By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Matt Hill's most recent international recruiting trip went a lot more smoothly than his first.
"We were intelligent about it," the first-year Sun Devils men's tennis coach said. "We had one large trip in the fall when we tried to really hammer down some of our top players. We went to Italy, to France, to Germany, over to Belgium... We did a lot of home visits at that time and we were able to convince a lot of kids we went there to recruit."
Hill came home with the recently reinstated program's first recruiting class in eight years, a group that will begin intercollegiate competition on Jan. 13, 2018 vs. Duke. The first five are: Michael Geerts (Belgium), Ben Hannestad (Denmark), Thomas Wright (Great Britain), Mandresy Rakotomalala (France) and Will Kirkman (Dominican Republic/Michigan).
Hill has since landed signings from Andrea Bolla (Italy) and Carsyn Smith (Scottsdale) and will likely sign two more players in April to round out his team.
"I think people will look at our roster and think there should be more American kids on it," Hill said. "There are at other schools, and I'm excited about this program moving forward in the American market, but on the American side they commit so early that once we got the job, 80-plus percent of the people we'd recruit had already committed and signed so we realized that if we were going to put a team together that's good we were going to have to go outside the US. Luckily, tennis is such a global sport that we really were able to find some talented players."
Here's Hill's takes on the first five:
Hill on Geerts (22): "He's incredibly fast around the court, he has a big serve and he's one of the best ball strikers I've ever been around."
Hill on Hannestad (20), who was training at the IMG Academy in Florida: "He's one of best players in the world for his age and he's done pretty well in the limited pro tournaments he has played. He has a great all-around game, he's a great athlete with a super high ceiling because he's super disciplined."
Hill on Wright (18): "He is so raw and that's really because he was too good for his area. It's been hard for him, for the first time, being around people who can push him, but he has huge upside. He's a righty with a beautiful, world-class, one-handed backhand. He has incredible power."
Hill on Rakotomalala (19): "He is top 5 in the world but the French Federation doesn't support kids once they get to that age. With our sport, at 18, 19, they're just not ready so he was smart enough to understand he needed some help. He has a huge serve and forehand -- a big game and he's really aggressive."
Hill on Kirkman (19): "He has dual citizenship. His dad is in the Dominican Republic; his mom is in Michigan. He has a really big serve and a monster forehand but he plays great defense and scraps really well."
Hill admits the lack of intercollegiate competition is getting old.
"I'm itching to get started," he said. "I'm used to getting results and using them to coach and change game plans and practice plans, but the time has been useful, too, because I've been able to get out in the community and meet people, plus get out and recruit."
Now about that first international recruiting trip. It came in Hill's first season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State in 2008.
"I went to Mexico for a home visit with a kid and his English was pretty good so I figured I was fine," Hill said. "I show up at his home and he's not feeling well so he decides to take his afternoon siesta -- a nap. His parents spoke zero English and when I say zero I mean zero. My Spanish, as I found out, was not up to par so were just sitting there at the kitchen table staring at each other, not knowing what to do. It was beyond awkward.
"Luckily, he had a cousin they called and she came down and translated for us. When the kid finally woke up, I was like, 'dude, you knew your parents didn't speak English. What did you think was going to happen?'"
With an assistant coach (Michael Kokta) who hails from Prague, Czech Republic, and more than a decade of international recruiting experience under his belt, Hill is feeling a lot more comfortable with the demands of the job.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Matt Hill's most recent international recruiting trip went a lot more smoothly than his first.
"We were intelligent about it," the first-year Sun Devils men's tennis coach said. "We had one large trip in the fall when we tried to really hammer down some of our top players. We went to Italy, to France, to Germany, over to Belgium... We did a lot of home visits at that time and we were able to convince a lot of kids we went there to recruit."
Hill came home with the recently reinstated program's first recruiting class in eight years, a group that will begin intercollegiate competition on Jan. 13, 2018 vs. Duke. The first five are: Michael Geerts (Belgium), Ben Hannestad (Denmark), Thomas Wright (Great Britain), Mandresy Rakotomalala (France) and Will Kirkman (Dominican Republic/Michigan).
Hill has since landed signings from Andrea Bolla (Italy) and Carsyn Smith (Scottsdale) and will likely sign two more players in April to round out his team.
"I think people will look at our roster and think there should be more American kids on it," Hill said. "There are at other schools, and I'm excited about this program moving forward in the American market, but on the American side they commit so early that once we got the job, 80-plus percent of the people we'd recruit had already committed and signed so we realized that if we were going to put a team together that's good we were going to have to go outside the US. Luckily, tennis is such a global sport that we really were able to find some talented players."
Here's Hill's takes on the first five:
Hill on Geerts (22): "He's incredibly fast around the court, he has a big serve and he's one of the best ball strikers I've ever been around."
Hill on Hannestad (20), who was training at the IMG Academy in Florida: "He's one of best players in the world for his age and he's done pretty well in the limited pro tournaments he has played. He has a great all-around game, he's a great athlete with a super high ceiling because he's super disciplined."
Hill on Wright (18): "He is so raw and that's really because he was too good for his area. It's been hard for him, for the first time, being around people who can push him, but he has huge upside. He's a righty with a beautiful, world-class, one-handed backhand. He has incredible power."
Hill on Rakotomalala (19): "He is top 5 in the world but the French Federation doesn't support kids once they get to that age. With our sport, at 18, 19, they're just not ready so he was smart enough to understand he needed some help. He has a huge serve and forehand -- a big game and he's really aggressive."
Hill on Kirkman (19): "He has dual citizenship. His dad is in the Dominican Republic; his mom is in Michigan. He has a really big serve and a monster forehand but he plays great defense and scraps really well."
Hill admits the lack of intercollegiate competition is getting old.
"I'm itching to get started," he said. "I'm used to getting results and using them to coach and change game plans and practice plans, but the time has been useful, too, because I've been able to get out in the community and meet people, plus get out and recruit."
Now about that first international recruiting trip. It came in Hill's first season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State in 2008.
"I went to Mexico for a home visit with a kid and his English was pretty good so I figured I was fine," Hill said. "I show up at his home and he's not feeling well so he decides to take his afternoon siesta -- a nap. His parents spoke zero English and when I say zero I mean zero. My Spanish, as I found out, was not up to par so were just sitting there at the kitchen table staring at each other, not knowing what to do. It was beyond awkward.
"Luckily, he had a cousin they called and she came down and translated for us. When the kid finally woke up, I was like, 'dude, you knew your parents didn't speak English. What did you think was going to happen?'"
With an assistant coach (Michael Kokta) who hails from Prague, Czech Republic, and more than a decade of international recruiting experience under his belt, Hill is feeling a lot more comfortable with the demands of the job.