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! PAGE 20 - PLAINDEALER - FRIDAY, AUGUST 17,1S84 Sports Tennis anyone? Author returns to promote book, game By Chris Juzwik Plaindealer sports editor DID YOU ever want to pack up a suitcase, grab all your money and important /possessions, and pursue a lifelong dream? If you ever yearned for that type of freedom, but never were able to accomplish it, you should talk to Steve VanKanegan. Ripe out of Western Illinois University with a master's degree in hand, Wonder Lake native VanKanegan had security thanks to a job with a property management company in Chicago. But he forsook all that in order to take a shot at becoming a world class tennis player. He quit his job, saved up enough money to get started in the tennis world, and headed to Hilton Head, S.C., a haven for tennis players. In the McHenry area to promote his book "Optic Yellow Fever," VanKanegan, a 1973 graduate of McHenry High School, talked about his beginnings in the tennis world. "I WASN'T EVEN what you'd call a weekend player," VanKanegan said. "But a friend and I were in a bar one night, and we were talking about things, and I decided the business world just wasn't for me. I said, 'hey, I can play pro tennis.' "My family thought I was nuts. I had a good job, a chance to climb the corporate ladder, \ to climb XiS6 and here I was going to South Carolina to play a game I wasn't good at." VanKanegan said tenni* had always intrigued him. He wondered how to improve at tennis, yet still enjoy the game. After four months of working as a painter to earn extra money, it was time to follow a dream. But Hilton Head - and tennis proved to be tougher tasks than VanKanegan had imagined. "I had a master's degree and couldn't even get a job as a dish­ washer. It's a resort town, and every job was taken. "I was down to $1 in pennies. That was my life savings. It would've probably been easy to turn tail and head home, but I always felt things would work out." And work out things did. UNDER THE TUTELAGE of renowned tennis teacher Dennis VanderMeer, VanKanegan got a job at his mentor's club, doing some management work, and began to learn tennis. "I would hit with anybody. I spent the first two weeks banging off the backboard for five or six hours a day. I really went totally nuts with the game," VanKanegan recalled. "I found out real soon that there's so much more involved in tennis than just athleticism. I had fat old ladies beating me, and I just couldn't understand it," he said. He also quickly learned iccer federation to meet The McHenry Area Soccer Federation will hold a general "tfiembership on Thursday, Aug. 30, in the learning center of Parkland Junior High School. The meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., is open to parents of soccer players, as well as coaches, officials and interested persons. Topics to be discussed at the meeting include a general over­ view of the fall season and plans for the development of teams to play future seasons in the Young Sportsman's League. The YSL offers one of the highest levels of youth soccer at the private level in the state. THIS FALL, 475 youths age 6-15 Will be competing on a total of 31 teams in the following ages groups: 6-7, 8-9,10-11,12-13 and 14- 15. The list of 31 teams doesn't include the White Lightning team, which was part of the MASF last season but has since pulled away from the federation. The MASF wishes good luck to the White Lightning team, which will be playing in the Fox Valley Conference this season. Teams in the younger age divisions (6-7, 8-9, 10-11) will be playing against each other on fields in McHenry. Teams in the .older age divisions (12-13,14-15) will be playing in the Fox Valley Conference - a league that includes teams from Crystal Lake, Cary, Lake Zurich, Algonquin and Wauconda. . ( THE MASF'S FALL season will begin Sept. 8 and continue through Oct. 27. All games are played on Saturday mornings and- or afternoons. Teams in the 6-7 age bracket will play at Freund Field or at the field behind First Baptist Church. Teams in the 8-9 division will play at McHenry High West Campus, and teams in the 10-11 division will play at Knox Park. Teams in the 12-13 and 14-15 divisions will play home games at Knox Park, and will also have some road games in other cities. The MASF is headed by president Bob Black, vice president Jim Doherty, secretary Jan Kalvaitis, treasurer Kevin Druml, legal counsel Harry Semrow and age-level director Ldu Glab. Registration for the fall season is still being accepted. For further information, contact Kalvaitis immediately, at 344-3838. another important lesson. "Too many tennis players think they're better than they really are. I felt that same way. It hinders your development as a player." VAN KANEGAN SPENT DAY after day playing tennis, trying to learn as much as possible, and "be the best tennis player I could be." He played in satellite tour1 naments, which are amateur events for those looking to latch on to the pro circuit. Early on, VanKanegan learned he had much more to learn. "I got blown out. 6-0, 6-1, all the time. I was nervous, and tennis is a very psychological and mental game. "But I learned to relax and not put so much pressure on myself, and on winning. I tried to remember that tennis is a game, and playing games is supposed to be fun." VanKanegan improved, and even won some satellite tour­ naments, but to qualify for the Grand Prix tour, a player must rack up enough ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) points. He fell short. "I HAD ALLOWED myself so much time to become a pro- caliber player. I then realized that I wasn't willing to make a commitment," VanKanegan said. "It just wasn't worth it. I couldn't really be a top-notch player, basically because I had started too late. "I set out to be the best player I could be. If that meant being on the tour, great. But it didn't. I tried, gave it my best shot. "I know now I can't be a pro tennis player. I may have always wondered. Now, I can't offer any excuses. VanKanegan then turned to writing and teaching the game he loves. "The effect of tennis on people is fascinating. Many different people in many different areas all get so frustrated on