Sports
VIDEO: Seekonk Boys Tennis Gets Ready for the Season
Coming off a successful 2010 campaign, new coach Dale Seward takes over a team with plenty of young talent, but 2011 may be a rebuilding year.
Dale Seward, long time coach of the Woonsocket High School tennis team, takes over for Richard Silva as the head coach of Seekonk boy tennis this season. The new coach has a young team, and admits he may be looking at a rebuilding year to start his tenure.
"I don't expect we're going to do really well," said the coach at Wednesday's practice, adding, "But I think we're going to get better. We're building for next year."
Of course, the coach did not arrive at his conclusion by mere pessimism. The team is returning only two players from last year. Jonathan Pazienza and Jacob Findlay, the team's second and third singles players, are the only members of last year's team coming back.
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Outside of Pazienza and Findlay, the team has two more juniors, who are first year players, and the remainder of the roster is composed of freshmen. "But two of the freshmen are in the top four," said Seward, "And that's a good thing."
The team must field three singles players and two doubles pairings for each match. As it stands now, Findlay and Pazienza will be led by Freshman Colby Dressier in matches.
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The top doubles pairing will feature Maxfield Hagenburg and Timothy Braunsdorf. Second doubles will be played by Andrew Piccitelli and Nicholas Rodrigues.
"It's a young team," says Seward, "And we're just going to get better as time goes on." For a young team, Seward has a new opportunity that can only help. Rosters are generally smaller in Massachusetts than in Rhode Island, where teams start four singles and three pairings for doubles.
"It makes it a lot easier to work with these kids," says Seward of the adjustment to coaching in Massachusetts, adding, "You can give players a lot more attention."
It may be a frustrating year for the young team, but fans can take heart in the knowledge that Seward's bunch is building towards something bigger. "I tell the kids, what I'm looking for is a little bit better everyday. Everyday your tennis sense gets better, everyday you understand the game a little bit better."
