Names in the game: Old school, young students

Scott Shogreen considers himself old school.

Think Vince Lombardi clad in tennis whites. Mike Ditka with a tennis racket. Will Ferrell on the tennis court. OK, so maybe not the last one.

Intense. Demanding. Coddle-free.

Tough. Disciplined. Bordering on maniacal.

Shogreen isn't interested in helping kids make their high-school tennis teams. He's interested in sending them off to college, to the pros, to a level so elite only a handful of kids fit in Shogreen's tennis jigsaw puzzle.

But for all the old school in the approach, Shogreen has been doing for about two years what's never been done at this level in Washington. He's been running the Northwest Tennis Academy out of Mill Creek Tennis Club. The best of the best.

"The biggest problem with junior tennis today is the softness of the kids, the dependency of the kids on their parents," Shogreen said. "You can't buy determination. That's the worst possible scenario for developing high-level players."

There's something refreshing about that approach, even if, aesthetically speaking, it's about as pretty as a missed overhead. His kids are those with special talents. Many are so good that they don't play high-school tennis. All will play Division I or higher in college.

They practice three hours a day, every day. Should something go wrong in practice, they run sprints. And when they're not practicing, they're playing in regional and national tournaments.

Kamiak sophomore-to-be Ashley Anderson described Shogreen as a "perfectionist."

"That's the perfect word," she said. "If you look at his bag, everything is so in order. His outfits are always matching. He sees everything. If you do something wrong, I don't care where you are, he'll see it.

"As a coach, he's the best one around."

Shogreen doesn't apologize for his approach. His players said he shouldn't have to.

"If you see resistance, you still have to give it time," Shogreen said. "Because they're going to resist. They're out of their comfort zone on a regular basis. That's where they need to be. That's my job. To get them to the level where they can take it."

One name — Jan-Michael Gambill — is proof that Shogreen's system works. Shogreen was a standout junior tennis player, and he played for two years at Pepperdine University before returning to his Tacoma roots to teach the game, mold the young, demand the most.

Then Gambill, a Spokane native who has been ranked as high as 14th in the world, came along. After a few years together, the Gambill family asked Shogreen to work with him full time. They've been together ever since — at Davis Cup matches, the U.S. Open, the Australian Open — all over the world.

That kind of intensity has its price. Shogreen jokes that he's burned out three months a year. But when someone like Gambill transforms from student into stud, that's when Shogreen knows the approach works. Old-school style. Old-school results.

"It takes its toll on you," Shogreen said. "It's a seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year kind of deal. But that makes it all worthwhile. That's what pulls you out of the burnout."

Shogreen turned 38 last week, but he still plays at a high level. He's ranked No. 4 nationally in the Men's 35 age group. He has also played on and captained the Italia Cup team, the elder-statesman equivalent of the Davis Cup.

But coaching is what makes his heart skip. Glancing around three outdoor courts filled with youngsters who hit the ball harder than 99 percent of adults on a sunny, cloudless Monday morning, he couldn't help but crack a smile. The intensity faded, if only momentarily.

"I see a little bit of me in all of them," he said.

Introduce yourself to Mark Shkrebtan, a 14-year-old from Sammamish, and he says, "I work under Scott," and offers a handshake.

If the next Gambill is out there, Shogreen's going to find him and develop him, push him and prod him all the way to the pro tour.

Fillip Pogostkin, a 13-year-old from Bellevue, searched far for the right coach. Then he found Shogreen. Asked what a difference a year makes, how much better his strokes were, Pogostkin laughed.

"Incomparably," he said. "Just way better."

Pogostkin estimated he spends three-quarters of the year with Shogreen. He likes the personal attention, the matches against the master. No one at the academy has ever schooled the teacher. Few even win a game.

"Not unless it's Christmas," Pogostkin said. "But I like that. He's strict. Very disciplined. But in a good way. Or sometimes a not-so-good way. But usually good."

Shogreen surveyed the scene and laughed.

"Time to get to work, guys," he said, still laughing. "That's enough of a break for one day."

Around the county

• The list of prospective colleges that Kirsten Thompson will choose from is growing shorter. The 6-foot-6 center from Monroe, ranked as high as the No. 7 girls-basketball recruit nationally, said this week that she will choose from among Arizona State, Iowa State, Stanford, Connecticut, Colorado and Notre Dame.

• There's more news from young rower Erin Knox: She was selected last week as one of 14 members of the U.S. Junior National Team. It will compete in the Junior World Championships in Spain.

• More than 200 golfers are expected to participate in the 28th Washington Junior Golf Association State Championship at Everett Golf and Country Club, Mill Creek Country Club and Lynnwood Municipal Golf Course on July 28-30. Among the golfers who have participated in the association are Fred Couples, Kirk Triplett and Ryan Moore, and Cascade's Renee Skidmore.

• Skidmore won the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Women's Amateur Championship at Bend (Ore.) Golf and Country Club last week. She's off to the University of Idaho on a golf scholarship in the fall.

• Edmonds-Woodway junior-to-be Kellan Mackey recently pitched a perfect game for Dow Baseball in a local summer tournament. Those involved with the team, which has been around for 20 years, say it's the first perfect game in team history. Mackey played on the Edmonds-Woodway junior varsity last season.

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com