Trying Times : Nielsen’s Year Beset by Off-Court Woes

A recounting of Mark Nielsen’s senior year at Burbank High suggests an enviable teen-aged life. Homecoming king, co-most valuable player of the basketball team, No. 1 singles player on the tennis team, voted best personality by classmates: all the makings of a carefree romp through 12th grade.

But losses that have hit the Nielsen family have made Nielsen’s last year in high school a painful one.

Last August, Nielsen’s father, Bill, died of cancer at 47. Six months later, his grandfather, Dan Curtis, suffered a heart attack while sitting in the stands at Burbank, waiting for the start of a basketball game against Schurr. Curtis died four days later at 76.

Nielsen said the losses of his father and grandfather have not affected his basketball or tennis. But coping with those losses has made his senior year difficult.

A couple of months before his father died, Mark went down fighting in the third round of the six-round Southern Section 3-A Division individual tennis playoffs, losing a third-set tiebreaker after helping Burbank reach the team playoffs.

A week after his grandfather died, Nielsen was playing basketball again in first-team All-Foothill League form, collecting 17 points and seven rebounds a game and helping the Bulldogs reach the playoffs.

Still, a void remained.

Curtis was known for his support of the team--he kept notes and scrapbooks and came to most games wearing a Bulldog T-shirt. He also inspired Nielsen on the court--Curtis and Bill Nielsen were regulars in the stands.

“It’s weird. When they were all there, they would start cheering and do funny things and I’d kind of get upset. But it always made me feel good,” Nielsen said.

The death of his father, who hoped Nielsen would play professional tennis, still troubles him.

“I can’t believe my dad is gone,” he said. “I can’t explain it. I feel bad, but I don’t know what to do.”

Last spring Bill Nielsen went for a routine check-up after experiencing fatigue and shortness of breath. Four days later, he was diagnosed as having cancer and later underwent kidney surgery.

“Then a few months went by and everything seemed OK,” Nielsen recalled, “except my dad was really thin. His legs were as big as my arms and he looked horrible.”

Hospitalization was again necessary when the illness worsened. In August, doctors gave Bill Nielsen four months to two years to live. Two weeks later he died.

“Everything around me just seemed to stop,” Nielsen said.

Years earlier, Nielsen’s father only half-succeeded in persuading his son to play competitive tennis.

“When I was younger,” Nielsen said, “my dad tried to get me into all these clinics, and I guess I went along with it. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t want to play so much.”

Nielsen claims his father never pushed him hard. “Just too hard for me,” he said.

The result is a four-year letterman who has the talent to rank among the best in the area. He lost just two sets as Burbank won 10 of its first 11 matches this season.

“Mark’s best tennis is really in front of him,” Burbank Coach Clyde Richards said. “He has all sorts of potential, but his game is just not there yet to beat the exceptional players.”

Now that basketball season is over, Nielsen has dedicated himself to tennis and hopes to earn a scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

But he still found time to earn the title of best personality of the senior class. Nielsen and friend Al Lewis walked into school one day last June with their hair literally standing on end.

“Mark is kind of crazy,” Lewis said. “For Mark that kind of thing is expected.”

More than hair-raising pranks are expected of the 6-3, 190-pound Nielsen. He is being counted upon to repeat as the Foothill League singles champion. Some might even expect him to electrify college tennis with his blazing serve and brisk ground strokes.

“It seems like everything comes easy to him,” said Steve Starleaf, pro at the Cabrini Tennis Shop and Nielsen’s private instructor. “He’s still a little rough around the edges, but he is dominant on his level. He has an air of ‘This is going to be no problem,’ in all situations.”

Though Nielsen will play in the prestigious Ojai Tennis tournament, which begins today, the distance he maintains from tournament play largely accounts for his lack of a state or Southern California ranking.

Nielsen said he often lacks motivation to play in tournaments. His father used to make those arrangements.

“His dad was Mark’s guiding light,” said Richards, “and now he’s adjusting. I can see the pilot light on inside, and I see him growing.”