Some high school tennis players prefer to play singles, while others, such as Trinity Lutheran High School’s Caleb Gruenwald, prefer doubles.
He said doubles partners have to communicate continuously in order to succeed.
“Communication in doubles is very important because if you don’t communicate correctly you and your teammate can be going after the ball at the same time and possibly mess up the point and it give it to the other team by accident,” Gruenwald said.
Gruenwald, who is right-handed, preferred to play on the right side to take advantage of his forehand on the baseline.
The senior was able to play a few matches with his brother, Cameron this fall, and said he enjoyed that.
Caleb said he felt confident with his serves.
“I used a power serve sometimes and there were times I used a drop spin serve,” he said. “It varied according to opponents.”
He also feels winning the first set raises your confidence level.
“Winning the first set is one of the most important parts of tennis,” Gruenwald said. “Winning the first set means that you will have an advantage over the other player or players. Normally the person who wins the first set wins the match unless your opponent is good enough to win the second set and force you into a tie-breaker.”
Gruenwald said he liked playing at home.
“I really enjoyed the home matches, especially with all the support from all the teachers and parents out there,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. We may not have won many this year, but the support was fantastic. It really strengthened our spiritual wins.”
He said his favorite away courts were at Hanover College, where the conference tournament was played.
He said he is glad he came out for tennis as a freshman, and has enjoyed being a student at TLHS.
“Being a student at Trinity is a lot of fun,” Gruenwald said. “The teachers make it their job to make sure that you know what you are doing here, and that you know stuff correctly to help prepare you for college.
“Teachers are available for you one-on-one most of the time and that is a great thing because if you don’t understand something in class you can find them after school or before school in the morning and they can help you with whatever you need.”
“I’ve gotten a good education. The tuition is a little pricey here but it’s worth it in the end because you get an amazing school with great teachers, great students. It’s just all around a great school.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Gruenwald file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Caleb Gruenwald
High school: Trinity Lutheran
Parent: Stephanie Gruenwald
Siblings: Cameron, Cadin
Sports: tennis 4 years
Organizations: National Honor Society
Plans after high school: attend Purdue Polytechnic
Favorite food: Hawaiian pizza
Favorite TV show: Supernatural
Favorite movie: Nightmare on Elm Street
[sc:pullout-text-end]