For NC State men’s tennis sophomore Collin Shick, balancing school and tennis has always been a top priority.
Shick began playing tennis from a young age, his parents signing him up for tennis at the country club in their neighborhood when he was only seven. From there his passion for tennis grew, and he became the number one recruit in North Carolina in 2017, according to Tennis Recruiting Network.
“It was good to have a lot of experience coming in,” Shick said. “College tennis is pretty different.”
Playing tennis at younger ages tends to be more of an individual sport, according to Shick; there is no “travel team” and no partners to practice with.
“All of junior tennis, you’re traveling by yourself with just your parents,” Shick said. “It’s a team here, so there are a lot more people to hit with, which is something a lot of people struggle with because at the lower levels; there might be one guy in this city and one guy in that city.”
Shick was homeschooled for grade school, so he was on the road traveling for a lot of his free time. He won the NC Qualifier Doubles in 2016, the Greensboro Top 16 National Singles Title in 2017, and was ranked No. 59 in the nation.
Shick’s favorite is playing doubles, and he opened his freshman season playing with then-redshirt junior Michael Ogden at the dual season opener, where they won the doubles point for the Pack against Winthrop University.
“I like the fast pace [of doubles], the strategy and plays that you run,” Shick said. “It was awesome to play in my first match — and it was doubles — with [Ogden]. It was really fun because he’s super experienced, and he’s from North Carolina, too.”
Ogden and Shick are two of four players on the team who are originally from North Carolina. The other seven players come from all over the world, including Lithuania, Canada, Slovakia, Montenegro, Israel and Russia.
“It was really cool, especially when I first got here,” Shick said. “They are always speaking tons of different languages, and it’s cool because they all have different personalities that represent their cultures.”
Shick said the older players on the team lead by example, and he follows what they do. However, his teammates are not the only people he looks up to. His parents are his biggest inspiration.
“My mom was an engineer in college, and then she went on to medical school, and my dad is also a doctor,” Shick said. “I think that’s the path that I’d like to take, so I am inspired by them.”
Shick is studying biomedical engineering and takes his school work seriously. Time management and efficiency are key to balancing both his schoolwork and tennis schedule.
“Collin is — regardless of tennis — the best student we have on the team,” head coach Kyle Spencer said. “Because of his high academic success, he is able to spend a lot of time and focus on his tennis.”
Working hard in practice is a big part of getting playing time, since there are 11 players fighting for six singles spots and six doubles spots. However, being only a sophomore, Shick has a lot of potential and time for growth
“We’re a program that is focused on the process,” Spencer said. “We don’t necessarily focus on results. Every day, there is an idea that we are going to get one-tenth of 1 percent better, as a team or as an individual.”
Shick takes this advice from his coach and puts it to work. According to Shick, coach Spencer always reminds the team that practice makes perfect, and the more they work, the more results they will see and the more goals they will achieve.
“[Spencer] always says trust the process and enjoy the process,” Shick said. “His first-favorite feeling is winning a tennis match, and his second-favorite feeling is losing a tennis match.”
Spencer came to NC State after Shick was recruited and has been able to learn a lot about him as both a person and a player over the past two years.
“He is a joy,” Spencer said. “In terms of being a sponge, he picks up everything. He is a coach’s dream.”
