By Brandon Wright, Times Correspondent
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
BRANDON
Allen Liberato has spent the past two years transforming the Brandon Sports and Aquatic Center into one of the premier tennis centers in the county. Now the BSAC tennis director is branching out across the bay.
Liberato and BSAC recently announced they would be overseeing all tennis operations at the Seminole Lake Tennis Center in Seminole.
"It's something that we are very proud to be a part of," said Liberato, who played at Villanova and coached at Academy of the Holy Names. "To be at this point from where we were a few years ago, it's very exciting."
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In addition to its adult programs, BSAC has recently become a hot bed for area youth talent. Seven players on the Times All County Tennis first or second teams train at BSAC, as well as two-time Pasco County Player of the Year Colin Roller.
"I had been gone for a while playing in college and the pros, and when I came back I was looking for the place with the best players," Ryler DeHeart said. "And I saw BSAC had really taken over. No one can compete with the number of talented kids they have there."
And that can be traced to the success of the QuickStart, Future Stars and HI Performance camps that are designed for players of any ability from ages 5 to 18. Liberato credits junior player development directors Alex and Andrew Golub, who played No. 1 singles at Florida State and Miami, respectively, for making the youth program so successful.
"When they came in three years ago, things just started taking off," Liberato said.
In addition to juniors Justin Hall, Garrett Watson and Kylie Moulin — who all won local tournaments while playing up in age groups this summer — BSAC's Jessica Ho took first place (16 singles) at the Florida Open this month while Jon Ho and Jack Murphy were first in the 18 doubles division.
"The kids push each other," Liberato said. "And we have some great pros teaching them."
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Liberato is counting on DeHeart to carry the torch at the new location. DeHeart was once ranked No. 1 nationally in juniors, won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's indoor singles championship as a junior at the University of Illinois and played professionally for six years.
"I had a herniated disk in my back and decided to hang up the racket, in terms of playing, for a while," DeHeart said. "I saw what they were doing and that they had a ton of kids at BSAC. When the opportunity came up, I knew I wanted to do something big like that (at Seminole Lake)."
If the juniors need any proof of DeHeart's credentials, they can just check YouTube. DeHeart, 27, faced then top-ranked Rafael Nadal at the 2008 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
"It was pretty amazing to have played the No. 1 player in the world under the lights (at the U.S. Open) and have all the American fans there behind you," said DeHeart, who lost 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. "It was one of the best moments of my life and something not too many people can say they've done."
Brandon Wright can be reached at hillsnews@sptimes.com.
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