New Look Helps Him Regain Old Ranking : Tennis: University’s Bowerbank drops power game for one emphasizing his quickness, and returns to top 10 in state.

John Bowerbank’s addiction was a how-hard-can-I-hit-this style of tennis.

Drop shots? Lobs? Cut backhands? No thanks, don’t need ‘em.

For much of his junior tennis career, Bowerbank was right--he didn’t need much more than his intense desire and ability to pound the ball across the net. On his way up through the 12-and-under, 14-and-under and 16-and-under divisions, Bowerbank was a consistently high-ranked player.

“I always wanted to crush the ball,” said Bowerbank, now a senior at University High School, the top-ranked boys’ tennis team in Orange County. “I used to love to go out and just crank from the baseline.”

At the time, the victories were proof enough that the addiction wasn’t a problem. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But then Bowerbank moved up to the 18-and-under division. His ranking didn’t move up with him, however.

Out of the top 10 in state, out of the top 20, out of sight.

His blast-away style, so successful at the lower levels, wasn’t working anymore. Players he had beaten easily in years past beat him on the court and vaulted past him in the rankings.

Like most addictions, Bowerbank’s was hard to break. It wasn’t until his ranking dropped to No. 40 in November that he realized it was time for a change.

Bowerbank, more than puzzled about the problems with his game, went to a new coach, Bob Perez, to find out what was wrong.

Perez gave him a simple answer: Everything.

“I’m pretty stubborn, so hearing someone tell me I had to change my whole game was a big shock,” Bowerbank said. “At first, I was like ‘Why should I do this? I can still win playing the way I want to play.’ ”

But it didn’t take long for Bowerbank to realize his addiction to winning was stronger than his addiction to knocking the fuzz off the ball.

“Bob made it pretty clear to me that if I wanted to win, I had to change,” Bowerbank said. “I’m 5 feet 9, so I had to start playing more like Michael Chang and take advantage of my quickness instead of trying to be Boris Becker.”

Success was the best cure for whatever power withdrawals Bowerbank might have suffered. A revamped game, featuring a serve-and-volley attack and more controlled, thought-out strokes, began paying off within weeks of Bowerbank’s first meeting with Perez.

Earlier this year, the new Bowerbank went on a month-long streak during which he defeated several top 10 players, including James Conda (La Jolla), Dave Bain (Corona del Mar) and David Roditi (San Clemente), in various junior tournaments.

When the new 18-and-under rankings came out after Bowerbank’s streak, he had moved up to No. 3. And people took notice.

“When my senior year started, I didn’t really have any college offers or free racket deals or any of those kinds of perks,” Bowerbank said. “Once I started winning, though, good things started happening. But for the good things to happen, I had to change everything, so it feels good to be getting something back for all the work I’ve put in.”

In an unsolicited letter to the tennis coach at UC Santa Barbara, Bowerbank detailed his recent victories and his new style, which prompted the coach to check out Bowerbank. Soon after, Bowerbank visited the UCSB campus and accepted a scholarship to play for the Gauchos next year.

It’s been a busy spring for Bowerbank, and the pace won’t ease up anytime soon. Last week, he competed in the prestigious Easter Bowl tournament in Miami, which features the top junior players in the nation. Thursday, he’ll travel to the Ojai Invitational, one of Southern California’s top junior tournaments.

Next Tuesday, Bowerbank will lead University against Corona del Mar in a match for the Sea View League championship. The Trojans (14-1) are ranked No. 1 in the county and No. 2 in Southern Section Division 4-A. Corona del Mar is No. 2 in the county and No. 3 in 4-A.

“I like being on a team, and those matches with Corona del Mar are great,” Bowerbank said. “Dave Bain and I are best friends, but we both want to win for our teams when we play each other.

“He got me in our set last time (7-5), but we won the match, so that was the important thing. Our teams will probably see each other in CIF, too, so we take the matches very seriously.”

In addition to his new tennis style, University Coach Josh Davis has noticed a change in Bowerbank’s mental outlook, too.

“Not only has his game changed, but his mental outlook has improved dramatically, too,” Davis said. “He’s more poised and in control and doesn’t let the mistakes bother him anymore.

“He’s the No. 1 player on the No. 1 team in the county, and that says a lot about his mental toughness.”

So does the way he got back to that level.