Leading the way: Brownstown senior thrived in No. 1 spot

October 16, 2018

Ethan Carlin decided to switch from football to tennis as a seventh-grader at Brownstown Middle School, and he is glad he made that choice.

On his high school resume, Carlin boasts the school record for wins, All-Mid-Southern Conference honors and Most Valuable Player awards.

Carlin played doubles his freshman year with Sy Zickler at Brownstown Central, and set a school record for wins in a season as the two went 22-2. He played No. 1 doubles at the start of his sophomore year before changing to singles.

Carlin moved up to No. 1 singles his junior year, and played there the past two seasons.

The entire Carlin family is involved in the sport.

“I actually got into tennis because of my older brother (Riley),” Carlin said. “I decided I could be better than him, so I had to follow in his footsteps to see if I could accomplish that. It was mostly sibling rivalry.”

He changed his style of play this season, going to more of an attacking game.

Carlin worked on his game a lot in the off-season, and said that practice is very important in tennis.

In his final season, Carlin tried to be more of a leader.

“I think of myself as one of the harder working ones, and I try to push that along to my teammates as well, that practice isn’t just a joke, that we need to take it seriously and actually go through the drills because it will prepare us and make us better for the next matches ahead,” he said.

Carlin liked playing at home.

“I enjoyed home matches quite a bit because I am familiar with the courts,” Carlin said. “I know it sounds weird, but opponents’ courts can really mess with you because you’re used to practicing on your own courts. You know how they feel. Some courts, the color scheme can mess you up sometimes. I think home court advantage is a real thing.”

Carlin also worked on his mental game over the years.

“(Mental toughness) is probably the hardest part of my game I need to work on,” he said. “Skill-wise, I’m right there. It’s just the mental aspect, especially in singles, you don’t have anybody to talk to, so you just have yourself and if your coach wants to talk to you in between points, unlike doubles where you have your partner.”

The senior has enjoyed his time at BCHS.

“I’ve always gone to Brownstown community schools so it’s always been a part of me,” Carlin said. “I enjoy the smallness of it because you really get to know everyone here, and they really get to know you. You actually have a personnel connection with your teachers unlike bigger schools where you have a couple thousand students where you don’t have that faculty-to-student ratio.”

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Name: Ethan Carlin

High school: Brownstown Central

Parents: Whitney and Jill Carlin

Siblings: Riley, Reece

Sports: tennis 4 years

Athletic highlights: school record wins in a season (22 in 2015), MVP, All-County, All-Conference

Organizations: National Honor Society, student council, Kamali Club (spirit club), Spanish Club, church youth group, committee for healthy students

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