Young netters ready to build

­Inexperience is a popular preseason topic.

Most teams have it at some level. Almost all will start a young player or a varsity newcomer in at least one starting spot.

But few will have a younger roster than the Jay County High School boys tennis team.

The Patriots have two seniors - Jared Valentine and Tylor Smith - who each played a full varsity season for the first time last year. The remainder of the team is made up of one junior, 10 sophomores and three freshmen.

Valentine and Brad Leuthold are the only players locked into positions, at No. 1 and 2 singles respectively. Smith and a host of others will battle for the remaining spots in a lineup that may be different from match to match.

"We've got a lot of faces out there that haven't played any varsity," said JCHS coach Barry Weaver. "(The lineup is) probably going to change a lot. It's going to be a progression."

Valentine leads the team after going 8-11 at No. 1 doubles last season with teammate Adam Horn. This season he will face the challenge of playing the best player on every opposing team.

"It's going to be tough on him," said Weaver. "But at the same time, I think he's ready for that kind of challenge.

"He's got the most experience. He's been with us three years. ... His strokes are much improved. ... He has really worked at making himself both a better tennis player and an athlete overall. ... I've been real impressed."

Leuthold, a sophomore, can attribute work over the summer to making his jump to No. 2 singles. He has never played a varsity match.

"Brad is much improved," said Weaver. "He's got that attitude that he's not going to let any ball bounce twice. ... It's just kind of ingrained. He's going to get to it if at all possible. ...

"His shots may not be textbook, but they're fairly effective. ... I think as we go on he's just going to get better and better. ... He's come a long way since last year as a freshman."

Smith was in his first year with the team last season and won three matches with fellow newcomer Sam Miller, who was a senior. The only other returning players who have ever played a varsity match are Joe Imel, Chance Fuller and Jordan McBride - one apiece.

Those four will be in competition along with Tony Schwieterman, Seth Ainsworth, Austin Cowan, and possibly others, for the remaining five varsity spots.

"The problem that we have, and it's a good problem to have, is that we have probably ... 11 guys who can play in the varsity spots," said Weaver. "That's good for the competition in practice."

He said that they will have intra-squad matches to help decide the varsity lineup, but those results will not be the only determining factor.

"Part of it is going to be what they do in practice - how much they hustle, how hard they work," Weaver noted. "If they're spending a little extra time and ... and doing the things that go beyond. That goes a long way towards telling a coach, 'I really want to do this.'"

The Patriots got off to a slow start last season, losing three of their first four matches. But they bounced back to win nine of their next 11 before falling to Mississnewa in the tournament to end a run of three straight sectional titles.

"I think our kids are learning at a rate where hopefully we can be competitive," said Weaver, pointing to a .500 season as a good goal for his young squad. "The main thing as far as I'm concerned is improvement each match we go out there, and playing our best tennis at sectional."[[In-content Ad]]