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Friday, August 1, 2008
Serving For State
Greater Dallas, TX
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By: Mark Zeske
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Photo(s) By: Robert Hughes
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Richardson Pearce seniors Jon and Hannah Kelley are volleying for an elusive state tennis title
The Kelley twins can’t wait for their final year at Richardson Pearce High School. Jonny, five minutes older, and Hannah have teamed to be one of the top mixed doubles team in Texas during their first three seasons, but they are still chasing an elusive state title.
As a freshman, they lost in the third round of the Class 5A regional tournament. As sophomores, the pair lost in the 4A state quarterfinals to the eventual champs. As juniors, they lost in the Class 4A semifinals to the eventual champs. “We figure they are due to win it all next year,” said their father, also Jon Kelley. “They keep doing better.”
The two started playing when they were about six, as their dad would take them to the courts and give them starter lessons. Father Jon played tennis as a teenager and young adult, but renewed his passion for the sport when his twins started playing and still plays competitively.
Hannah actually quit tennis for a while to concentrate on other sports, but eventually decided to return her focus on tennis. Jonny also branched out from those early tennis lessons, and at one point was juggling tennis and select soccer. When his select soccer team disbanded, Jonny decided to stick with tennis.
When Jonny was in eighth grade, however, he took an involuntary leave from the sport. While racing his scooter near his house, a pickup truck hit him. He suffered a variety of injuries – including a torn spleen, eight broken ribs, four cracked vertebrae, collapsed lung, broken clavicle and broken scapula – and needed most of the school year to recover.
After their father, the twin’s second coach was Alex Zavgorodni, who teaches tennis at Canyon Creek Country Club. The Kelleys give Zavgorodni much of the credit for developing them into strong players over the years. During the last three years at Pearce, the twins played with Anastasia Zavgorodni, Alex’s daughter, who is also a pretty good tennis player. Anastasia was a 5A singles runner up in 2006, then a 4A semifinalist as both a junior and a sophomore.
“His lessons are great,” Hannah said of Zavgorodni. “You do a lot of hitting. During lessons, he just feeds us and feeds us balls. You can’t help but get better.”
Jonny believes his success in tennis doesn’t come from any natural ability. “I work hard and try to have the right attitude,” he said. “I want to be good at everything I do.”
Hannah says that her strengths are her athleticism and worth ethic. She claims her weakness is a lack of confidence and that’s she working hard on being stronger, an important transition for 18 and over females. “As you get older, everybody you face hits the ball really hard,” Hannah said. “You got to be able to handle the power.”
Even though Hannah has played doubles with her brother during the spring high school season, she also thrives in singles. She performed well in the Texas Open 18 this June, winning four singles matches before being eliminated. She enjoys both. “I really like doubles, but whichever one I happen to be practicing the most is the one I like the best,” Hannah said.
Ironically, Jonny enjoys singles more than doubles. “I like being just dependant on myself,” he said. “That’s very rewarding.”
The Kelleys say they work well together on the court, but that their cohesiveness comes from hard work rather than any sort of cosmic twin wavelength.
“I think it is good that we play together, but it isn’t that big a deal,” Hannah said. “It works out for us primarily because we practice together a lot, and that’s the key. We are always there for each other and, because we have played and practiced together so much, we have a pretty good idea of what the other one is going to do.”
The one thing that the twins make sure they do is leave any family issues or sibling rivalries at home before they get on the court.
Jonny said, “Hannah’s a great player. I know her and I know how she plays. We know what each other needs to do and we go out and do our part. It works out great.”
There’s much more to the twins’ life than just playing tennis. Jonny is a member of the Wranglers, a spirit club at Pearce that you can’t miss at football games. Hannah is a member of the National Honor Society and is very active with the choir in your church youth group. This summer she went to Chicago on a mission trip, with the choir giving several concerts.
Their passion for tennis is great, however, and neither plans to stop playing any time soon. “I like the high energy of tennis,” Hannah said. “It is a great sport. I like that you can play it year around.” Jonny enjoys how complex tennis is. “There is both a physical and mental aspect of tennis,” he said. It is always challenging and I want that challenge.
Both Kelleys would love to play college tennis. First things first, however.
“We’ll just have to see how that goes,” Hannah said. “Right now we are going to concentrate on our senior year and try to do the best that we can.”
A best, the Kelleys hope, that leads to their elusive state championship.
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A collection of this month's best action photos.
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Serving For State
by: Mark Zeske
The Kelley twins can’t wait for their final year at Richardson Pearce High School. Jonny, five minutes older, and Hannah...
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