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John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

Steamboat Springs — A tennis court is just 36 feet wide and 78 feet long, but that small patch of court must have seemed much bigger for the players on it this weekend in Pueblo.

It’s a place where the top prep tennis players displayed their talent and sportsmanship and where the lessons they learned reached well beyond the service line that marks the back side of the court.

Typically, the dimensions of the court determine whether a shot is in or out, but in Pueblo, they were used to measure the talent of the field of the Class 4A high school state tennis championships. They were used to determine which players were good and which players were champions.

I’ve been to the tournament several times during my career as a sports reporter, and I’ve always been amazed at the level of tennis that steps onto the green, white-lined courts each year. I’ve been there to see that it’s a place where the most talented players rise to the top with the help of their serves, forehands and backhands.

I’ve also learned that it’s a place where a player’s character is tested for all to see. Within the confines of the tennis court, I’ve seen players faced with bad calls, moments that bring out their best and worst and the kinds of decisions that can leave lasting impressions.

It’s there — within those tight dimensions — that the young player is forged by the kind of situations that can make or break them, and for the few short sets that make up a match, they have no one else to blame, no one else on whom to depend. There is no coach on the court to offer words of advice, no parent to lean on for support and no teammate (at least in singles) to hold them back or influence their actions.

The gallery, which is set off to the back of the court, is filled with players, parents and spectators from across the state watching the action unfold. It takes only a moment for a player to make the choice that will impact how another person, a person whom they might never have met, will view them and their community.

Yes, the tennis court is just 36 feet wide and 78 feet long, but when you are at the state high school tennis tournaments, that area is so much bigger.

It’s important to remember that these players are young and that the state tennis tournament is a classroom where their talent and their choices are tested for all of us to see. Unlike many of the other state tournaments, the players often are left alone when the time comes to make these choices, and their actions are why the state high school tennis tournament ranks among my favorites each year.

— To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209 or email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com