Minnerath has abiding love for ‘gentleman’s sport’

by Dennis Dalman

editor@thenewsleaders.com

Tennis is a lot harder than it looks, according to Eric Minnerath, 16-year-old member of the Sartell Sabre boys’ tennis team.

“I sweat a lot,” he said. “It’s a lot more exhausting than a lot of people think it is. In tennis, there’s a lot of sprinting around, quick changes of direction, and you have to put all your might into every shot. I’ve had my share of knee problems, and last year I sprained my ankle. I’ve had to wear braces for knees and ankles.”

And there’s the unexpected accidents.

“Three years ago I ran into a fence and hit my nose,” he said.

Not that Minnerath is complaining. On the contrary, he loves the sport.

“It’s a gentleman’s sport,” he said. “There are not a lot of external factors. It’s just you alone on that court. There’s no politics, no favoritism, no complications. It’s up to yourself to maintain the integrity of the game because there are no referees, no callers.”

Minnerath, a co-captain along with Kyle Harthan, is one of 10 members on the varsity tennis team for 2017. He is the son of Sylvia and Dale Minnerath of Sartell.

He began playing tennis just for fun when he was in fifth grade. In seventh grade, he joined it as a school sport, and he’s been loyally with it ever since.

Last year, as an individual tennis player, Minnerath made it to the subsection semi-finals. This season, his dream goal is for his team to get up to 500 points and then make it to Day 2 of section play as a team. His ultimate goal, of course, is to make it to state play, either as a team or an individual.

In boys’ tennis, members can play either singles or as doubles matches. Minnerath plays best in singles competition.

A few weeks ago, he returned from spring break in Costa Rica, an exotic country in Central America. But he didn’t lounge around in a hammock down there, at least not all the time. He played many games of tennis, just as he did on his spring breaks a couple of times to Florida and even once to the Cayman Islands. He had to practice, to get in shape, because tennis season back home in Sartell typically starts at the end of March or early April.

This early April the team was elated because – for a change – there was no snow to shovel. Yes, that’s right. The boys, around season opener late March, would often have to shovel snow off the Sartell High School tennis courts before they could commence to play.

“We’d often say to each other as the first day of practice approached, ‘Be sure to bring a shovel!’ Minnerath said. “This year no snow. We lucked out.”

Snow is usually a down side to early spring practice and play. Another down side is there were no chairs or benches for players to sit on and rest between sets. Thankfully, now, this season there are chairs available.

“I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining,” he said. “I love tennis. It’s so much fun, and I really enjoy the sport. I get along with the other guys really well. And one of the best things about tennis is that it’s fun to have connections with the team mates, the parents and the family members.”

In high school tennis, a team wins by winning at least four of seven matches.

Minnerath’s older brother, Carl, is also a tennis enthusiast. Now a student at Concordia College, Moorhead, Carl is studying chemistry and neuroscience but decided not to play college tennis because of his busy schedule. But throughout the years and into the future, the Minnerath boys – Carl and Eric – have always enjoyed playing tennis together every chance they’d get. And they’ll keep playing. Eric also has three sisters – Claire, Margaret and Lizzy – none of them tennis players.

Minnerath likes math and computer science in school, but he’s not sure what he plans to study in college. In the meantime, he’ll keep working hard at his tennis skills and enjoying the game.

The other members of the senior varsity Sabre tennis team are Thomas Connolly, Max Fesenmaier, Eddie Hamilton, Kyle Harthan, Yash Hindka, Lawton Miller, Tom Pinkerton, Jacob Ringstad and Patrick Stalboerger.