Gallery • 5 Photos

Bergeron gets ready to return a volley.

Spending over 150 hours on the tennis courts in just three months may seem crazy, but for senior Greg Bergeron that’s completely normal. 

“My dad and I were out there on the courts for 2-3 hours everyday,” said Bergeron. His dad was also pushing him to be a better player every step of the way. “It wasn’t just tennis, he just wanted me to stay fit and be a better athlete,” said Bergeron.

The 17 year old started playing tennis because he had friends on the team. “I mean, it was something to do,” Bergeron said. “I knew half the guys on the team, anyway.” After playing his freshman year though, he really loved it and wanted to keep playing. “I also did tennis because my dad had taken me out a few times, and I thought it might give me an edge,” said Bergeron. “It did not.” 

Watching him play, you might think he had been playing tennis his whole life, however that is not the case. “I decided to play tennis, about a week before freshman year,” said Bergeron. His dad had gotten him a last minute lesson with John Lehmer, one of the tennis coaches at the high school. Bergeron said, “I think I had picked up a racket maybe twice in my life.”

He was determined to reach his goal that he had set for himself freshman year. Bergeron said, “I wanted to be on varsity junior year and play number one singles by senior year.” Bergeron knew that in order to meet that goal he was going to have to put in a significant amount of work.

 Coach Lehmer had also taken some students, including Bergeron, on a couple of trips down to Kansas City, to a place called Elite Tennis Club. A lot of really talented, professional tennis players practiced and played at the club. “I think just watching and playing along with players with so much skill was really helpful. It was a really great opportunity to play with some of those guys,” said Bergeron.

Bergeron has achieved his goal, and is currently playing number one singles for North Platte’s varsity tennis team.  Bergeron said, “I really enjoy tennis and it’s something that I’d like to think I’m pretty good at.” Greg has significantly improved over the years and is looking better all the time. “Greg went from a player who knew nothing about tennis, to a player who is potentially ready for the college level,” said Lehmer.

Statistics

Season Record

12-11

Doubles Record

3-1 

North Platte Invite

4-1