Fallon and His Game Have Grown Up a Bit : Tennis: Dana Hills sophomore has improved his serve and backhand, and his demeanor, too.

Last year, Dana Hills’ Brandon Fallon played and occasionally acted like a freshman. He struggled with important elements of his tennis game--his serve and his backhand--and often struggled with himself, or whomever was handy. And that usually happened to be his father.

But this season, Fallon has looked and played more like a mature senior. His backhand is no longer an easy target, his serve actually looks a tennis player’s serve and his opponents are his sole focus. Fallon is still only a sophomore with more growing pains ahead, but his 53-4 singles sets record shows that the worst might be over and the best might be yet to come.

Many of those 53 victories have come against opponents who would have given him fits last year. Fallon has defeated Brett Hankey of Mater Dei, Nolan Cooper of Trabuco Hills twice, Eduardo Kohlberg of Mission Viejo twice and Thomas Yim of Laguna Hills.

“I don’t think I would have beaten those guys a year ago,” said Fallon, who since last year has grown three inches to 5 feet 11. “I wouldn’t be able to hit deep enough, or stay consistent enough. And my backhand wouldn’t allow me to do much with the ball. I still can’t pass people all the time with it, but it’s a lot better than it was.”

And the serve?

“I had a baseball motion,” Fallon said. “But Sam (Olson) changed it. It’s still not where I want it to be, and it’s still one of my weaknesses.”

But Olson, Fallon’s private coach, said his student’s serve is no longer laughable.

“We’ve made a lot of changes on that serve,” Olson said. “His parents were worried. They would ask me, ‘What are you telling him?’ I told them it would take time. Any time you make changes like that that, you’re going to play worse. But now I’d say his serve is above average for the 16s (Fallon’s age division in junior tournaments).”

Dana Hills Coach John Stephens said the changes in Fallon’s game are noticeable.

“He’s stronger this year,” Stephens said. “Last year, all he had was a forehand. This year, he’s balanced on both sides. But the biggest advancement he’s made is he competes so hard now. He’s not going to give up during the tight matches. He’s handling the pressure better.”

Last year, some of that pressure came from Fallon’s father, Jim, who wasn’t afraid to let his son know how he was playing. Often, Fallon would snap back at his father during a match.

“It was more of an excuse,” Fallon said. “I just told him not to come anymore.”

For the most part, Fallon’s father has kept a safe distance from his son.

“He does a good job of staying away,” Stephens said. “He wants Brandon to do so well, he just gets into it too much. Brandon just gets upset when he’s there.”

Jim Fallon said he is learning to take a step back from the court. “I know I can’t personally help him. Sometimes I wish I was him,” Jim Fallon said. “Unlike the Brad Gilbert father, I get nervous. You’re supposed to cheer in baseball and soccer but I’ve learned you just don’t do it in tennis.

“Now I have stepped back and I’m away from the match a little bit. Now I just get sweaty palms. You have to let them play and then sit back and hope.”

Fallon said he has learned to channel any anger he has at his opponent.

“I’ve become more aggressive during matches,” he said. “I just go out there and pretend I hate the guy.”

If Fallon keeps improving, he will be the guy everybody hates. He has already improved his boys’ 16s ranking in Southern California to eighth, and this summer Fallon will take aim on the top five.

“I want to have a big serve at the end of the summer and have times where I strictly serve and volley,” he said.

Fallon would simply like to serve and volley well enough to win the South Coast League singles tournament, which begins today, and help Dana Hills (17-1-1) get back to the Southern Section Division I team finals.

Stephens said he’s confident Fallon will continue to handle the pressure.

“The kids respect what he’s done,” Stephens said. “Some of the kids play him tough in practice and even beat him. But in matches against good players, he’s able to take it to another level.”