
"I play almost every day," Ubersax said. "I'll do tournaments, or just drill. I just play as much as I can."
In the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division II rankings, University School was ranked third in the state. The Preppers were 7-3 after 10 matches heading into sectional competition this week. One of the losses was to Division I powerhouse Shaker Heights, which was fifth in the state in Division I.
Preppers' head coach Greg Aten said his team is well aware of the off-season work that's now required.
"It's important. We have 15 players on the team, and all of our guys do it in the off-season," he said. "They're playing five or six days a week.
Seth Udelson and Nick Smedira are two members of the University team who don't have to wait for the off-season if they want to get in some extra tennis play. Both of them are employed as part-time instructors at local indoor tennis clubs.
Udelson, who was a state qualifier last year, said it doesn't matter what type of lesson he gives, because it still gives him extra time to work on his own game at the same time.
"If some 80-year-old guy wants me to hit backhands at him for an hour, I'll do it," Udelson said. "You have to just get out and play."
Another member of the University School team is Ayush Kedia, a junior. He said he tries to make good use of each day of his three-month break from high school.
"As soon as school is out, I'm playing all summer long," he said. "It's incredibly important to keep your body in shape all season. Every single time you go on the court, you want to be prepared mentally and physically."
Kenston boys' tennis coach Dale Israelson said when he began coaching in the 1980s, off-season tournament play for teenagers "was just beginning."
"Tournament play in the off-season, along with conditioning, is a must," he said. "One of our players, Nolan Marks has gone all over the United States already with tournaments."
Last June at Solon, five seniors graduated from the 2008 tennis team that won the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division championship. But four sophomores of who lettered have stepped in to fill many of those losses.
Solon Coach Nancy Benincasa said her players also chose the tournament route in the off-season, and she said the example filters down to younger players.
"We have a good seventh- and eighth-grade program. Those kids see the breadth of the (off-season) work that's out there for them, by looking at the older players on our team," she said.
Arun Jetli, is the coach of both the boys' and girls' teams at Hawken. He also has his own tennis academy. In 25 years as a tennis instructor, his graduates include 17 Division I college team captains, nine players who won high school titles, along with four players who made the professional tour, he said. Jetli said the skill level of good high school teams requires a 12-month commitment.
"It's not just important. It's essential," he said. "There's not a single one of my players who isn't a year-round player. It is such a skilled sport that you have to play the year-around to keep up your skills."
Chagrin Falls boys' tennis coach Yousef Hamid also echoed the sentiments of his cohorts, saying that there is nothing uncommon with good high school players still taking private lessons.
"There are very good coaches in this area," he said. "Some players might even get multiple private lessons. You have to get as much experience as you can."
Aten said the size and conditioning of tennis players also has gone through a dramatic change in the past few decades.
"It's a different game than it was in the 1980's when I played," he said. "The kids are bigger and stronger now, because of the emphasis on training."
He also said that tournaments are even offered now for players in the early grades of elementary school.
"Now there are kids playing in tournaments earlier," he said. "You have little kids playing with Nerf balls with a 23-inch net, and things like that."
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