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Gage Sanchez, Bishop Snyder High School

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A Winner on the Courts Gage Sanchez, Bishop Snyder High School

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A Winner on the Courts Written by Jeff Elliott Photography by: Allen Allnoch

It took Gage Sanchez one season away from the sport to reaffirm what he already knew – tennis is indeed his favorite sport. Sanchez is a senior at Bishop Snyder and is generally regarded as one of the elite high school players in Northeast Florida. Because schools vary in size and thus are in different classifications, the best players don’t always get to face each other. But the top players know who they are, which is why they’ll often gather at various sites throughout Jacksonville and hit against each other, knowing the practice they’re getting in this fashion will strengthen their level of play more so than if they were to compete against a player on their high school team. A couple years ago, that’s all Sanchez did. He had no high school team to compete on, but not because he was booted off the team or was ineligible to compete for Bishop Snyder. Sanchez was coming off a banner freshman year with the Cardinals in which he won the district singles title and thus qualified for the state tournament. While he lost in the first round there, Sanchez displayed enough skills and talent to give credence that he 18 | itgnext.com

would be among the top players in Class 1A for the next three years. But when tennis season opened the following year, Sanchez was a noshow — by his choice. He wanted to come to grips with a question that had been haunting him for some time: W h a t w o u l d h i g h school life be like without tennis? “I wanted to get a taste of high school — Gage with and without playing on the tennis team,” Sanchez said. “It was a good learning experience for me, to experience the different aspects of high school with and without the team. But I think in the long run, it was good for me. “I kept playing tennis outside of high school because I have such a passion for the sport. But I never played for Bishop Snyder that year. I know that seems rather unique, but I wanted to see what would make me most happy.” It only took that one high school season

away from tennis and his teammates to convince Sanchez that he wanted to wear Cardinals garb each spring on the tennis courts. He did so a year ago at this time and had an even stronger season than he enjoyed as a freshman, that is until Lady Luck hung him out to dry on the eve of another state tournament. “I decided I enjoyed school m o r e Sanchez when I was playing tennis,” he said. “I was able to win districts and went to state again, but then I came down with pneumonia that week. That’s one of the saddest things that’s ever happened to me. I was bed-ridden for two weeks so I couldn’t do anything. That was really disappointing, but that fuels me now; I have something to strive for.” David Osbeck has coached Sanchez since his freshman season at Bishop Snyder. He saw the youngster’s talents as a 15-year-old who only needed experience at the high school level

“I decided I enjoyed school more when I was playing tennis.”

“Learn from the greats and become greater.” — Michael Jackson

to hone his game. He’s watched his prize player mature and develop the past three seasons with the Cardinals. “The difference between his freshman season and now is unbelievable in terms of willingness to adapt and learn and be a little more humble,” Osbeck said. “That’s one of Gage’s better traits that he posses. He’s well liked by his classmates; he’s a class leader and is one of our better students (4.119 GPA, ranking 10th out of 104 seniors). He’s the real deal, a good package. His parents are awesome and have given him a lot of support.” Sanchez has been playing tennis since he was 5 years old. His great-uncle, Eddie Pascual, introduced the game to Sanchez's dad, and he in turn taught his

sons how to play. The three brothers — Egan now 21 and a student at FSU; Gage, 18; and Kian, 11 — all have taken the sport to varying degrees. When you look at Sanchez, he doesn’t equate to today’s typical tennis player — the long, lean, tall, hard-hitting, dominant players. Sanchez will settle for the lean and dominant adjectives. He’s a solid 168 pounds dripping wet and measures in at 5-foot-11, though that may be with him on his tip-toes. Opposing players may over-match him in size and with a power-hitting game, but they won’t match his tenacity, heart, and the ability to chase down nearly any ball hit on his side of the court. “I compensate for any size differential with my quickness and footwork and my tenacity,” said Sanchez, who has a court

presence similar to Rafael Nadal. “I think mentality plays a bigger part of my game sometimes than my physical aspects do. When you’re on the court, you have to have a killer instinct. You want to win every single point, play every point as if, if you lost it, you would physically die. I live by that motto. I’m pushing to the limit.” That line of thinking came into play this past December in a match. Sanchez was cramping up, and it had a profound effect on his game. But he pushed aside the thought of conceding defeat. “I stayed on the court and ended up having a full body cramp and wound up in the hospital," he said. "I was cramping up pretty bad, but I refused to quit." It’s that type of mentality, that determination, that has separated Sanchez from others at his level. Not that such a line of thinking will assure him of victory each outing. The important thing in a loss, however, is that he learns something from the defeat. “My tenacity, my refuse-tolose attitude is probably the strongest part of my game,” Sanchez said. “But most important is that I’m going to learn something from every match I compete in. As long as you take something out of every match — win, lose or draw — that’s what I’m looking for. “’Learn from the greats and become greater.’ That’s a quote from Michael Jackson, whom I’m a big fan of.” Sanchez will weigh his college opportunities in the next couple of months before deciding where he wants to play. He’s already received firm offers from Fordham, Idaho, Bucknell, LaSalle, and Holy Cross. There may be more in the coming months. He’ll major in law, wherever he decides to go. “I’ve always loved oral presentations," he said. "I’ve always loved the competition aspect of debate. I’d love to be some type of a lawyer one day.” A tennis player who refuses to lose. A lawyer one day who will share that same trait. Gage Sanchez is destined for success on the court and in a court.

JOI: Proud team physicians keeping the Jaguars and you on your game.

Kevin M. Kaplan, MD - Head Team Physician

Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute and Baptist Health are pleased to offer area athletes and weekend warriors unmatched sports medicine expertise and complete orthopaedic care. As team physicians for the Jaguars, area high schools, colleges, and universities, you’ll find us on the field and at convenient office locations across Northeast Florida. That’s good for the team — and good for you.

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Northeast Florida High School Fall Athletic Awards Banquet Written by: Susannah Parameter | Photography by: Aaron Musgrove

Living life In the Game means living each day with passion, determination, and positivity. We love highlighting those who drive home these qualities and inspire us along the way. Our awards banquets allow us to lift up top athletes across Northeast Florida as a community and give them extra recognition for all of their achievements. We recently held our Northeast Florida High School Fall Athletic Awards Banquet. Athletes and their families were able to hear from Welton Coffey II, Camden County athletic director. Coffey gave a passionate speech on the importance of dedication and drive to find success in life. We recognized athletes who participated in all fall sports, including football, cross country, swimming and diving, golf, girls volleyball, and bowling. ITG Next also handed out several special awards, including those for top youth athletes and our Fall Coach of the Year. We had so much fun hosting all these student-athletes and their families! As always, if you know of an athlete who you feel deserves to be recognized, please reach out to us via our social media platforms (@itgnext) and our website (itgnext.com).

Football

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overall award winners! Congratulations to all of our overall award winners!

Boys Swimming & Diving

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Girls Cross Country

In The Game | 53