Family Ties Run Deep in O'Dea Tennis

SEATTLE – Jason Neri is coaching the tennis team for the second time in a row and his son junior Lorenzo Neri, a focal point on the team, has an opinion on the current lineup.

Last year the majority of the varsity tennis lineup was made up of seniors, with them graduating and a whole bunch of new players that the coach doesn’t know about, it begs the question if Jason Neri can evaluate them properly.

Jason Neri works all throughout the pacific northwest to evaluate players for select tennis teams that they could potentially be involved in if they play well enough. Lorenzo Neri on the other hand has practiced with everyone and understands everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.

With his dad as a scout and him playing for everyone on the team for his high school tennis career, does Neri feel confident in his dad’s abilities to make a solid team, and will it match his idea of the ideal lineup?

“I feel confident that my dad can rebuild a reliable varsity because he’s the type of person that would recognize and notice players who are determined both physically and mentally tough, and my dad will know who is and isn’t trustworthy”. - Says Neri.

Jason Neri is a tennis trainer and when he is not coaching the team, he is working with people who want to get better at the game. Jason Neri is constantly surrounded by the game of tennis and with that comes tons of experience when it comes to evaluating player’s potential. While Neri trusts his dad to rebuild the team, will his dad being the head coach of the team, affect him and his game at all?

“I feel pretty good that he’s the head coach for the team, I think it’ll affect my game positively. My dad has always been coaching me throughout my entire tennis career. Especially helping and coaching me when I have matches in tournaments”. Said, Neri.

Lorenzo Neri is the best on the team, he started playing tennis before the rest of the team and has been sharpening his skills ever since then, his coach and personal trainer when he first started at a young age, was his father.

With all of the skill and experience, Neri has all of the qualities to be the best player on the team. That begs the question, will being the best on the team affect his relationship with the team at all?

Neri says “I feel like being the best on the team will not affect my relationship with them as that I don’t see my teammates being lower nor higher than me rather that I see them as my friends and teammates”.

With the future tennis season coming up Neri trusts his father to do what is best for the team and trusts that the new varsity will try their hardest to win.