Brown helps students find success

By NANCY MORGAN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 24, 2001

Jimmy Brown grew up playing tennis and spent 11 years competing at the professional level.

But since 1992, Brown has been concentrating on training others to do the same.

Growing up in Tennessee, Brown played a variety of sports until he suffered a kidney injury at the age of 9 and had to avoid contact sports.

Along came tennis.

What followed was a No. 1 national ranking in the 16-and-under and 18-and-under divisions, a wild-card entry into the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old and a move to Florida to train under renowned coach Harry Hopman in Pinellas County.

For the last 20 years, Brown has either been the trainee or the trainer for the Hopman Academy, now based at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

"When I stopped playing the tour, I had been among the top 100 on the ATP nine of my 11 years," Brown, 36, said. "My highest ranking was No. 42 in 1983.

"Starting at Saddlebrook, I trained Jennifer Capriati five years and traveled on tour with her one year. And, since she's come back, I am working with her again, although her dad travels with her now."

Brown credits maturity in the mental game for much of Capriati's success, as well as her new-born fitness level. Capriati has always had the talent, Brown said, and now that she has eliminated a lot of her distractions, success is returning.

Teaching privately and in daily camps, Brown focuses on technique and footwork. Promising juniors such as Ashley Harkleroad, Sukhwa Young and Marc Spicijaric are among the many that benefit from Brown's training.

Harkleroad recently won her first Grand Slam championship in the Wimbledon girls doubles and reached the round of 16 in singles. Young, the reigning Easter Bowl 16 champion, just returned from Maryland where he picked up a singles and doubles gold ball for national championships. Spicijaric, in his first Easter Bowl appearance this spring, won the 14 doubles title with Timothy Neilly.

"I really work with all levels, from the beginning to the professional," Brown said. "I do, however, try not to get over-involved in our own son's tennis."

Brown, who was the oldest of three brothers who are all tennis players, and his wife, Lisa, have four boys. Tyler, 10, and Tanner, 8, have begun playing state-sanctioned tournaments while Tucker, 7, is starting to play. Turner, 5, is waiting on the sidelines. "I've certainly seen enough situations with parents getting too involved," Brown said, "and I have no plans to be like that. We've started out slowly."

Brown describes himself as a tough coach who tends to push his players to reach their potential.

His own experience has taught him what it takes to be successful. Now, he wants to pass that on to his students.

ADULT LEAGUE: In last weekend's rain-interrupted USA League Adult West Regional Championships at Longboat Key, three area teams earned trips to the state tournament at Altamonte Springs on Aug. 10-12.

Winners there advance to national championships in the fall.

Local winners were East Lake Woodlands in the women's 3.0 and the men's 4.5 along with the 5.0 team from Safety Harbor Spa.

Tampa-based teams won the women's 2.5 and the men's 4.0 titles, Naples the women's 4.0 and men's 3.0, Sarasota the women's 3.5 and 4.5, and Fort Myers the men's 3.5.

JUNIORS AT CLAY COURTS: As many of the area's top juniors return from the USTA National Clay Court Championships last weekend, Sukhwa Young is returning with some extra baggage.

Young brought home two gold balls for the 16-and-under singles and doubles championships and was named the sportsmanship winner of the tournament.

Young, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 1 James Wan of New York 6-3, 6-3 in the final and teamed with John Eisner of North Carolina to finish first in the 96-team doubles event.

Ryler DeHeart reached the boys 18-and-under quarterfinals, Stacia Fonseca the girls 16-and-under round of 32, Evan Dufaux the boys 14-and-under round of 32, Marc Spicijaric the boys 14-and-under round of 64 and the consolation quarterfinal round. Dufaux and Billy Mulligan, of Miami, were doubles finalists while Spicijaric and Timothy Smyczek, of Wisconsin, reached the quarterfinals.

ZONE TEAM: Becky Gordon and Miranda Gutierrez will join 13 other girls and 15 boys in representing Florida in the USTA Zone Team Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., July 28-Aug. 2.

Florida will compete against USTA sections Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southern in round-robin team singles, doubles and mixed doubles formats.

HARD COURT NATIONALS: Next month, Sukhwa Young, Yuichi Uda and Konstantin Lazarov will compete in a 192-player, 18-and-under singles draw at the USTA Super National Hard Court Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Evangelina Soriano, Alexandria Liles and Kelly Nelson are among the 192 competitors in the girls 18-and-under division in San Jose, Calif., Aug. 5-12.

MATUSZEWSKI HONORED: Clemson University recently released its selected group of athletes to be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame this year. Among the nine former Tigers is area teaching professional Richard Matuszewski.

The four-time All-American is second on Clemson's career list for most singles victories with 166 and fourth for doubles wins with 125. Matuszewski won three Atlantic Coast Conference flight titles while at Clemson.

The induction ceremony into the 38-year-old Hall of Fame will take place Sept. 14 and the inductees will be recognized during the Clemson-Duke football game.

LEAGUE PLAY: Interested league players should contact Veterans Park in Hudson at (727) 861-3033 and the Holiday Recreation Center at (727) 934-4198 for upcoming singles, doubles and mixed doubles scheduled league play.

The Zephyrhills Tennis Association also offers organized play on the McCannon Courts at Zephyr Park. Call Barry Herscovitch at (352) 518-9184 for details.

COMING UP: The Summer Classic Too is hosted by the Phil Green Tennis Academy this weekend at Safety Harbor Spa. Singles and doubles for juniors 18-and-under is planned. Call Green at (727) 724-7729 for information.

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