Ottawa tennis prodigy took a long, winding road to NCAA
Edward Nguyen was six when he first showed an affinity for tennis.
His parents would sign him up for sport camps that involved half-day swimming and half-day tennis. Nguyen never did take to swimming.
Tennis was a natural outlet. Growing up in Westboro, Nguyen’s older brothers Eric and Sean played the game, and Nguyen’s progress surged.
Tennis prodigies grow up fast. Some would say they skip childhood altogether.
In early 2008, at 13, Nguyen was taking Grade 8 courses by correspondence and living in Montreal to train full-time at the new national tennis training centre (his mother and one brother joined him in Montreal). He was part a group of prospects being hothoused to create a pool of future world-class Canadian players.
Nguyen was on that track. He would win five national junior doubles titles and at 14 was named Canada’s top junior player. Later success eluded him, however, and there was no easy transition into the International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro circuit.
A few years ago, Nguyen regrouped to seek out an NCAA career, first at Valdosta State, then at Auburn. He switched to Auburn last year for academic reasons and is studying finance. Last spring he made the SEC honour roll. His brother Eric, who played NCAA Division I tennis at Bradley University, encouraged him to go to college. Nguyen turns 23 in May. “It took a while to figure out the NCAA was best for me,” Nguyen says by phone between practice sessions at the Auburn tennis facility. “The way Tennis Canada, our national centre, is set up, they want to produce champions right out of juniors.
“But the way my tennis was going, college tennis was the best route,” says Nguyen, now focused on doubles
Still in the game, hopeful of a pro career after he graduates, Nguyen doesn’t entertain regret about his early specialization, despite setbacks. Moving to Montreal gave
him exposure to top international coaches. But an all-in lifestyle right out of elementary school is clearly not for everyone.
“You’ve got to love it,” Nguyen says. “It almost becomes your job.”
Nguyen missed out on school social functions and hanging out with friends, many of whom were back in Ottawa while he was a teen in Montreal. If he eschewed school trips and a normal adolescence, he had his tennis trips, including regular jaunts to Europe.
“At the end of the day, I got the chance to visit a lot of cool countries and have a lot of experiences other kids my age didn’t get,” Nguyen says. “So I was pretty lucky.”
The closest Nguyen came to tennis burnout was at 17, when he hit a wall.
“There was a point where tennis was really rough for me,” he says. “It was my last year of juniors when I was 17 years old. I went on a swing over to Italy and France and I lost four straight weeks in a row in the first round.
“At the same time. I was trying to finish up my school,” he says. “Being so far from home, it was a bit difficult. But the way things are panning out in school right now, I’m really happy.”
Nguyen says his career highlight came at 13 during the under-14 title at Les Petits As in Tarbes, France. He became the first Canadian to win at the prestigious tournament, playing the final in front of 3,000 spectators.
Through 10 years of intense competition, Nguyen says he maintained his love of tennis because he wasn’t pushed into it by his parents. “I pushed myself.”
To avoid youth burnout, Nguyen advises strict limits on training.
“I always practised a maximum two hours a day,” Nguyen says. “I didn’t do anything excessive, like four or five hours.”
Nguyen’s early focus on tennis didn’t allow him to pursue his other love, hockey. He never did get to play organized hockey, just games of shinny at nearby Fisher Park.
“There was always the scare that you could get hurt in another sport,” Nguyen says.
“But I skied a lot at Tremblant when I was younger. A little hockey here and there and some basketball at school.”