Maggie Pate may not belong to a fancy tennis academy or spend every second of her free time on the court, but she has loads of potential playing the sport she loves.
The 12-year-old Keysville resident practices four to five days per week at the public tennis courts at Ellis Methvin Park, in Plant City. Playing since she was 6, Pate took to the sport immediately and hasn’t lost interest since.
“The biggest thing for me is her desire to train and work hard herself,” Plant City Recreation and Parks Department tennis pro Shane Johnson said.
Johnson began coaching Pate six years ago during a tots beginner lesson. She quickly progressed and was placed with older players.
In the past few months, Pate has faced other talented young players and held her own — enough to raise her USTA Florida Juniors ranking to qualify her for the 12U Clay Court Nationals this weekend, in Boca Raton.
“Only 128 in the nation made it in, and I’m just glad I’m one,” she said.
DIFFERENT APPROACH
Pate doesn’t have the typical life of a young tennis prospect.
At her age, many players dedicate their free time to the game, and many are home-schooled or attend virtual school, so they can have extra practice time in the afternoons with private coaches and trainers.
“She’s not a full-time tennis player, but she’s managed to excel,” Pate’s father, Morris, said. “My wife and I are big proponents of her just being a kid. There comes a point where you have to give her some downtime and not be out there all day, every day.”
Morris said he never wants Maggie to feel pressure to play.
“Tennis is just something she loves to do,” he said of Maggie, who also plays the cello in the orchestra at Mulrennan Middle School. “If she ever gets in trouble for something, the biggest punishment you can give her is to take tennis away.”
Johnson has seen many talented junior players who burn out by the time they reach their teenage years.
“I’ve seen kids time and time again drop out once they can make choices themselves,” Johnson said. “If your hearts not in it, you’re not going to do well or keep playing.”
But, Maggie loves to compete and is willing to work hard. Because of that hard work, Maggie — a public parks kid — is going to a national tournament that many academy kids fell short of qualifying.
“You never really know what the potential is in a young player,” Johnson said. “But what you can hope for is that they can play in college and get a quality education through that. If they go further than that, then that’s just gravy.”
For Maggie, the nationals will be an opportunity to improve, both physically and mentally.
“When I heard that the tournament was coming up, I knew I wanted to be in it and compete against great players,” she said. “I’m hoping it will make me better and mentally stronger when I have matches against good players.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Maggie’s interest in tennis came from watching Wimbledon and other tournaments on television.
“I just thought the sport looked interesting,” she said.
Johnson says her backhand was her most natural stroke and was “pretty textbook,” while her forehand has “really come on since she was 9.”
“Everything is starting to really click for her,” Johnson said.
One attribute Maggie has is the top spin she has learned to put on the ball.
“Coach Shane taught me how to hit with top spin, and not many girls know how to do that, so it was very helpful,” she said. “Not many girls can handle it, and it’s obviously working for me.”
Maggie took part in the Sanchez-Casal Academy last week in Naples. It was her first big tennis camp away from home and gave her exposure to nationally ranked and international youth players.
“She decided she wanted to do it and that she could do it,” Morris said. “We thought that it would be a good experience for her.”
Maggie also hits regularly with Rhett Rollyson, a local player who was a standout at the University of Florida. Rollyson volunteers his time to workout with young area players to give them extra practice.
“She will be the first youth player from Plant City to go to nationals in 25 years,” Rollyson said.
Maggie is districted for Durant High School. While it is still a few years away, she hopes to play in college.
“Everybody in my family went to Alabama, so I know that would be good for me,” she said. “I also like Stanford, but I know that’s a really hard school to get into.”