Great in 2010. "Fantastic" in 2011?
The Fortuna High School team started the first day with only two returners: Number 5 Ryan Demello and number 7 Sean Belluscio. Most of the other members were "absolute beginners", with a few having played a couple of times.
What made the 2010 boys team great was their character and their ability to be coached. They trusted their coaches and each other, tried swing and strategy suggestions, and continued until they mastered them. Their growth and maturity on and off the court was phenomenal.
Two members of the travel team started as beginners but ended up looking like third year players: Pedro Cortes moved up to the #2 spot and Taylor LaTorre moved up to the #6 spot. In 9 weeks they developed great forehands, good backhands and serves, and played matches to exhaustion. Not to be outdone was Drew Riddle (#5) who became the teams predominant "spin master" and "net player". Rounding out the top 6 were returners Ryan Demello (#1) who developed two new serves and a strong top spin forehand, and Sean Belluscio (#4) who returned anything that was hit to his side of the court. Finally, Chris Metzger, a freshman, joined with well developed strokes and a good court sense. By the end of the season Chris was hitting smashes by people and developing a power game that lead to his #3 position.
The season started with a 9-0 loss to Eureka and ended with gritty, hard fought wins and losses in the Humboldt - Del Norte Tournaments. The Fortuna High Boys Team earned respect from other teams and coaches in the league, both in their abilities on the court and their sportsmanship on and off the court.
The player positions at the end of the 2009 season were:
- Ryan Demello
- Pedro Cortes
- Chris Metzger
- Sean Belluscio
- Drew Riddle
- Taylor LaTorre
- Tyler Lake
- Alex Wilson (Cast on Right Hand -- learned to play Left Handed!!!)
- Jesse Barcelo
Front Row (L-R): Jesse Barcelo, Chris Metzger, Pedro Cortez Back Row: Drew Riddle, Sean Belluscio, Tyler Lake, Ryan Demello, Taylor LaTorre. Missing: Alex Wilson, Coaches Shane Feusier, Alex Feusier, Robert Gearhart
