Eric Quigley: The Nice Guy In The Mirror With A Mean Shot

"He has tapes of his favorite pros, like Andy Roddick, that he watches over and over," said his mother, Kathy Quigley, also a competitive tennis player.  At an early age, Quigley would watch the players at the Louisville Indoor Racquet Club, where his mom works, and was hooked.

Though quiet and unpretentious, Quigley (known by his coach and friends as "Q") has big goals - to someday be the number one tennis player in the nation.

If this seems a bit lofty, consider this: he has been playing on the South Oldham High School tennis team since the fourth grade. Though initially, Quigley would get some funny looks from skeptical upperclassmen, he quickly became accepted when they watched him in action on the court.  In fact, during that first season, he won his match at a Trinity High School tournament, playing against a senior. Since then has become a presence, both recognized and respected. Quigley is now ranked 28th in the nation.  Pretty impressive, considering that just a year ago, he was 181st in his age group.

TENNIS TRAINING

Striding out toward bigger wins has actually become an important part of his training regimen.  He practices taking bigger steps to get to the ball more quickly.  In this effort for faster foot turnover, Quigley took the court measurements and marked off those distances with corresponding squares on a gym floor.  "The width of the court is 32 feet, so I try to get from one side of the baseline to the other in five steps," says Quigley.

This exercise also helps footwork coordination skills, an aspect of Quigley's game that junior tennis coach Rob Spencer recognized needed some improvement. They implemented jump roping, speed drills and side-to-side sprints, switching back and forth between live-ball and dead-ball drills to keep him moving.

"When I first met Eric, he was no bigger than a minute," recalled Spencer. "I asked him, 'How do you win?' and he didn't know.  That's because Eric, like most American kids, was able to strike the ball well, but didn't know how to play the point."

Together they focused on developing a special weapon: his forehand.  Quigley practiced setting up every point to smack forehand. "He's been just a delight to work with and is showing more maturity on the court now, which comes with believing in himself."

About a year ago, Spencer noticed that Quigley had talent but wasn't winning matches that he should have won.  He had all the shots and all the talent. But something was missing. 

"He was choking," said Spencer.  "Time after time, Eric would start out hot but would just wear out because he couldn't keep up the pace."  As his coach, Spencer was at wits end about how to take Quigley from this plateau to his real potential.

Enter Jay Melton, fitness trainer at Powerhouse Gym, where Spencer works out. If you ask Melton what made Quigley a winner at 14 years old, he will tell you, "Desire, heart.and me."

"I'm a drill sergeant," admitted Melton. "But Eric not only came up to my expectations of him but went over and beyond.  I have never worked with someone who gave me so much heart or had so much commitment."

Most boys at that age don't know what they want to do with their lives.  But Melton noticed that Quigley was a different breed.

"When I first met with Eric, I asked him what he wanted out of all this," recalled Melton.  "And he said he wanted to be first in the nation.  No one else ever told me they wanted to someday be a world champion."

Trainers can work on their clients' agility, speed, strength and cardiovascular fitness, but finding those who give 100 percent makes all the difference. 

"A trainer cannot give you heart," Melton said.

Prodded to reveal Quigley's one weakness, he zeroed in on attitude (though it's really junk food). 

"He's too nice. The killer instinct needs to come out of him on the court, for him to have the full package," says Melton. "When I met him he had a whine, not a growl." So they would practice in front of the mirror, trying to change the facial expression from a pained look to a more aggressive one.

"Take a look at that face," Melton would yell, as Quigley repeatedly did step-ups with 10-pound weights.  "Give a growl."

The goal was to pull out that winner attitude. But the workouts were so grueling at times that it was difficult for his mother to watch.  But she was recruited to video that face in the mirror so Quigley could see what his opponents saw across the net.

While he may not display a mean killer streak on the court, Quigley has learned to keep his emotions in check, never kicking or throwing his racquet like other competitors when they get mad.

Craig Wallace, who until recently was the South Oldham High School coach, believes that Quigley's tremendous ability to focus on the task at hand sets him apart from the other athletes.

"Quigley has always been mentally ahead of his opponents, and had the ability to construct a point plan so that he could stay one shot ahead," he said.

SIGHTS SET HIGH

Thinking ahead, his sights are set on qualifying for the Kentucky State High School Tournament and to do well in the Southern Closed Tournament, which consists of 13 southern states.   Though last year he was seeded 17th in that tournament, he finished second out of 160 qualifiers. 

The Southern Tennis Association selected Quigley to compete in the Mills Red Grave Tournament, which was held last October.  Only the top three in each age group compete in this exclusive Alabama tournament.  Quigley beat the number nine player in the nation.   

This year Quigley's competition will be stiffer, as he moves into the next age group (16 & under).  However, he's already won a local tournament in that age group, and is feeling as confident about the future as always.  In fact, he is eager for the new challenges ahead.

It seems almost symbolic that his latest school project was to construct a bridge out of Popsicle sticks that was strong enough to withstand a five-pound weight, as Quigley continues to build his own solid bridge into the future. Over the next few years, college scholarships will play an important role and from there he would like to play in some pro tournaments.

His mother knew early on that he would be a good athlete.  Even at 2 years old he always had some kind of ball in his hand, dribbling or kicking. After a year of basketball, he moved into soccer, playing on his dad's team for several years, as well as Javanon, a competitive team. 

But Quigley eventually decided that soccer was getting in the way of tennis, so he gave it up. However, he still credits the soccer experience for fast footwork and eye coordination.

Quigley has a winner's attitude.  He never questions.  He never tires of hitting bucket after bucket of balls.  Like the "lucky" Nike shorts, shirts and hat he consistently wears in tournaments, he has adopted the Nike philosophy to "Just Do It." That is - with a little help from psych music and sugar. His secret weapons for getting pumped up before and between matches are the "Stadium Hits" CD (especially Queen's "We will Rock You") and a stash of Skittles that he washes down with Lemon-Lime PowerAde.

But the real key is that he just truly just loves the game. And that passion and commitment has paid off. 

The Kentucky Tennis Association awarded Quigley Kentucky 's "Most Improved Boy Of The Year" for 2003 at the Annual Hall Of Fame Dinner last month. He also recently landed a full sponsorship from Prince, a major manufacturer of tennis racquets, who will now supply his racquet, bags, shoes, strings and clothes.

While evaluating Quigley's strengths and weaknesses, personal trainer Melton, noticed that one shoulder was off balance "because tennis requires just one side for power." 

But it can be argued that Quigley implemented a wide array of power to get where he is today.  And while he may appear to be just a nice guy in the mirror - look out.  He delivers a mean shot.

Cheryl McGinnis has a B.A. in English from Centre College . She is a certified personal fitness specialist and spinning instructor and co-owner of RESOLUTIONS, a motivational company.  To contact Cheryl, call 228-0872 or e-mail offrunnin@yahoo.com.