Paxton Fitzpatrick is not, by his own admission, your classic can't-miss tennis talent.
Coming in at a gangly 140 or so pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame may have more than a little to do with that.
"My form is awkward. My shots and serves are not what you would consider classic form. Nobody's going to say about me, 'wow, that's a really nice serve'," he said.
But what isn't awkward is the Camp Hill sophomore's mind. No, sir. What Fitzpatrick lacks in obvious physical gifts he more than makes up for with a high court IQ – an innate sense of when to attack, when to lay back, what angles to play.
Fitzpatrick's freshman season a year ago peaked when the 15-year old stunned favored Jara Welker of Bishop McDevitt in the Mid-Penn AA singles tournament final.
Wasn't a run from nowhere. But nobody exactly had Fitzpatrick winning the thing last March, either.
"I definitely surprised myself," the subject said. "Jara is a great guy as well as a great player. He killed me in the regular season."
"Paxton plays a lot in the off-season," Camp Hill coach Greg Herb said. "He's got a good head on his shoulders. He's got poise. He knows what shots he wants to make.
"I didn't see it coming [the win over Welker]. But he kept his composure so well during that match. And so much of the high school game is about keeping your composure."
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Adding an intriguing layer to the story is that, until last spring, Fitzpatrick had never played competitively outdoors. He grew up a child of the West Shore Tennis Club and had, since the age of 5, played the sport (competitive matches) almost exclusively indoors.
So upon his arrival at Camp Hill, the outdoor high school game -- with all its winds gusts and late winter-early spring frigid temps -- required a major, not to mention quick, adjustment on the fly.
"I've been playing for 10 years now, and mainly throughout that time I would play was at indoor clubs," Fitzpatrick said. "It was a big change for me. For at the least the first half of last season, I had to adjust my game to the elements. I had a real problem keeping a point going more than 4 or 5 shots. I was used to going on runs [indoors] and I found out pretty quickly I couldn't do that.
"I got better at reeling in points. High school tennis is as much about not missing, as it is making the big shots and winning points. It's almost about not losing the point as it in hitting winners."
TWITTER: @Jeff_Dewees