Tennis IQ not issue for Tribe

In reference to the sport of tennis and its mental and physical approaches to playing the game, there's an old adage that states, "Tennis is 90 percent mental and 10 percent mental." The joke refers to just how tennis players' psychological stamina affects their success rate.

Of course, the physical part of the game matters and is important to a player's approach and mastering of the sport. However, a successful tennis player needs to utilize their brain in order to pull out a win on the court.

With that being the case, Lehighton head coach Dave Sherry has two more-than-capable student-athletes manning the positions of his No. 1 and No. 2 singles players in James Sverchek and Nick Mantz. Not only do the two bring plenty of singles experience to the court, but their intelligence exceeds that of many other students. Mantz and Sverchek are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in their senior class (out of 180 students) respectively, showing their intellectual value.

Mantz is going to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland this summer, while Sverchek will continue on to the University of Utah, another highly respected Division I school.

"They're both very intelligent kids and that shows each and every day," Sherry said. "That is very evident on the court both in practices and in matches. I can see that the two of them are constantly thinking out there and actually, sometimes they think too much."

As any tennis player knows, the fundamentals are paramount in developing into a great competitor. However, they also will admit the importance of thinking out on the court and its necessity to exist, in order to manage a win against competition at any level.

"Once the player learns how to hit which I think takes about two to three years to do that ends up being about half the battle of becoming a good player," Sherry reiterated. "Then, they start thinking about strategy, placement, and when to hit certain shots and when not to. There's a lot of thinking involved."

According to the afore mentioned players, the mental approach to the sport is needed in order to compete on the scholastic level.

"That's a big part of the game," Sverchek related. "When you play matches, there are different styles of play and you have to decide when to play those different styles. You always have to take that into account on the court. Also, after hitting a bad shot, a large part of being a good player is if after you make mistakes, learning how to adjust and recover from those bad parts of the game."

Mantz added, "If I'm playing and I don't think on the court, I tend to be aggressive and just hit the ball without thinking. That's when I make more mistakes. But when I do think, that's when I realize when and where to hit certain shots."

There is a time and place to utilize the brain on the court and Mantz recognized this. "Some things, like getting into position to hit a shot, are just instinctual and you're just reacting. Or, on a serve, where you have more time, you have more time and can think about where to place it or what kind of serve to hit," he added.

When it comes to their strategies, Sverchek started, "When playing against a kind of player that is more passive or tentative, it helps to be more attacking and aggressive. That kind of decision needs to be made on the court, during a match. Also, conversely, if you're playing against an aggressive player, it might help to mix up your shot selection a little more, with some slices, some topspin shots, and so on to keep the opponent guessing and off-balance."

This season, the two will be teaming up to play doubles together and Mantz passed along the intellectual approaches to the doubles game.

"There's definitely a lot of strategy involved in the game of doubles and we always have to be thinking out there on the court together," Mantz stated. "For example, I know I have a better backhand and James has a better forehand, so we know which court we will play on. Also, there are the decisions of when to attack, when to poach, when to move back together, when to switch, or when to lob."

With the personnel Sherry has available to him this season, he doesn't necessarily need to fret too much when it comes to his top players and their complete need for coaching.

With the amount of know-how in Mantz and Sverchek, look for that to translate into wins for the duo this season.