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Nick Schreiber plays out of the Philadelphia Cricket
Club; now he is ready for the elite
by Jeffrey Puhan
Since Nick Schreiber was little, he has dreamed of playing
tennis at the highest level. Well, his dreams are coming true. Over Thanksgiving
Nick traveled to Florida to compete in The Eddie Herr International Tennis
Tournament.
The prestigious Eddie Herr has served as a springboard to the pro tour
for such names as Steffi Graff, Marcelo Rios, Anna Kournakova, Maria Sharapova
and Andy Roddick, to name a few. Founded in 1987 by the man known as the
“grandfather” of international Junior tennis, the tournament
attracts top junior prospects from all over the world. This year, 1,600
juniors from 90 different countries came to IMG (Bollettierri’s)
Academies in Bradenton, Florida to compete for the title. It is the first
stop on the winter ITF circuit.
When we arrived in Florida on Thanksgiving Day, I knew this was going
to be an eye-opener for Nick. He has dreamed of this day but has never
played or competed in this type of environment. We decide to go to Bollettierri’s
to practice. It was important for Nick to get acclimated to the scene
— and what a scene it is. Nick’s head and eyes are everywhere,
and I knew this was his biggest challenge. Can he concentrate on what
his job is and not worry about who is playing next to you or walking around
the grounds? That’s hard for a 12-year-old, especially with the
likes of Tommy Haas, Maria Sharapova, Taylor Dent and Xavier Malisse walking
around. Fortunately, Nick had a great support system with him, me and
two players who he looks up to, both coached by me. Jarrett Chirico (former
#17 in the world) and his brother Chris Chirico (#47 in the world) both
played this tournament as juniors. They now live in Bradenton, so we are
staying and having Thanksgiving dinner with their family. We have two
great days of practice and know we are ready for Nick’s first match.
We look at the draw and see he is playing a boy from the Netherlands.
In the boy’s 12s, seven of the top 10 boys in the country are in
the draw of 128. We don’t know what to expect, but I know if Nick
plays his game, he can compete with anyone.
Nick started the match by dropping the first two games and then went
on to take control and win the match 6-2, 6-2. Now he knows he belongs
with the elite. All of his hard work is starting to pay off.
In the second round, Nick is playing a boy from Great Britain who trains
at Bollettierri’s. What a hard-fought match. The first set alone
took 1-1/2 hours, as he lost the match 5-7, 5-7. Nick played some of his
best tennis and had plenty of chances, but came up short. He teamed up
with a boy from France in the boys’ doubles and teamed up with a
girl from Michigan in the mixed doubles. Rain forced a cancellation of
the mixed doubles.
It was a great learning experience and winning one match was a huge accomplishment
at this level.
I know Nick has his sights on not only winning this event one day, but
being the #1 junior in the world.
Nick is now preparing for the Winter Nationals in Tuscon, Ariz. over
the Christmas break.
Jeffrey Puhan is the head tennis professional at the Philadelphia Cricket
Club.
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