Michael Lombardi '19 Recruiting Profile

    When I was a child, many  boys on Long Island watched and played sports. Boys in the area that I lived in played many  sports and were amazing at each and every one of them. This aspect of the society I lived in triggered my eagerness as a boy to try and be like everyone else by becoming involved in sports. Before I stepped onto a tennis court, I tried team sports just like all of the boys in my school played, including baseball, basketball, football and soccer. Unlike my peers, I did not feel passion in these kinds of sports. I felt embarrassed of my lacking knowledge of “sports talk” and my weak abilities to play team sports. But one day, a flier came in the mail promoting Tennis: a sport that was uncommon in my area. Since all of the other sports I tried did not suit me well, I told myself “It doesn’t hurt to try new things”, as I then signed up for a lesson. When I firstI walked onto that green, hard tennis court that was on the cover of the tennis flier and hit my very first forehand, passion sparked in my heart. “It’s the perfect sport! Can I play again next week?” I said happily to my family after that amazing lesson. From that day on, I trained every single week and was indifferent of what my peers had to say about me not playing a sport that everyone else played.

    As my passion for Tennis grew, I started to play more and more to the point that it was a necessity. Nowadays, I hop on the tennis court 3-4 times a week in order to improve my strokes, stamina, agility, mental toughness and matchplay. Unlike others who train at a single tennis facility, my decision to train at various different locations throughout my life benefitted my overall game. This decision led me to learn new aspects of tennis from different coaches, which created diversity in my game. Some of the different things I was taught throughout my career were directionals, how to reset my mind after points, how to hit and place different types of serves, the “deep to deep, short to short” strategy in doubles, serving and volleying, when to perform static and dynamic stretches before and after playing tennis, and knowledge about strings and caring for tennis equipment.

    My hard work and dedication to tennis was the reason for my success in tournaments and my spot on varsity as a freshman. Even though I was a young player at the time and just came off junior varsity, my high school tennis coach saw my passion for tennis on the first day of varsity tryouts. She then realized that I was a coachable player and  trained me not only the simple basics of tennis, but the fundamentals and mindset of a doubles player. When I first made the varsity team, I was new to doubles because I’ve trained as a singles player beforehand. Even though my singles training was useful, the varsity team was in need of a strong doubles section, which is how I grew accustomed towards doubles. This unexpectedly led to the creation of my passion for doubles, which led to my earning of all division doubles two years in a row, once as only a sophomore with a senior partner, and as a junior with a different partner on the team. My great doubles skills also led to my varsity spot on first doubles for two years in a row. My love for tennis not only led to these awards and my spot on first doubles, but also my placement as team captain and my earning of the coaches award as only a junior. Playing high school tennis not only made me a better athlete and team-player, but made me realize that anything is possible to achieve in life if you put dedication and heart into it.

    As well as being on the varsity tennis team, throughout my four years in high school, I’ve maintained a 93 overall average, took numerous honors courses, and I am also a skilled musician. I have been involved in music since the fourth grade by learning how to play the trumpet. I then stuck with music throughout middle school and high school and was involved in the school marching band, pit band, jazz band and symphonic band. I also became a member of the music honor society club because of the extracurricular music activities I attended and my high grade point average. Music helped me grow as a tennis player because it created rhythm in my game and calms my mind during complicated matches.

    I have many aspirations and goals I want to achieve. One tennis goal I have before I graduate high school is to become an All-State doubles player during my 2019 Tennis season. I know that if I continue to train hard and play tournaments, this goal can be achieved without a doubt. Another tennis goal I have is acquiring a singles spot for varsity in 2019. Even though I love doubles, I’ve played few singles matches throughout my school varsity career, and I want to accomplish this goal with a perfect singles record. Another aspiration I have is wanting the greatest academic opportunity for myself in college, but at the same time, an opportunity to continue playing this amazing sport. I cannot even imagine quitting tennis after high school because of the dedication and talent I have. I am willing to train my hardest, stay in the greatest shape, maintain my academics and be committed to a tennis team during my college career. Tennis teams need diverse players with different backgrounds, players who are willing to put mass amounts of effort in for their team, and players who have dedication for tennis in order for their team to thrive and be successful.