Tough start for Redbird team, first-year coach
Ed Meyers learning quickly about level of competition in CVC
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Freehold Township’s Nick Papa follows the flight of his three-run home run during the Patriots’ 7-6 nondivisional loss to Jackson on Saturday in Jackson.
Allentown High School boys’ tennis coach Ed Meyers admits he didn’t quite know what to expect when he took over the Redbirds program this spring.
A first-year coach with no prior experience, Meyers said he had no idea just how tough the Colonial Valley Conference was in boys’ tennis.
It certainly didn’t take him long to find out. The Redbirds had only a 1-6 record to show coming into this week after facing some of the conference’s perennial powers.
"We’re having a tough year," Meyers said. "But we’re in a tough league with teams like Princeton, West Windsor and Lawrence. Those are all tough teams, but the kids are doing well. They’re in a lot of the matches.
"But being my first year, I didn’t know what to expect. I’m told now there are some really tough teams in our league and it’s a pretty tough field," the coach added.
There have been some bright spots this season, and perhaps more to come. The Redbirds looked impressive in their only win so far as they beat Hamilton West, 4-1, in their second match of the season, giving Meyers his first victory as a coach.
They might have had a few more if it weren’t for the weather.
"We were scheduled to play some of the weaker teams in the conference who we could compete with," Meyers said, "but unfortunately, due to the rain, those matches were postponed and have to be made up. We’ll play them eventually.
"I’d be happy at this point if we could win four matches this year," he added. "There are a few matches I think we should win, and hopefully we can also squeak by one or two tough matches."
The signs of improvement are there. Allentown competed in the Mercer County Tournament on Monday and won a first-round match in both singles and doubles.
Senior captain Jordan Englehardt won his opening singles match before losing in the second round, while the No. 1 doubles team of Rob Mirabella and Mark Heifetz also advanced to the second round.
"We were excited about both those wins," Meyers said.
Englehardt is the Redbirds’ No. 1 singles player, moving up from No. 3 a year ago, and has been a real positive for a young team, according to his coach.
"He’s been playing injured all season," Meyers said. "His back hurts, but he’s always in matches and competes well against other teams’ No. 1 players. He’s a good example for the other kids on our team."
Meanwhile, promising sophomore Brendan Roth has moved up to No. 2 singles this season after playing two doubles as a freshman last year.
"He’s the bright spot for our future," Meyers said of Roth, who had a 3-3 record so far this season. "He’s got a lot of natural athletic ability and he’s just a gritty player. He’s in every point, always fighting. When he loses, the other kid has to step up and beat him because he hangs in there with some really tough kids."
The third and final singles position is occupied by senior Brian Magharen, who moved up from first doubles.
"He’s been competing well in most of his matches, too, but he has the potential to step up," Meyers said.
Mirabella, another senior who played one doubles last season, and Heifetz, a sophomore who saw spot duty at two doubles, are playing together for the first time, but complement each other’s styles well.
"They’re both very aggressive," Meyers said. "They will probably be the first doubles team the rest of the year."
The No. 2 doubles team, meanwhile, is still up in the air as Meyers continues to experiment with different combinations.
"I’m trying to get a few kids some experience there," he said.
While this season has been a learning year for both Meyers and his team, the coach is excited about the future of the program. Besides Roth and Heifetz, two more players he’s excited about are sophomore Rob Rievere and freshman Collin Odell.
"Rob’s got a lot of potential and next year he will probably be one of my singles players," Meyers said.
"And I think Collin also shows a lot of potential who, by his junior or senior year, should do pretty well.
"We rely on our seniors and they’re doing a pretty good job," he added, "but we’re building for the future. We have a lot of young kids and most of them have signed up to play in tennis leagues this summer, and a lot of them are interested in taking private lessons, so the interest is there to improve. I think they know they have to put the effort in if they want to get to the next level. Hopefully, by their junior and senior year, we’ll be more competitive as a team."
And Meyers should know the league pretty good by then, too.