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Eighth Grader Draws Tennis Attention
Wyatt McCoy, the Mounds View eighth grader who recently won the
state boys class AA tennis championship, will play for the Mustangs
again next year but after that may be expanding his borders. His
father, Brian, told Sports Headliners his son may start playing
against international competition in various countries after the next
school year.
Brian
said “’there’s no doubt about it” that his son dreams of being a
professional player. The move toward international competition, playing
against the world’s best juniors, is likely to provide the most
effective path to that goal.
Wyatt, who will turn 15 on August 13, has been playing tennis since he
was six. His father, a teaching pro for Lifetime Fitness, didn’t start
playing until he was 17 and later competed for Hamline. Brian said
Wyatt’s game is too good for him and that his son plays other teaching
pros and college players to push him.
Wyatt
is already drawing comparisons to Minnesota tennis legend David
Wheaton who once was ranked No. 12 in the world during a 13 year pro
career that saw him excel in singles and doubles in every Grand Slam
tournament.
Wheaton told Sports Headliners he hasn’t seen Wyatt play but it’s
“really impressive to win the high school tournament as an eighth
grader.”
Wheaton left his Minneapolis area home as a 15-year-old to attend the
Nick Bollettieri tennis school in Florida. “It really helped
from a tennis stand point tremendously,” Wheaton said. “Playing outside
for fours each day couldn’t be replicated in Minnesota.”
Wheaton played one year at Stanford before turning pro in July of 1988. Brian said
college is definitely a possibility for his son, depending on Wyatt’s
readiness for the pro circuit as a teenager.
Brian
expects to know more within about two years as to how promising Wyatt’s
career could be. His 5-foot-8, 135-pound son “has hit his growth
spurt,” although he probably will grow a couple more inches and add
weight.
Wyatt, who has been ranked in the 30 to 35 range among 16 years olds
nationally by the United States Tennis Association, will play national
clay and hard court tournaments this summer. He plays or practices six
days a week. |
