Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9501060040
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIMI EUBANK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That, and how exciting it was to step onto the court to bow before the prince and princess of Japan, who were in the stands.
K.J., a 14-year-old ninth-grader at North Cross School in Roanoke, has been playing tennis since he was 5 years old.
``I saw my parents playing, so I picked up a racket,'' he said. Now K.J. is ranked No. 2 in the nation for boys 14 and under by the United States Tennis Association.
K.J. began playing in local tennis tournaments when he was 9. Since then, he has won many singles and doubles games not only in Roanoke, but in other parts of the state.
Plus, he has traveled to cities such as Miami, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas, to compete in national tournaments against kids from all over the country. In August, he was chosen to travel to Japan with a USTA coach and two other players in his age group to play kids from all over the world. It was his first international tournament.
Although he loves tennis, K.J. said it is sometimes hard to get on the court in front of big crowds and concentrate on playing the game. ``I used to be nervous ... but I didn't want to be nervous. So I tried stopping and it stopped.''
When K.J. plays tennis, he must work to stay focused on the match. But he also just wants to enjoy the game. ``Once I get on the court,'' he said, ``it's just a game.''
One might think that a player as talented as K.J. would spend most of his time playing tennis. Actually, he doesn't even play tennis at school; instead, he's playing junior varsity football and plans to play golf in the spring.
K.J. doesn't want to get tired of his favorite sport, which is why he isn't playing tennis at school. Even K.J.'s mom, Bonnie Hippensteel, encourages him be active in other sports.
But K.J. still practices tennis regularly. He practices two hours a day during the week before a tournament. It's a year-round game, which means that there is always an upcoming tournament to get ready for. K.J. hits with the Hunting Hills Country Club tennis pro, John Barker, several times a week to keep in practice. He plays with Barker more often if he has a tournament coming up.
``I may have a natural talent for tennis,'' K.J. said, ``but I still have to practice a lot.''
And Barker gets plenty of practice hitting with K.J. "He is a coach's dream," Barker said. "I won't be able to coach someone with this much talent for the rest of my career."
In addition to playing tennis in regional and national championships on his own and playing high school sports, K.J. makes straight A's in school.
``It can get a little hectic sometimes,'' he said, especially during tournament weeks. He stays up late once in awhile to get his homework done.
``When his grades start falling, that's when he knows'' he needs to pay more attention to his schoolwork,'' said K.J.'s mom.
K.J. says the secret to his success is that he sets goals for himself. In 1993, he worked to be undefeated in a tournament, which he accomplished in team competition in New York. There he won eight singles and doubles matches.
This year, his goal was to win a national championship. He did, in a USTA doubles match in San Antonio.
Even when K.J. doesn't win, he looks at each losing match as a learning experience. He recently played at a Mid-Atlantic Tennis Association tournament in Blacksburg. He advanced to the quarter-finals, but then lost to a player from the 16-and-under age group.
But K.J. said he wasn't discouraged. "It was a good match," because he did so well going against a player from a higher age group.
It's clear that K.J. is always thinking about the future. K.J.'s mom believes it's important for her son to set goals and think about the future. ``It's not so much about what you were yesterday or are today,'' she said. It's about ``working on what to be tomorrow.''
And what does K.J. want to do tomorrow? He wants to stay in school and continue to play tennis and other sports. He's thinking about studying to become a physician, and would like to go to college where he can play tennis as well. Some schools he has thought about are Duke University in North Carolina and Southern California University.
K.J.'s advice to other tennis players and to kids who participate in other activities is not to limit yourself to one thing.
``If you don't socialize and just focus on one thing," K.J. warns, ``you can burn out pretty fast.''
by CNB