'Burg boys tennis continuing high level of play

Richey and Mott, who complete the main lineup at No. 2 doubles, have fit the trademark ‘Ol Reliable’ saying at the position. In fact, Richey and Mott didn’t lose a single doubles match from the season’s commencement on March 30 until April 24 — a span of over three weeks’ time.

The pair finished the year 17-2 overall.

“They’re still doing really well,” Ruby said. “We’ve really been thrilled with their results.”

Sophomore Josh Ferguson and freshmen Grant Warner, Eli Salyers and Colton Wilson, who have served as Wheelersburg’s junior varsity players for the duration of the season, complete the remaining lineup. At the time Ruby was interviewed on April 26, the quartet had gone undefeated.

Their play has kept the pressure on the main seven individuals in the main lineup for Ruby’s unit, which has led to a group that Ruby, along with Wheelersburg assistant coach Wes Bussey, has enjoyed coaching immensely.

“They know what to do,” Ruby said. “They go out there and they get the job done. It’s nice because we’ve been working hard in practice, and that makes the matches easier for us. They’re all coachable kids. All 11 of the kids that I have are that way. I’m truly blessed with a group of boys that love the game and love to work on things. Their goal is to get better, and they do it in every match.”

Two coaching items that Ruby has incorporated into her wheel, she says, has seemed to help.

First, Ruby gives each of her players a newsletter, which she calls a tennis talk, that goes over what each particular player can improve on. That also includes a quote from a tennis pro.

“When I have given them those things to think about, I have actually seen them do some of that stuff in the match,” Ruby said. “That makes it really nice.”

Secondly, Ruby gives her seven varsity starters — the singles trio of Evans, Sarver and Watkins and the doubles tandems of Schomburg and Billiter along with Richey and Mott, a card after every match, which Ruby refers to as a drop shot.

That ‘drop shot’ consists of the player’s singles or doubles record, something that each player did well at, and something that Ruby wants that singles or doubles player to work on.

“They want to be the best tennis players that they can be, represent themselves and Wheelersburg the best that they can, and at the same time, grow as a player and have fun,” Ruby said. “I want them to have fun out there. The tennis season is too short to be angry or upset about how one is playing. When a mistake is made, you just have to move onto the next point. They’ve done pretty well at that.”

With a highly competitive SOC that includes fellow frontrunners in Clay and Waverly as well as teams capable of giving the Panthers, Pirates and Tigers top run in New Boston Glenwood, Minford, Valley and West, Ruby has continued to reinforce to her team the importance of not underestimating any match that Wheelersburg comes across, particularly as the SOC Championships are played on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I tell them all the time, ‘We have to take every match as it comes and take it one point at a time,’” Ruby said. “We never, ever enter a match thinking that we’ve got it. Tennis is a different sport. In singles play, you don’t have a teammate to lean on like in basketball or football, and 80 percent of tennis is in your head. When you get in your head, that’s when mistakes usually arise and really start to affect your game as a result. I tell my boys, ‘One point at a time. One game at a time. Try to forget about those errors and move past them.’ They’ve done a really good job at that.”