By By Michelle Pearson / Tennis Columnist
Aug. 15, 2002
I have been wanting to start a tennis column for some time now. Before I could even begin the process, I felt the need to draw some attention to one of the main reasons that tennis is really starting to take off now in Meridian.
Though you would never get any of this information directly from the horse's mouth,' Dave Trebisky, Northeast Park's tennis pro, is the source of the excitement. I do no think many people realize the level of pro that we have in Dave and what his accomplishments have been. I hope after you read this, you will see how fortunate we are to have someone with his vast experience among us.
Dave's first athletic success actually began in ice hockey, where he went to Russia to compete in the Peewee Ice Hockey World Championships. His father worked for the United Nations and was transferred to Liberia, Africa, where Dave picked up his first tennis racket at the age of 12. As a junior player, Dave trained at the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy in Florida.
He was ranked in the top ten in the world boys 18-and-under division. He played in the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French, and Italian Junior Grand Slam events. Dave attended the University of Florida in Gainesville on both a tennis and football scholarship. As a professional tennis player, Dave was ranked in the top 50 in the world.
His coaching accomplishments are as outstanding as his playing accomplishments. He traveled and coached many world class players. Dave developed 11 All-Americans and five Academic All-Americans in nine years in San Diego. His team won four consecutive West Coast Athletic Conference Championships. He was recognized as California Pro of the Year in both 1984 and 1987. Dave was voted Conference Coach of the Year four straight years. In addition, he was a tennis consultant to the nation of Israel and coached the Malta National Team at the Federation Cup in Tokyo, Japan and in Atlanta.
Although Dave enjoys working with adults, his real passion is developing junior players. This is evident by the quick success many Meridian and statewide junior players have had under his coaching.
Dave has developed many state and southern ranked players out of Mississippi, and on any given week you will see out-of-town juniors on the courts with him, getting assistance with improving their skills. He is receiving statewide attention now as he was asked to coach the Mississippi boys 14s team at the Southern Championship Tournament this year.
Dave will frequently help house players with host families in Meridian who travel here to have the opportunity to work with him. One such player is even moving to Meridian to spend the next year in intensive training with Dave.
As a first-year coach of the Lamar School Tennis Team, both the boys and girls won the AAA State Championship, and the boys placed second overall. If your child is interested in starting tennis, give Dave a call at the tennis center at 483-3526.