Drake Ferri is Southlake's Latest Golden Boy
There's a consistent thud. The constant sound of a neon yellowbrtennis ball hits the court before catching enough force to shoot off the groundbrand land eloquently back in his hand. All in one swift motion, the sphericalbrshape soars high in the sky and is immediately sucked back down by gravity. Butbrbefore the miniature sun sinks too low, a racket comes into swift motion frombrthe left side at full force, slaying the ball forward into what seems likebroblivion.
It's a spectacular piece that mostbrviewers would only see on their television screens during the U.S. Open. However,brDrake Ferri puts on a similar artistic performance on a weekly basis atbrSouthlake Tennis Center.
Ferri is like most 11-year-olds. Hebrenjoys spending time with his family, hanging out with his friends and gettingbrinto friendly fire with his two brothers. But there's something about this Southlakebrmiddle schooler that is different than most — he's never lost a tennisbrtournament.
“He is technically sound, but hebrhas also mastered the mental side of the game and never gets negative orbremotional,” explains Southlake Tennis Center coach Nathan Brynes. “He's anbrincredible athlete.”
The love of sports runs in thisbrundefeated champion's genes. Coming from a family that is prone to athletics —brhis father is a professional soccer player — Ferri has the natural stamina andbrathleticism most children desire. He enjoys the rush and thrill of competing, Brynesbrsays.
Ask anyone, and they will expressbrthat what makes this tennis warrior different from any other junior player isbrhis mental approach.
“He has the same skill level as otherbrkids, but you'd never know if he was winning or losing by his evenbrtemperament,” says Ferri's grandmother Betty Senske, with a smile. “You can'tbrteach attitude.”
Senskebrshared her passion for the game with her grandson when he was around 5 yearsbrold. During bright, crisp summer days, the dynamic duo would develop Ferri'sbrstroke, hand and eye coordination, all while keeping score. They used a crackbrin Senske's driveway to act as an imaginary net.
Two yearsbrlater, Senske knew her all-star grandson was ready to take his skills from thebrdriveway to the court. She took him to Southlake Tennis Center, which, at thebrtime, picked up on a distinctive program for junior players that most otherbrcenters hadn't developed.
QuickStart,bralso known as 10-and-under tennis, uses modified courts, balls and racquets tobrassist junior players in creating correct technique, movement and match play.brEach student progresses through a series of color-coded levels based onbrmastering defined skills.
There are five levels, ranging frombrred to blue. Junior players start at the red level and range from 4 to 8 yearsbrold. As they gain skills in a technically correct way, the players move on tobrthe next color until they make it to the color blue, also known as thebrtournament level.
“The QuickStart program givesbrplayers a chance to learn the same skills they will learn when they get to thebrbig court, but at their own pace and with modified tools,” says SouthlakebrTennis Center General Manager Mia Gordon Poorman. “If you put a coach ofbrNathan's caliber with players when they start out, you can build a solidbrfoundation and create a better quality of players.”
Ferri began at the red level whenbrhe first entered the program and is now a part of the yellow level team. Due tobrhis unbeatable record, Southlake's newest golden boy was chosen to representbrthe Texas section of the United States Tennis Association as part of a selectbrteam of junior players throughout the state. Undefeated, the team has competedbrin tournaments in Oklahoma, Texas and most recently, won the Border Battlebragainst USTA Southwest.
In preparation for tournaments, Brynesbrholds weekly private practices with Drake to develop his technical skills, gamebrstyle, game play and tournament mentality to keep his reigning title in tact.
Because of the Southlake TennisbrCenter's use of the QuickStart program and Ferri's unique skill set, he is onebrof the top five players in his age in the state. Endorsed by the USTA andbrprofessional tennis players such as Martina Navratilova and Andre Agassi, the QuickStartbrprogram strives to encourage more children to play the game.
Ferri currently competes in tournamentsbrthroughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and will attend tournaments for USTAbrthroughout the year.
“Things come naturally to him,” Senskebrsays in a humble tone. “He has experienced the success that is a bit abovebraverage for most kids his age. Southlake Tennis Center has been such a positivebrinfluence on Drake, and we want to keep it fun for him.”