At IVC, a player of mine ran to me saying, “There’s a player waiting for you, to meet you – he’s demanding your presence, now!” He was on the far side of the court with racquet and balls ready – one of my players handed me a racquet. When he hit the first ball, our rally went five minutes at least without missing. Balls that traveled at a pro pace. He stopped the rally and went to the net. Again, he did not miss with the ball traveling at pro pace. He stopped the ball and told a player behind him – I pass. He was about 40 years old, 100 pounds overweight, but could still move better than any of my players, and he went through my players one by one on drills. I knew right away this player was an ex-touring pro, Dave Trebesky.
I was assistant coach to Mike McCormick. He asked me if IVC could win, and I told him – no. Yes, if one pursued the long-term road. How many years? I said at least 20. What! If you take 20 years/20 #1 players, half will leave the valley. Of the other half, 5 would just no longer play. That leaves 5 advanced players that would be needed to practice with any recruits IVC brings in.
This year a son of a player of mine 20 years ago showed up. I needed him to complete our team. I told him how good his father was – how his dad played with a pro when he was here. I could see his look of disbelief. I quickly asked my 2 assistant coaches to look up Dave Trebesky. His highest ranking – #50 in the world. What was he doing here at IVC playing for me. Another story, another time. Xavier played for us this year. He qualified for State Southern CA. He’s the most powerful tennis player in the world. If you want to win your league in Southern California, a coach must have at least 2 atp (professional) players on your team. DT did not qualify, why compete? For the same reasons that Socrates gave during his lifetime. Socrates was an athlete
Nicole Vargas and Jessica J., a double team for IVC had just played the week before the #1 team in the nation and now we were playing another team who I realized had a pro on the team. I asked them both, “Who is better, last week’s team or this one you’re about to play?” They told me, last week’s team by far. I told them, “NO!” This girl you are about to play is a pro and she has figured out you can play high-level doubles – be ready she’s about to come after you. The 1st 2 prints were a bloodbath but my players can play with the big boys.
Half of my friends thought my first letter was a bash on IVC and the other half thought I was defending IVC. I will explain in my next letter how I was defending IVC.
signed,
Mike Palacio
Former IVC tennis coach
