March 28, 2018 at 1:26 p.m.
Spring break hampers attendance at tennis practice
Spring break hampers attendance at tennis practice
Only seven players were on hand for the opening practice - three fewer than the number required for a varsity team.
Coach Bob Heideman didn't seem overly concerned about the low numbers. In fact, he expected attendance to be down because the first week of practice coincides with spring break for the School District of Rhinelander. By the time classes resume next Tuesday, Heideman could have nearly three times as many athletes at practice, with 19 players registered, according to the RHS activities department.
This week, Heideman said his primary concern is focusing on the players who are at practice and devoting extra time to improving their games.
"I think the main thing is that we are providing an opportunity for the kids who are here to get better," he said. "Right now we've got seven kids who are able to take advantage of that opportunity. With only seven the nice thing is they all get more individual time but we can isolate individuals who have a given weakness and work on that."
Spring break's inopportune position on the calendar creates a time crunch, considering the Hodags are scheduled to host Lakeland in the Great Northern Conference opener next Thursday. However, Heideman said there are a couple of mitigating circumstances for the defending GNC championships.
"With eight varsity players coming back from last year, that helps," he said. "There's not that many pieces that we're looking to insert into the varsity lineup."
The other mitigating circumstance is that, for the time being, the Hodags are stuck inside. A few bare patches are beginning to show on the RHS tennis courts, but instead of trying to rush to get outside, Heideman said he prefers to let nature take its course.
"I'm am not a fan of shoveling," he said with a chuckle. "Mother Nature can do it on both ends - she can replace it much quicker than we can and she can take it away much quicker than we can. We just need some good weather. As soon as the courts are dry, we'll put up the nets."
Heideman hopes that will happen next Monday or Tuesday, about the same time he will have his full complement of players back from spring break.
As for the players in attendance, Heideman said the seven are a mix of returning varsity players and freshmen who are new to the game. He said that the rust in the games of the returning players in attendance was relatively low at Monday's first practices.
"I think we're hitting the ball OK, for the varsity guys," he said.
The Hodags have been running two, two-hour sessions each day this week. The benefit of spring break is that the team can get its work done during the day, practicing from 9 to 11 a.m. and returning after lunch for a session from 1 to 3 p.m.
"If there's a glaring weakness (in an individual's game) we want to spend enough time to where that's a bump better by the end of the week," Heideman said. "Then we just want to be 20 hours better. Twenty hours is two weeks (of) regular (practice). That's about the time we get outside. We should be hitting the ball OK by the end of the week that way."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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