From coach to partner

Fifteen-year-old Benito Romeo hopes to become a professional tennis player. Jimmy Gleason once shared the same vision, but gave up on his dream more than 10 years ago.

Gleason headed in a new direction after a harsh, first-round tournament loss. His new goal is to help young aspiring tennis players — like Romeo — reach their full potential in order to make their own dreams become a reality.

Although Romeo and Gleason are at opposite ends of their tennis careers, they do have something in common: Both are in their first year at Laguna Beach High. Romeo is a freshman, and Gleason is the new tennis program coordinator and girls’ tennis coach.

The two met when Romeo’s father — fellow tennis fanatic and owner of Romeo Cucina in downtown Laguna — saw Gleason in action on the court last August and asked him to coach his son. The two have practiced together ever since, and they even teamed up for the recent 51st Laguna City Tennis Tournament, where they won the men’s open division in doubles.

The pair swept Mark Robinson and Kerry Johnson, 6-3, 6-3, and then went on to win the final, 7-5, 7-5, over Greg Washer and Nate Heussenstamm.

Just prior to that event, Gleason competed in the Palisades Tennis Club 6.0 Doubles Championship with partner John Kroopf, where they defeated John Cross and Billy McQuaid 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the title match.

Gleason said the Palisades win was his biggest accomplishment yet, and one he couldn’t foresee a year ago.

“Beating Robert Van’t Hof [in the third round] was one of my best moments,” he said.

Gleason only moved to Laguna Beach last August from Kalamazoo, Mich., after a visit with a friend resulted in a job offer at the high school. While Gleason was assisting with a tennis clinic at Estancia, he was approached by fellow Laguna Coach Nick Hernandez, who offered him the head coach position for the upcoming fall season.

Gleason’s career in his hometown was not working synonymously with the goals he’d set for himself, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to find something better.

“I decided to let everything else go, and do what I love to do,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”

Gleason’s tennis career began at age 11, after weeks of watching former No. 1 world tennis players John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in matches on TV.

He batted aside his lifelong passion for baseball and began focusing on tennis.

He attributes his early success to great coaching at the YMCA, and extra practice time with six of his 12 siblings, who also shared an affinity for the sport.

After four successful years with the Comstock High tennis team, where Gleason made it to the state championships his sophomore through senior years, and to the quarterfinals in two of those years, he went on to play at the NCAA Division I level at Western Michigan University.

At WMU, Gleason earned the title in the Bowling Green Tournament and was a finalist in the year-end Mid-American Conference tournament. He was also named Athlete of the Week after beating four Big Ten doubles teams.

After earning two degrees, one in 1994 for exercise science and another in 2005 for physical education, Gleason opened the Gleason Tennis Academy in Kalamazoo, where he coached tennis until he moved to Laguna Beach.

Gleason said his first season coaching the girls was a struggle at times, but he saw a lot of improvement.

“We were a young team and lost some tough matches, but we worked hard and got better. Overall, we did what we were expected to do this first season,” he said.

He has high hopes for next year, with new players who will join the team. He plans to introduce new coaching strategies, which include increased physical fitness to build strength and endurance, and more match play during practice.

With the elimination of the CIF Association rule, Gleason will also able to coach both boys and girls outside of the sports season.

“I want to make tennis a year-round effort,” he said. “My mission is to create a solid program and help these kids become the best tennis players they can be.”

Romeo has had a successful first season with Gleason’s guidance, having dropped his third tournament win in the 14s division at the 16th Annual Dana Hills USTA Junior Tournament, and competing in the 108th Ojai Valley Tournament with fellow player Ben Biscarrat in April.

The doubles partners defeated Matthew Goodman and Ren Nielson 6-1, 6-4 in the first round, but then suffered a 0-6, 0-6 loss to Torsten Keil-Long and Clarke Spinosa, who advanced to the quarterfinals.

“This was my first time playing in Ojai, and it was a big transition from smaller tournaments,” Romeo said. “I was disappointed that we lost, but at the same time I was just happy to have the experience.”

Prior to Ojai, Romeo won two three-set matches against top-ranked players in the finals of the Laguna Niguel Junior Tournament last November.

He’s competed in several smaller tournaments, but is eager to play in older, more competitive matches.

“I feel that competing against players at a high level is a great experience that will improve my game,” he said.

In addition to Gleason, Romeo admires professional tennis players Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer — and his all-time favorite, Andre Agassi.

“I look at Agassi as a role model not only because he’s a great champion, but he also supports a lot of noble causes,” he said.

Romeo’s father — who moved to Laguna from Calabria, Italy, with his wife in the late ’80s to open the restaurant — introduced his son to tennis when he was only 4.

He’s alternated the sport with basketball and soccer over the years, but tennis has remained his primary focus.

Romeo said the most challenging aspect so far has been to overcome the fears and doubts that run through his mind during a match.

He will continue to train hard year-round and work through those doubts in order to achieve his dream of becoming a professional tennis player one day.

ASHLEY BREEDING covers sports and features. She can be reached at (949) 494-5462 or at [email protected].