a tennis court. "People get so wrapped up in tennis, they do nothing else. They just don't enjoy the game." ASKED ABOUT THE pressures placed upon a youngster who strives to be a pro tennis player, VanKanegan said, "It takes an incredible commitment, incredible. The effort is really not enjoyable. "There's so much emphasis on tennis, and they place all that pressure on themselves. "Tennis is a hard game to learn. It's a very difficult game, and that adds to the frustration. There's pressure to excel at the game, and anyone who's ever played knows that. "Kids are competing for that prize. The trophy, the ribbon, the plaque, whatever it is. And they're all looking for a return on the investment, they're trained to do that." What about the pros, the men and women who spew ob­ scenities and throw racquets on the court? "Sure, they should be role models," Van Kanegan said. "But I can understand why they do it. They're playing for thousands of dollars, for River Shannon completed a perfect season Tuesday night, winning the Women's 16" playoff championship with two victories. Shannon finished the regular season with a sparkling 14-0 record, but things weren't as easy for the league champs Tuesday. In game one of the playoffs, After the Fox scored seven runs in the first, and River Shannon appeared to be in trouble. But they retaliated, pecking away at the lead, scoring two in the second, one in the third, and five in the fourth to take an 8-7 lead. River Shannon added one in the fifth for insurance, and pulled away to a 9-7 win. River Shannon hurler Mary Ellen King was the winning pitcher, shutting down After the Fox after the big outburst in the first. The triumph moved River Shannon to a showdown with Oak Parte in the league finale. OAK PARK GAINED its way to the final with a 4-2 win over Ed's Rental. Winning pitcher Nancy Glick. hit a sacrifice fly in the first toCi score Carrie Mortell with the first Oak Park run. Debbie Liggett singled in the V STEVE VANKANEGAN eir eir Shannon rules 16" roost SPECIAL or THE WEEK SOFA second and scored on a single by Jill Hartmann, making the score 2-0. In the third, Oak Park scored all the runs H--srssMf need, as Lisa Karpawich and Glick each singled, and scored on. a base hit by Liggett. Mary Varda hit a two-run homer for Ed's in the sixth to account for the final score. IN THE TITLE CONTEST, River Shannon was not to be denied. Oak Park ran off to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second, but the winners bounced back with three in the bottom of the second, and two more in the third, and held on to win 5-2. Julie Oeffling had three hits, including a double and. a homer, to lead the Shannon attack. She also scored two runs and had two RBI. Annette Coughlin, King and Sharal Koenigseder each had hits and scored a run. Koenigseder's single knocked in two runs. Liggett had two singles for Oak Park. Karen Hintz was the winning pitcher, going the distance and shutting down Oak Parte on just four hits. The double victory enabled River Shannon to end its campaign with a 16-0 mark. prestige, to be the tops in th< field. I can rationalize tni behavior. "But where's the pressure in a weekend player, or someone who's just out to get some exercise. I can't understand them throwing a racquet or swearing or kicking the ball around." VAN KANEGAN SAID he threw his racquet twice during his stint as a full-time tennis player. "The second time I did it, I said 'whoa, stop!' I wanted to be good, sure, but I also wanted to enjoy it. I learned to control my emotions and my houghts." VanKanegan^ approach tennis is one he tries to instill his students in his home of Long Beach, Calif. "Too many teaching pros spend forever talking, giving the history of the Continental grip, or the 17,000 points on a forehand. I get my students hitting right away. Everybody has some sort of potential, and you don't want to cloud their heads with analytical thoughts. "I let them hit forehands and backhands, lay the groundwork, and then go on from there. Nobody invented the forehand. It's a natural thing." HE ADDED A good pro will keep the students excited about the game. "My kids goof off on the court. They're relaxed, having fun. I work 'em hard, but keep them enthusiastic. "Somebody said to me recently that my book will teach people to have fun, but if that happens, there will be less world class players. I asked her, 'so, what's wrong with that?" The player-turned-author said sales for his book, which sells for $8.95, are going as well as he had hoped. The book is now on sale only in the Los Angeles area, but will be in the McHenry area next week. VanKanegan did his own publishing, under the name S.V. Wingit Press. "Cause that's what I've been doing, winging it ... for a long time." Excerpts from the work are scheduled to appear in various tennis magazines in the coming months, and VanKanegan hopes that the result will be more backing. The book contains satirical views on the game, and those who play it. VanKanegan's next ob­ jective? "Maybe the inspirational end of it. I'd like to get away from tennis and write about how if you want to do it, you can get what you want." VanKanegan will be giving clinics in the area in the next two weeks. McHenry West will be one of the sites. The clinic, to be held Saturday, Aug. 25, will begin at 9 a.m. and is free of charge. "I'm not promoting me. I want to promote tennis," he said. The inevitable question about his past arose, and VanKanegan wasted no time in answering it. "I would definitely do it again, the same way. * "I had a heck of a good time, and it was something I wanted to do. I wouldn't have started any earlier. I would have gone through high school and college and had fun. I have no regrets." Steve VanKanegan has lived a Walter Mitty-esque existence as a tennis player, and now as a writer and teacher, pursuing what most can only dream of. "My chance of ever being a pro were slim to none, from the start. Not too many people reach that level. r "But I think I've done alright for myself." And how. ANO LOVESEAT Nylon Fabric, Contrasting Welt, Colors Available, All Pillows Except Seat are attached, Lifetime Warranty On Frame. 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