High School Star Jon Leach Looking for New Worlds to Conquer : Tennis: Laguna Beach junior has dominated in the Southern Section. Now he’s hoping to rule the junior circuit.

Jon Leach, a junior at Laguna Beach High School, tosses the ball with his left hand perhaps two feet above his head and into the brilliant blue sky over Orange County on a recent afternoon.

At the same time, his right arm begins its coil, preparing to strike.

The ball begins to drop but only a fraction of its original height. Leach’s arm powers his tennis racquet in a long arc to meet the ball with a thuuuunk .

The fluorescent green ball is transformed into a whirring projectile, headed over the net toward Leach’s opponent. Passing the net, the ball seems to pick up speed. Now, it appears to be heading toward the forehand side. Or maybe the backhand?

There isn’t time to wait to be sure, the ball is moving far too fast. Better to guess and hope it’s correct.

In an eye-blink, the ball has been hit into play, six inches from the sideline. Leach’s opponent, having waited too long to react, is frozen as the ball skips past for an ace.

The ball hops off the court’s surface and comes to rest in the chain-link fence beyond, stuck firmly about a foot off the ground.

It all happens in a blur of motion and sound.

Leach stands, legs and arms crossed right over left, his form perfect even in his follow through.

His opponent turns sheepishly to retrieve the ball from the fence but finds it’s lodged tightly. He pulls, kicks and finally whacks the ball with his racquet before it comes loose.

This serve, though powerful, is only one measure of Leach’s dominance on the tennis court.

Yet, it is the most dramatic evidence that Leach stands far above his high school competition.

There is at least one other measure, according to teammates.

“Usually,” said Lee Kirner, Laguna Beach’s No. 2 singles player, “when a guy gets a game point against Jon, he chokes. He’ll try so hard, he’ll double-fault or something.”

In three seasons of high school play, Leach has lost three sets. One in his freshman season and two last season in the Southern Section singles final when he was beaten by Palm Springs’ Alejo Mancisidor, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

When Leach won the Southern Section singles title in 1988, it was the first time a freshman had won since 1952.

And not long after, an opposing coach called Leach the best freshman he’d ever seen.

The compliments and the victories have continued.

This season, Leach is 45-0. He has won 270 of the 291 games he has played and has 34 “bagels” as 6-0 victories are known.

“He’s only had one tough match this year--against Willie Dann (of University),” said Bob Walton, Laguna Beach tennis coach.

Few would argue that Leach is the best in the Southern Section.

But there is another world out there beyond the often cracked and sloping high school courts, one in which Leach is not quite as overpowering.

The juniors circuit, a nearly year-round, highly competitive schedule of tournaments across the nation, is a severe test for even the best young players.

Two weeks ago, Leach advanced only as far as the quarterfinals of a tournament in Miami.

Leach, seeded sixth in Miami, shrugs off the loss to top-ranked Will Bull of Myrtle Beach,S.C. He said he’d like to make the finals of a national tournament some day soon.

Leach, 17, enters this world again today at the Ojai Valley tournament. He is seeking his fourth consecutive singles title at Ojai, this year in the boys’ 18-and-under division.

Later this year, Leach plans to play in the junior tournaments at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

And that makes one wonder. Why play high school tennis at all? What can Leach possibly gain from playing against those of lesser ability?

Leach wonders about this sometimes.

But the answers come later, in quiet discussions with Kirner.

“So who do we get today?” Kirner said.

“The freshman?” Leach said, eyeing a bucket of ice water nearby. “I want to get the freshman.”

The object, something of a tradition at Laguna Beach, is to soak the younger varsity players. But the drenching will have to wait. Walton has talked the two out of it.

More answers come when Laguna Beach, ranked second in the Southern Section 3-A poll, defeats Costa Mesa, 12-6, for its 12th victory in 16 matches this season.

Still more answers come when Leach takes his position as a forward on the Artists’ junior varsity basketball team. He averaged 13 points as a starter this past season.

Another question that comes to mind concerns Leach’s name.

His father, Dick, is the longtime coach at USC. His older brother, Rick, has emerged as one of the world’s top doubles players. Rick and partner Jim Pugh are members of the U.S. Davis Cup team and were profiled in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated.

By now, Jon figures he has made a name for himself.

“When people hear my name they know I can play,” he said. “It’s not like people hear my name and say, ‘Rick Leach is a great doubles player.’ ”

There are indeed differences. Dick has said Jon is more of a fighter-- a “pit bull”--than Rick.

Still, Jon would like to become a pro like his brother. Perhaps he will after playing for his father at USC, as his brother did.

“Ideally, I’d like to make a lot of money and win a lot of matches and move up in the rankings,” Leach said.

At his current rate of development, it may be a cinch.

“He is serving so much better,” Walton said. “His forehand is better. He’s gotten a lot stronger since last year. He’s lifted weights and become physically stronger.”

Leach also has learned that there are more subtle improvements that can enhance his play.

He spent last weekend at a training camp for the U.S. National team in Atlanta. He underwent a three-day barrage of tests, measuring his quickness, flexibility and endurance at the Atlanta Health and Racquet Club.

“They spend some time with you,” Leach said. “If they took all the information and said goodby and left, then I’d have felt like (a guinea pig).”

It’s all in the name of improvement.

But one wonders; how much better can Leach become?

“He’s scary,” Kirner, his teammate, said solemnly after watching yet another winner go whizzing past Leach’s opponent.