Academy Owner Wins by Taking a Chance With Salgado

Two years ago, Erick Salgado never would have pictured himself on a tennis court, let alone taking private lessons and competing in tournaments. It was a luxury his family couldn’t afford and a game he knew nothing about.

Living in a small apartment in Anaheim with his parents and younger sister, the tennis courts and clubhouse of the Anaheim Tennis Center were a long way away, and spending his summer days hitting a ball around with some of Southern California’s top-ranked juniors was something Salgado had never imagined for himself.

But, in an effort to keep Salgado off the streets, mentor and former teacher Roberto Baeza, took him to the tennis courts.

“After we played a little bit, he asked me if I liked the game,” Salgado said. “When I told him ‘Yes,’ he said I should take lessons. I just laughed, because we don’t have that kind of money.”

Baeza then took the initiative and began paying for Salgado to have private lessons with tennis pro Ron Metcalf.

A few months later, Ivan Boyer entered the picture. Boyer, who owns the Down The Line Tennis Academy based at the Anaheim Tennis Center, was told about Salgado by others and was impressed by what he heard and saw. Boyer also was intrigued because Baeza already was helping Salgado, a 4.0 student at Sycamore Junior High who will be attending Troy this fall.

“Ivan has such a phenomenally big heart,” said Michael McClune, Boyer’s assistant at the academy. “When he heard about Erick and what a good kid he was, he said, ‘This kid sounds like he’s worth it. Let’s give him a chance.’ ”

So Boyer invited Salgado to join the academy.

“My family couldn’t afford it,” Salgado, 14, said. “So, I was overwhelmed when he offered to let me in for free. I guess you could call him my sponsor.”

Salgado, who still receives his lessons from Metcalf, says the academy has changed his life. Along with teaching him discipline and focus, Salgado, who also volunteers at a local school, has learned to better manage his time. Practicing eight hours a day during the summer and a few hours a day during the school year doesn’t leave him a lot of time for anything else.

“I try to avoid bad environments,” Salgado said. “Where I grew up--the people down there are no good. The academy is now my home away from home.”

Everything in Salgado’s life is looking up. His family recently moved out of the apartment into a house in a nicer part of town, and Salgado is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new brother or sister.

“Everything is great now,” he said. “My family is very happy for me and so grateful for what Ivan has done. I hope to get a college scholarship out of this one day, but if not, that’s fine. I love this game.”

TALENTED CLASS

Boyer’s success with the Down The Line Academy is apparent in the recent Southern California Tennis Assn. rankings. He boasts 35 ranked juniors, eight in the top 10 and 12 in the top 20. In the 10-and-unders, eight are ranked in the top 20, including 9-year-old Michael McClune Jr. of Irvine. McClune, who has been with Boyer for three years, is ranked No. 2 in singles and No. 1 in doubles and mixed doubles.

COSTA MESA OPEN

Last weekend at the Costa Mesa Junior Open Tennis Summer Classic, McClune picked up his latest title, winning the boys’ 12-and-under division by easily defeating Highland’s Derick Mitre, 6-1, 6-1. Placentia’s Sergi Modoc, another Boyer student, won the 16s with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Cameron Nazemi of San Diego. On the girls’ side, Yorba Linda’s Clarissa Fermin, also a Boyer pupil, advanced to the finals in the 12-and-unders.

Other winners at the tournament included Newport Beach’s Hunter Jack in the 18s and Carsten Ball in the 14s and Steve Johnson of Orange in the 10s. Newport Beach’s Jillian Braverman took the girls’ title in the 10s, and Coto de Caza’s Leigh Ann Merryman won the 16s.

USTA NATIONALS

A number of county athletes are competing in this week’s USTA boys’ 18s and 16s and girls’ 18s national championships.

The boys, competing at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich., are led by top-seeded Phillip King of Long Beach in the 18s. In the 16s, Los Alamitos’ Drew Hoskins lost in the fourth round to fourth-seeded Sam Warburg of Sacramento, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. But Hoskins and doubles partner Joseph Kao of Fullerton won in the third round.

Jason Mednick of Laguna Niguel and partner Jason Nguyen of Chatsworth also have advanced to the fourth round.

Newport Beach’s Caylan Leslie, Santa Ana’s Kim Anh Nguyen and Huntington Beach’s Melissa Esmero all advanced to today’s fourth round at the Almaden Valley Athletic Club in San Jose.