While many Vandal athletes went home for the summer, four Idaho tennis players traveled to Southampton, New York, to coach.
Ale Lozano, Jose Bendeck, Andrew Dobbs and Abid Akbar spent approximately three months at The Meadow Club, an upscale tennis club just miles from the ocean, coaching mostly children 5 to 10 years old.
Located on The Hamptons strip of New York, The Meadow Club features more than 30 grass tennis courts, and members are required to play in all-white attire.
For Dobbs, it was a great chance to start his career as a coach after graduating from Idaho last May.
“I was looking for jobs and options to go back home to my club there, but then being here in Idaho and Jeff knowing all these people he has met through the years, he actually knew a gentleman who works there so that was my connection,” Dobbs said.
He said he learned a lot from coaching the youngsters.
“You try to motivate and teach your students how to play the right way but ultimately it is their choice how to play,” Dobbs said.
Spending the summer playing and coaching helped Dobbs realize again how much he loves the game.
“Being up there and then coming back here, it has really made me fall in love with the game again,” Dobbs said.
Akbar loves the game too and said he really enjoyed the experience.
“I have been (in Idaho) three years and I wanted to do something interesting, I have always just been in school and then back home so I wanted to get a different experience and see New York,” Akbar said.
Lozano, the only female from Idaho who took the trip, went not only for the coaching experience, but also for an internship in photography and design.
She had an opportunity to help with events, decorating the pro shop and taking photographs at tournaments.
Lozano’s most memorable moment of the trip was when all four Idaho players decided they would attend day one of the U.S. Open and watch a favorite player of hers.
“I never got the chance to see (Roger) Federer play before, so in his first match I was screaming like crazy,” Lozano said.
Dobbs’ most memorable moment was also at the US Open but it wasn’t any particular match. For him, the atmosphere was enough.
“It’s amazing to see what you teach everyday and how the pros are just perfecting it at the highest levels,” Dobbs said.
He said there are a lot of options for him this year, but returning to The Meadow Club is definitely on the list.
Charles Crowley can be reached at [email protected]