A word to the wise — don’t judge Emporia High freshman Chris Reimer by first impressions.
Chances are he’ll end up surprising you.
Take, for instance, the first tennis tournament he ever played in at the high school level. After dispatching of his first opponent, Robbie Proctor of Ottawa, in a gut-it-out 8-6 victory, the diminutive Reimer, who stands about 5 feet, 2 inches tall, stepped onto the court to face Lawrence’s John McGrew.
After the two shook hands, McGrew, who towered over Reimer by about a foot, looked at Reimer and asked, “What grade are you in?”
That was the first, but certainly not the last time, that an opponent has taken one look at Reimer and wondered how this pint-sized teen could possibly be on a high school tennis team. At one tournament this season, someone even asked Reimer’s mother, Karla, if Chris had skipped a couple grades.
Does it bother Reimer? Not at all.
“I just laugh at it. I don’t really care if they think I’m young,” Reimer said. “I just let them watch me play.”
Judging by Reimer’s play this season — he has placed third at two tournaments so far — it has become clear that no opponent should be quick to chalk up a victory over the fiery Reimer, who is a constant whirlwind of energy on the court.
Reimer’s father, Paul, insists height isn’t what matters.
“In tennis, you don’t have to be the big guy,” Paul said. “You can use your size to your advantage the best you can. I think Chris likes that.
“He’d like to be 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, but that’s a nice thing about tennis is that you can kind of use it to your advantage when the other guy is thinking, ‘All right, I’m playing this little blonde-headed kid.’”
McGrew certainly found out Reimer wasn’t all he appeared to be.
Reimer’s baseline game frustrated McGrew so badly at times during their match that McGrew looked to the sidelines at his coach for advice after nearly every point. The match eventually went into a tiebreaker before McGrew finally put the match away, defeating Reimer 8-7(7-3).
Still, Reimer served notice that he was not to be taken lightly.
“He’s definitely got the skill set to be successful,” EHS boys tennis coach Matt Irby said. “If you look at some of the guys he’s lost to, over half of them have qualified for State in the past. He’s grown up around the sport.”
Chris began playing tennis when he was 10 years old. His father, Paul played tennis in high school and at Tabor College and has three older brothers who played the sport. They were all taught by their father. It was only natural, then, that once Chris showed an interest in the sport, Paul began tutoring him.
Paul taught Chris not only the fundamentals of the game, but also how to have fun with it. Paul and Karla would often take Chris out to the tennis court just to hit the ball back and forth to each other. Of course, there was always a little friendly ribbing on the side.
“We like to have fun,” Chris said. “I always laugh at my mom. She always shanks balls. She got one stuck in her racket one time.”
As Chris got older, he developed a fundamentally sound technique based on power-hitting from the baseline with well-placed ground strokes that was complimented with a passion for the game. That much is evident when watching him during a match.
His constant chatter always lets those around him know how the match is going, even if they can’t see it. He yells “C’mon” after nearly every made shot and groans in disgust with nearly every missed opportunity.
Paul said it might be genetics at work.
“Chris has always been a little more of a wear-it-on-your-sleeve type of kid,” Paul said. “I look back when I was his age, and I was probably a little bit the same way. He probably comes by it naturally.”
Now comes the hard part.
Though Chris has been successful at times this season, he readily admits there have been times where his emotions have gotten the better of him, or as he puts it, “I’ve had bad days and good days.” His nearly non-stop pep-talking on the court has at times had adverse effects.
“Sometimes it just eggs me on,” said Chris, whose quiet demeanor off the court belies his fire on it. “Sometimes it gets me kind of angry.”
Irby said the mental aspect of the game is the area where Chris has the most room to grow. Controlling one’s emotions out on the court and adjusting to an opponent’s tactics can be just as important as a perfectly placed forehand winner or a well-timed lob shot.
“He’s learning how to deal with his emotions in the middle of a match and how to adjust and how different people play,” Irby said. “It’s one thing to know how to hit all the strokes, but it’s another thing to know the strategy within a match. He’s just learning how to play.
“He has the skills. He just needs to learn how to use those and at what times. It’s just what being a freshman is.”
Chris said his first tournament when he played against McGrew was not an accurate representation of his style. He said he was “just playing is safe” back then, and now that the season is in full swing, his true tennis self has started to appear.
“I’ve gotten more into my rhythm,” he said. “I just try to get it back in play — get one more ball in than my opponent. When it’s people that hit hard, I like to just hit it harder right back to them.”
As for what his opponents think when they first see him, Reimer shrugs.
He thinks its funny to watch the surprise on an opponent’s face when a kid a foot shorter than him wins the match.
“I don’t think they think much of me when they first see me, because I’m kind of smaller,” Reimer said, “but it’s fun to make them think they’re losing to a kid way smaller than them.”
In Reimer’s case, judging by first impressions just might get you beat.