Dogs’ Foshey was district champion, 3A state qualifier

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
He’s only 14, looks 13, and seems way too young to be the best player on his high school tennis team.
Looks, they say, can be deceiving.
Trevor Foshey is one of the best tennis players to join the St. Cloud High team in a long time, and before his Bulldog career is over, he may prove to be the best ever.
He’s that good.
“I’ve known since the first time I saw him, when he was 8, that he was going to be very good,” St. Cloud boys tennis Coach Dallas Kelsey said. “He’s been playing the youth tournaments, and winning them, since he started.”
Foshey, the Osceola News-Gazette Boys Tennis Player of the Year, was not only unbeaten in the Orange Belt Conference, but he dismantled several excellent opponents in the process on his way to winning the district championship and qualifying for the Class 3A state tournament.
He dispatched Osceola’s Paul Gursky, last year’s player of the year, in two sets, 6-3, 6-0, and had no problem against Celebration’s top player, Tyler Young, winning 6-0, 6-0, in conference play. He lost one game game while winning the district title.
“I’ve tried other sports. I played baseball, and an AAU basketball team I was on won a state championship,” Foshey said. “But, now I take tennis more seriously.”
An Achilles tendon injury caused him to withdraw from the state tournament just five games into his first match at Lake Brantley High.
“He wanted to keep playing, so he went back on the court to try a couple more points, but it was useless and he had to come off,” Kelsey said.
The St. Cloud coach said Foshey has the potential to be perhaps the best player to come out of Osceola County.
“I don’t think there’s any question about that. I’ve coached some good ones in 20 years here, but he definitely stands out,” Kelsey said.
Foshey, unlike most young players, uses an old-school, one-hand backhand grip.
“I used to use two hands when I started, but after about six months I switched. (Roger) Federer is my favorite player, so I wanted to play like him, I guess,” Foshey said.
His older brother, Andrew, was St. Cloud’s No. 1 singles player two years ago and earned a tennis scholarship. Trevor has the same ambition.
“I guess UF would be at the top of the list,” he said. “I  haven’t gone to any camps there yet, but I like the program there.”
The Gators are one of the elite tennis programs in the nation, but Foshey’s talent is such that playing at UF isn’t out of the question, Coach Kelsey said.
“He uses the semi-Western grip (on his forehand) to get that big top-spin. He gets the power going up. It’s the grip that all the upper-level college kids and the pros use. It’s so they can stand with an open stance and still keep the ball on the court,” Kelsey said.
Foshey said one reason that he home schools is to allow time to practice at Rollins College, where he trains with assistant tennis coach Anzela Zguna, once ranked No. 1 in Division II  for the Lady Tars.
“On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll go up and practice for a couple hours in the morning, have lunch, and then play points matches for a couple of hours,” he said. “It’s a long day.”
Foshee said high school tennis usually isn’t as intense as his tournament matches, but he enjoys it.
“It’s fun, and I like to help the team out if I can,” he said.
And, he may end up winning a state championship or two in the process.