There’s an adage in sports that says one player does not make a team.
But that’s kind of what happened this fall with the Hudson’s Bay boys tennis team.
When Hudson’s Bay coach Charles Hahn opened practice this fall, the Eagles’ team was comprised of one player.
The two-week late start of the school year because of the teacher’s strike compounded matters.
“They were about to shut us down,” Hahn said. “We weren’t going to have a team this season because we didn’t have enough players.”
And then a foreign exchange student and his host mother showed up at practice. Manolo “Manny” Fernandez was an experienced club player from Chihuahua, Mexico who was returning to tennis after a brief hiatus.
That sparked some interest at Hudson’s Bay.
“Word started spreading that there was this foreign exchange student at school who was really, really good at tennis,” teammate Sergio Rodriguez said. “And then people started joining the team.”
Bay finished the regular season with 14 players.
“Not only did he help us with our numbers, but he gave us a viable program in the league,” Hahn said of Fernandez. “Other teams wanted to play us because they wanted their No. 1 (player) to play our No. 1.”
Having a player of Fernandez’s ability on the team has helped inspire his novice teammates.
“We have players who literally picked up a racket for the first time just weeks ago,” Hahn said.
Fernandez said he enjoys helping his teammates.
“I see their mistakes and tell them what to and show them, just try to get them to play better,” Fernandez said through his translator, Rodriguez.
Fernandez said he joined the foreign exchange program to learn a new language and culture. Did he speak much English before arriving at Bay?
“No,” he said.
But tennis has helped with the transition, as some of his Bay teammates are bilingual.
“I just showed up for tennis, and from there, we became friends,” Fernandez said.
A little more than a month into his experience at Bay, Fernandez’s English is improving and so is his confidence off the court. However, it has a way to go to match his confidence on the court.
“Manny is as smart and mature a player as I’ve coached in 26 years,” Hahn said. “And I’ve had a four-time state champion.”
Hahn was referring to Zhenya Pereverzin, who Hahn coached at Clackamas (Ore.) High School.
(CORRECTION: Spencer Mendoza, who only won a single state title, was coached at Bay by Jim Sevall.)
Communication between coach and his top player has been good, but not perfect.
Fernandez was enjoying an unbeaten season until two weeks ago in his final regular-season match. Fernandez was in the third set of a tough match against Mountain View’s Lu Abuizzah.
Sensing some frustration from his player, Hahn motioned to Fernandez to come over for a chat. But Fernandez refused to talk to his coach.
“Normally, I don’t talk much to Manny during a match,” Hahn said. “He knows what he’s doing. But in this match, I just needed a few seconds to just find out where his head was at.”
But Fernandez refused, following protocol he learned from playing club tennis in Mexico.
“In matches, we’re not obligated to speak with coaches,” Fernandez said. “I just felt like I knew what to do.”
But Hahn said Fernandez’s refusal to speak to him set a poor precedent, so the coach reluctantly decided to forfeit the match.
“I think Manny didn’t believe I had his back, but I do,” Hahn said. “It was a tough situation, because all the kids are watching him and what he does, even the players on the other team. I think it was a learning experience for everyone.”
Fernandez met Abuizzah again in the semifinals of last weekend’s district tournament, with Abuizzah rallying for a 1-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory.
Fernandez worked his way back through the consolation bracket to earn third place. That advanced him to the bi-district tournament, where he hopes to advance to the state tournament.
But if that doesn’t work out, he already has a backup plan.
“If for whatever reason, I don’t make it to state this year in the spring, then I’ll play soccer,” Fernandez said. “I like to play soccer.”
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached at (360) 735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
