A Winning Approach

Among the potpourri of styles on display at the Ojai Valley tennis tournament this weekend, only one has the ability to truly stir the masses.

Start with a strong serve. Mix in a heavy dose of full-court rallying. Top it off with a winner from the baseline, and you’ve got the core ingredients of the power game in men’s tennis.

From a young age, players imitate it. On highlights, it’s hard to avoid it. So it’s not a stretch to understand why a baseline-or-bust mentality exists in high school tennis.

Trevor Dobson and Blake Meister are two of the exceptions. Both possess 6-foot-plus frames and mammoth first serves, which make them perfect candidates for the serve-and-volley game.

Their strides are long, making the sprint to the net a relatively short trip. Their wingspans are broad, cutting down the percentage of a successful passing shot. That is, if opponents can handle the velocity of their serves.

Dobson, a junior at Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula, and Meister, a senior at Dana Point Dana Hills, recently faced each other in a battle of No. 1 singles players.

“Trevor is good at the net,” said Meister, the reigning South Coast League singles champion. “I’m just trying to get to him first. It helps to put extra pressure on the opponent.”

Meister won, 6-4, by doing just that. His net presence forced Dobson into unforced errors on key points. Dobson answered Meister by getting to the net on some of his best serves.

“I do it regardless of the opponent,” Dobson said. “The better players try to serve and volley.”

That’s a message lost on many of the Southland’s top singles players, who might have potent serves and ground strokes but are reluctant to charge the net.

Doubles players are accustomed to winning points with volleys and overheads, but by the time singles players reach high school, coaches struggle to change their baseline tendencies.

“I keep telling my guys, if you can get shots deep, the odds are with you” when they get to the net, Peninsula’s second-year Coach Mike Hoeger said.

Hoeger said his players were willing to approach the net after a few baseline shots, but few think to move in off the serve.

Dominating players often can get away with overpowering an opponent from the baseline during regular-season sets. But in competitive tournaments such as Ojai, which begins today and runs through Sunday, pure power often isn’t enough. So the player with the most offense-minded strategy can have an advantage.

That will be evident this weekend, as throngs of Southland tennis players compete in a variety of boys’ and girls’ draws. The CIF and junior portions of the tournament wrap up Saturday.

Dobson recalled a number of times this season when his serve-and-volley strategy turned a potentially even set into a one-sided affair.

He defeated Redondo’s top player, Nathan Stadler, 6-1, on March 29 by finishing points quickly at the net.

Hoeger said it was imperative for players to have strong serves and a high first-serve percentage for the serve-and-volley tactic to be effective.

And that is just one of the possible roadblocks.

Some players lack the burst of speed necessary to reach the net before an opponent lines up his shot. Others haven’t mastered volleys.

Many say the reason is even more clear-cut.

“It’s basically a lack of confidence,” Ojai tournament director Anne William-son said. “It’s only the top kids who are confident.”

Meister perfected his net game as a doubles player for Dana Hills his freshman and sophomore seasons. But after a match late last month, Meister told Dana Hills Coach Ron Moulton that he had gotten away from the serve-and-volley game and wanted to get it back into his repertoire.

By using a kick-serve and approaching the net, Meister swept his three sets against Peninsula.

Dobson didn’t let a loss to Meister spoil his confidence.

“He realizes that he can get passed three times and still win the game,” Hoeger said. “The passing shot is like a slam dunk. It’s only worth one [score].”