The Press-Dispatch

August 15, 2018

The Press-Dispatch

Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1014770

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 38 of 38

D-12 Fall Sports Preview Wednesday, August 15, 2018 The Press-Dispatch Where Experience, Quality and Personal Attention Create Exceptional Smiles! Let Our Team Serve Your Dental Needs... • Modern, State-of-the-Art Technology • Highly Trained, Experienced Staff • Dental Implant Surgery & Restoration • CEREC Single Appointment Crowns • Low-Radiation Digital Radiographs • Laser Dentistry • Offering All Cosmetic and General Dentistry Services Dr. Haviland Ayers DMD Doctor of Dental Medicine Dr. Kenneth R. Troutman DDS, FAGD Doctor of Dental Surgery 202 E. 17th Street, Huntingburg, IN 812-683-2006 Visit Our Website www.troutmanfamilydentistry.com Pictured above is the 2018-19 Pike Central High School boys' tennis team. They are, left to right: Head Coach Brent Beck, Dalton Williams, Kyle Williams, Quinton Sorgius, Ethan Huck and Manager Kirsten Jansen. Ed Cahill photo BOYS' TENNIS Charger netters remain positive despite low numbers By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Entering his 20th season as head coach of the Pike Central High School boys' tennis team, Brent Beck may have thought that he'd seen everything. If so, he was wrong. Because the Chargers will be- gin the season with only four play- ers – senior Kyle Williams, juniors Quinton Sorgius and Dalton Wil- liams and sophomore Ethan Huck – they will be forced to automati- cally forfeit two out of five match- es every time they take the court. "We are actively recruiting," Beck said. "We're looking for ath- letes, whether it's baseball players, basketball players, kids that aren't playing a fall sport, whether they have any experience or don't have any experience. They're more than welcome to come out." The Chargers lost two of last season's eight-player team to grad- uation – Jackson Keepes, who was 5 -13 at No. 1 singles; and Carlos Stewart, who was 5 -12 at No. 1 sin- gles and 1-0 at No. 3 singles. Two additional players – rising seniors Andrew Claridge and Co- lin Craig, who teamed up to go 9 - 9 at No. 2 doubles – did not return, leaving Beck three players short of being able to field a full line-up for the first time during his coach- ing career. "It's just unfortunate," said Beck, who is 178 -151 with five sec- tional titles. "I didn't see this com- ing. I expected for some of those kids to be here, and then they just don't show up." "So I guess we've got to take the (Pittsburgh Steelers) Coach (Mike) Tomlin approach," Beck continued. "We'll dress the play- ers that we have." Unless the Chargers are able to add any more players this sea- son, they will have to sweep every match they play in order to pick up a team win. "We can't really say, 'You've got to win, you've got to win,'" Beck said. "Our practices are still the same, as far as the techniques and what we need to accomplish. You can't really change anything. You've just got to go out and per- form to your best and what hap- pens, happens." "We're still having fun," Beck added. "It's still enjoyable. The kids are getting a lot of reps, so they're definitely getting my atten- tion. And the kids that we've got, they're doing well. They should be able to hold their own against who- ever they compete against." Beck said that Huck, who was 3- 8 at No. 3 singles last season, and Dalton Williams, who was 1-5 at No. 3 singles and 1-0 at No. 1 dou- bles last season, will compete for the No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles spots this season. "They kind of flip-flopped at 3 singles last year," Beck said. "They challenged each other and they kind of went back and forth. Right now, Ethan Huck, he's prob- ably our No. 1 singles player. He's a sophomore. Very athletic. Very good footwork. Not really someone who pounds the ball a lot, but can track a lot of stuff down. That's def- initely his strength." "Dalton's pretty athletic, too," Beck continued. "Actually, Dal- ton, not only does he play tennis, but he also wrestles. So he does like to compete. His competitive- ness definitely helps him out. He likes to fight." Sorgius and Kyle Williams will again team up at No. 1 doubles af- ter going 5 -12 last season, includ- ing 4-4 against Pocket Athletic Conference foes. "Really, I think they're going to be a tough out," Beck said. "I think they should be a tough out conference-wise. I think there's definitely an opportunity to have some success in the conference." "Kyle likes to hit the ball hard. He likes to put pace on the ball. He's had a really good summer," Beck continued. "Quinton is a lefty, and that's always a benefit, too, if you can actually play some tennis and be a lefty, with that serve." Beck said that he usually teams up with either Huck or senior stu- dent manager Kirsten Jansen – who has played at No. 1 doubles for the girls' tennis team the last two years – to play Sorgius and Kyle Williams during practice. "They've had the upper hand most of the time against anybody that's been thrown at them," Beck said. "So I think, defi- nitely, our No. 1 doubles team right now will be our strongest suit, and should be a tough out, this fall." Beck admitted, how- ever, that this year will be a challenge with on- ly having four players. "We can't say, well, we want to compete for a PAC championship," Beck said. "It's going to be tough to compete for a PAC championship with four kids." "But getting some kids on the All-PAC team is definitely in reach, depending on what kind of season that our 1 (singles) player has," Beck added. "I'd say we'd have an opportunity if Kyle and Quinton play well at 1 doubles to be all-con- ference. Just the way they've been playing this summer, I think it's definitely a possibility. So you've got to kind of maybe diversify your goals a little bit, make more indi- vidual goals a priority." Beck said that he is hoping that the middle school boys' tennis pro- gram under the tutelage of Phil Knust will continue to attract and develop more players, despite it – along with middle school boys' and girls' soccer, baseball and softball –having been dropped as a school- sponsored sport a few years ago. (Middle school girls' tennis, which had also been dropped as a school-sponsored sport, was rein- stated this past spring.) "Phil has been coaching it re- gardless whether it's sponsored or not sponsored," Beck said. "Last year, it was primarily a lot of fourth and fifth graders, so this year we're probably talking a lot of fifth and sixth graders, and may- be a seventh or eighth grader, pos- sibly." However, Beck said that the lack of a school-sponsored middle school program was not the only reason for the paucity of numbers on the high school level. "It certainly didn't do us any fa- vors; that's obvious," Beck said. "But the numbers just across the board in southern Indiana have not been particularly strong. A couple of years ago, when we had 10 kids, we had more kids than most." "Soccer is a big draw for a lot of kids," Beck added. "That's kind of pulled our potential athletes away, and that's kind of the same con- cern or problem that other local coaches have had. But that's just kind of the way it is. You can't cry over spilled milk." However, Beck remains optimis- tic about how the Chargers will perform this season. "I'm happy with the kids that I've got, and I've told them that," Beck said. "Whether I have 14 kids or four kids, you've got to work with what you've got, and that's what we're doing." "It's not been a depressing sum- mer," Beck added. "I mean, it's disappointing that we don't have more kids, but the kids that I've got, they show up, they're on time, they work at it, they're here. If they can't make it, they let me know they can't make it. So, I mean, the kids that we've got, they're doing their best. That's all you can ask for as a coach." We can't really say, 'You've got to win, you've got to win Our practices are still the same, as far as the tech- niques and what we need to accomplish. You can't really change anything. You've just got to go out and perform to your best and what happens, happens." -Coach Brent Beck

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Press-Dispatch - August 15, 2018