Archive: Sports

First, we must give thanks to the many parents who showed supreme support throughout the season not only through their attendance but in so many other ways that live behind the scenes. A special mention must go out to Ryan and Sha for their efforts and access to their tyrannical stringing machine. I must also thank Karen and Peter Parkes for their efforts and a special shout out to Richard Warkentin who helped behind the scenes. Lastly here thanks to Diane and Richard Hughes whose well placed concerns towards their talented son gave me motivation and moved his game forwards in ways he may not understand at this moment.

In addition to the parents we must thank Tina Mallinson for her due diligence in handling all the scheduling complications.

Last on this list of thanks is a man I've come to consider not only as an ally in Athletics but as a friend. Our goals this year were lofty and to accomplish these things we needed to go beyond our usual playing and travel schedule which would require the nod from an AD with a vision and desire for this. We are lucky to have such a man here in Adam Heck who made much of this season not only possible but easier in too many ways to describe here. Thank you Adam.

The 2012 season for the Lansing tennis team was unprecedented in it's level of success starting with the conference record and conference tournament. We moved through the conference season undefeated for the second season in a row extending our league winning streak to 25 matches over a three year period. Moreover no player on the team lost a single match this season or even a single set during conference play. 2012 marked the third consecutive regular season crown for the Bobcats and the team continued it's success in the IAC tournament. The Bobcat tennis team not only won the IAC tournament for the third consecutive time but dominated the tournament with a perfect score of 70 points. At every flight the Lansing tennis team took first place with all players sailing through the tournament without dropping a set.

As impressive as some of those achievements may have been perhaps the most important aspect of this season was what happened out of conference. For the first time in school history the Lansing tennis team took the challenge to play Class A teams in the region in order to prepare for post-season play. We gained impressive wins over Class A tennis powerhouses Baldwinsville and EFA completing the season with a school record 13 wins.

With the end of the regular season Sectionals neared and the hopes were high for the Bobcats to surpass last year's shared Sectional championship. With 20 teams competing we hoped to place our all six of our players into the Sectional finals and ultimately placed four. With the combined performance of all six of those players the 2012 Lansing tennis team was able to capture Sectionals title on it's own, edging out Seton Catholic for the crown.

While all of these achievements made for a stellar year what impressed most on the year was the number of comments I received from parents and coaches all around Syracuse, Elmira and elsewhere on how well the players carried themselves and how professional they appeared in their warm-ups and match play. It would often start with, "Where is Lansing?", and would usually end with a request to play us again next year. So as the year ends let us hope that we have not only established our reputation for this year but through initiating community development programs and continued player commitment we can let them know where we are and who we are

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People like to talk about talented athletes and this leads us to wrong impressions of what is necessary to become an elite athlete. Talent can not take the place of persistence. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men/women with talent.

Success for the elite athlete rests on the capacity to suffer, even to enjoy suffering to an extent. Success for the elite athlete depends on his/her capacity to endure. You must endure and put up with whatever comes your way, learn to overcome weakness and pain, push yourself to the breaking point but never cave in. Ultimately when you get to this point, when the body rebels and the pain seems too great to compete you've got two roads to choose from; tell yourself you've had enough and leave or be prepared to suffer and keep going.

The choice is between enduring and giving up. This means learning to accept that if you have to train two hours you train two hours, if you have to train five hours you train five, if you have to repeat an exercise 20,000 times you do it. That's what separates the champions from the merely talented. And it's all directly related to the winner's mentality, at the same time as you are demonstrating endurance your head becomes stronger.

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AWARDS:

Paige Kieper- Congratulations on completing the varsity season and hats off to Paige for support and persistence. She has much more tennis in her for years to come.

Emily Schweitzer- Emily gained confidence and a showed a competitive fire that will grow over the years. I suspect you will see her on the tennis court for the rest of her Lansing days.

Julia Barrett- Huge improvement from Julia from her phone call asking if she could still come out for the team. She'll be back in two years after Australia.

Ben Calhoun- Started his first varsity matches this year going 3-1 in doubles play. The Calhoun overhead will rule next year.

Paige Nichols- I've known Paige in my three years here and all that time Paige has been one of our most focused and attentive players in every moment of practice and is always supporting her teammates. This year Paige started in her first two varsity matches and went 2-0. Best of luck in your next life at NYU.

Josh McGiff- Josh went 13-2 this season undefeated in conference play and #3 doubles titlist in the IAC's

Spencer Warkentin- 12-2 this season, undefeated in conference play and #3 doubles titlist in IAC's

Luke Mehringer- 15-2 this season, undefeated in conference play and #2 doubles titlist in the IAC's

Thomas Bong- 13-3 on the season, undefeated in conference play and #2 doubles titlist IAC's

Andrew Bertonica- 16-3 on the season, undefeated in conference play and #1 doubles champion in IAC's- Selected for Sectionals won first round

Louis Barrette- 15-4 on the season, undefeated in conference play, and #1 doubles champion in IAC's- Selected for Sectionals and won first round

Jonathan Sun- 19-5 on the season, undefeated in conference play- IAC champion at #4 singles- Sectional C/D Finalist and third place in doubles at Sectional Playoff

Nick Zarate- 20-4 on the season, undefeated in conference play- IAC champion at #3 singles- Sectional C/D Finalist and third place in doubles at Sectional Playoff

Andy Parkes- 24-2 on the season, did not lose a single game in conference play- IAC champion at #2 singles- First place in singles at Sectionals- No Lansing player has ever made it to States in tennis. Andy Parkes at State Qualifiers came one match from being the first. A promising future IF?.....

Keenan Hughes- 20-5 on the season, undefeated in conference play at #1 singles- IAC champion at #1 singles- Second Place in singles at Sectionals and moved on to State Qualifier for second straight year.

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SPECIAL AWARDS:

Most Improved Player- Spencer Warkentin

A friend said that watching him play from week to week was like watching fast forward photography. Another friend who had seen him play early in the year commented upon seeing him at the end of the year that he seemed like an alien growth that was everywhere all at once. Keep playing Spencer, see you at Sectionals next year.

Most Important Player- Thomas Bong

This award is one I have chosen to give on my own as this individual must be recognized for all that he has meant to the team and to myself as coach. It's difficult to quantify his impact on us all and difficult to describe his influence on the atmosphere of the team. It is the things that are unspoken a certain strength within that he gave to us all. Without a doubt he was the strongest voice on the team that no matter his personal circumstance he always gave unconditional support to his teammates. You are The Man Thomas- Most Important Player Lansing Tennis 2012- THOMAS BONG!

Most Valuable Player-Keenan Hughes

This was easy to choose this year, not just for his contributions to team wins but more for how he has completely raised the bar for the level of practice and the level of play in the Lansing tennis program. I have known this young man for three years and have had many individual, group and team practice sessions with him and I can't think of a single time where he didn't give it his all no matter how he felt. Last year when he lost a 3 hour heartbreaking match that would have allowed him a chance at States he asked ten minutes later if we were going to hit the next day. This year when he lost a two and a half hour slugfest at State Qualifiers that could've started his road to States he did not pout or feel sorry for himself, instead he asked the next day if we were going to train, this at a moment when his high school tennis career had ended. This showed a deep resolve that belies his sometimes indifferent demeanor and is why he has proven to be the most essential player for us this year. He will move forward to play tennis beyond high school, my hat's off to you Keenan for all the work you have put in. MVP Lansing Tennis 2012- Keenan Hughes

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