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Highlands Today

Devils Building With Youth

BRIAN GJURGEVICH, Highlands Today

Avon Park junior Ray Arango works on his serves on Thursday during Red Devil tennis practice at SFCC.

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By MARK PINSON Highlands Today

Published: February 17, 2009

AVON PARK - With only two returners back from last year's team, Avon Park boys tennis coach Lucky Dixon is busy teaching his young squad the fundamentals of the game.

"The two boys I have back from last year didn't see a lot of action," said Dixon. "The rest of the squad is very young and I'm starting with the very basics of the sport and going from there.

"The guys are working on every aspect of the game and I'm enjoying teaching them because they listen and are very coachable."

Leading the way for the Red Devils is junior Mike Hill, who gained some valuable experience last year.

"Mike does a good job of thinking when he's on the court," said Dixon. "He moves the ball around pretty well and does a good job of covering the court.

"He needs to work on a variety of shots and he just needs some match experience under his belt."

Junior Ray Arango also saw limited action last year, but is being counted on to contribute in a major way this season.

"Ray has an automatic advantage because he's left-handed," said Dixon. "Left-handers are hard to play against because there aren't that many of them around.

"He worked hard to improve his game in the offseason and he just came off the wrestling team, so he is just starting to get his hand and eye coordination back."

Sophomore Norell Jahna is new to the team, but has the desire to learn the sport.

"Norell is very competitive and wants to get better," said the Red Devil coach. "He hasn't played much, but I'd rather have someone that hasn't played because they don't have any bad habits to break.

"I wish I could have had him last year, because he'd be much farther along."

Freshman Kyle Jahna is another new player for the Red Devils this season.

"Kyle is tall and lanky and can cover the court well," said Dixon. "He soaks up what I'm telling him, is very coachable and is always practicing and working on his own."

Freshman Todd Memphis hasn't played much tennis, but has a great deal of potential.

"Todd thinks well on the court," said the AP coach. "He is very competitive and is always working on some aspect of his game."

Freshman Tanner Lee is learning the demanding sport from the ground up and has proven to be a quick learner.

Freshman Mitchell Guerndt, who is an outstanding swimmer, brings a great deal of athleticism to the court.

"Mitchell has played some tennis in the past and he has some skills that he doesn't quite know how to manage just yet," said Dixon. "He's very coachable and once he gets some match experience, he's going to be a good one."

Sophomore Robert Brown is new to the sport, but brings great speed to the court.

With so much youth dominating this year's squad, Dixon knows that the future looks promising for the Red Devils.

"We are young and lacking experience so we'll probably take our lumps this year," said Dixon. "But with the talent we have and as hard as these kids work, it won't be long before we have a real strong team.

"They want to play and they want to lean and that's all a coach can ask for."

The courts at Avon Park High School are being resurfaced and Dixon is looking forward to being able to host matches at the school.

"It's going to be so nice to be able to play here at the school," said the Red Devil coach. "We can get some support during the matches and maybe some kids will come out for the sport because they get interested watching us play.

"It's so much better because this way the kids don't have to drive to the college or the city courts for our home matches."

Avon Park opens the season next Monday when the Red Devils host DeSoto at South Florida Community College at 4 p.m.

"The kids are excited and we're looking forward to our first match," said Dixon.

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

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