Kohlberg’s Game Survives Translation : Tennis: A winner in Bolivia, the desire to improve his skills brings him to Mission Viejo.

Eduardo Kohlberg came to the United States from Tarija, Bolivia, last fall with two goals--to learn the language and play college tennis.

Since his English was limited at best, Kohlberg figured the first goal would be more difficult. But if he could master the first, the second would be easy. After all, he didn’t have to learn to play tennis.

He had been playing since he was 5 and he was the best junior player in a country of eight million people.

Surprisingly, Kohlberg’s transition from Spanish to English has been smoother than his move from clay courts to hard courts. Though his English is still rough in places, Kohlberg appears on his way to passing an exam necessary for foreign students to attend U.S. colleges.

The on-court test, however, might not be as easy. After winning his first 10 high school tennis sets for Mission Viejo, Kohlberg has struggled--losing three of his last five sets--including two of three Thursday at Woodbridge.

“He’s having trouble adjusting to the single-set situation,” Mission Viejo Coach Bill Smith said. “He tends to play points loosely and he needs to play them closer to the vest to be effective in a one-set format.”

Kohlberg was extremely effective against Foothill’s Ryan Thompson, one of the top-ranked 18-year-olds in Southern California. He beat Thompson, 6-4, with an array of well-placed groundstrokes from the baseline. But an hour later, he lost to Foothill freshman Jost Hol, 6-4. Mission Viejo (5-3) lost the match, 10-8.

“It was tough for me to get into the game,” said Kohlberg, 17. “I had no concentration and maybe I was a bit tired. It was a good experience for me.”

Thompson watched Kohlberg’s match against Hol and said he wasn’t sure what to make of Kohlberg’s game.

“Every ball he hit against me was penetrating, but he wasn’t going for it against Jost,” Thompson said. “He wasn’t dictating what was happening. I don’t think it was a fluke set against me. But the way he played against Jost, it sure looked like it.”

Thompson said the slow surface of Foothill’s courts also contributed to Kohlberg’s victory.

“The courts at our school got resurfaced and the ball was sitting up pretty nice for him,” Thompson said. “I was coming into the net and it wasn’t very hard to pass me.”

Unfortunately for Kohlberg, there are no clay courts in Southern California and most of the hard courts are faster than at Foothill.

“The hard courts are a little difficult,” said Kohlberg, who plays strictly on clay in Bolivia. “You have to move your feet faster. It doesn’t give you enough time to prepare to hit.”

Time is something Kohlberg doesn’t seem to have enough of these days. He must pass the English exam and score at least 700 on the Scholastic Assessment Test if he hopes to attract any interest from college tennis coaches.

So far the only Division I coach who has shown any interest is Boise State Coach Greg Patton, who formerly coached at UC Irvine. Patton has not seen Kohlberg play, but he has received a strong recommendation from Smith, a friend of Patton’s.

But if Kohlberg wants a college scholarship, he will have to start picking up his game by April 27, the start of the prestigious Ojai tournament. Most of Southern California’s best high school players enter the three-day tournament and most of the Pacific 10 and Big West coaches scout talent.

“They tell me everybody’s going to be there,” Kohlberg said. “I know some college coaches might be watching, but I’m trying to keep that in the back of my mind.”

Instead, Kohlberg reminds himself why he came to Southern California as an exchange student.

“We don’t have the opportunity to play this kind of competition in Bolivia,” he said. “We maybe had only 10 players in my age group who were very good. They just don’t care much about sport over there.”

Smith said he has a feeling Kohlberg will take advantage of his opportunity and make a positive impression at Ojai.

“There’s going to be somebody really angry who is seeded, because he’s going to come up and beat them,” he said.