Trading one net for another

 Three years ago, Eric Rodriguez would have called himself a soccer player - he had never even picked up a tennis racket.

Now a senior at San Luis and the No. 1 singles player and on the No. 1 doubles team - not to mention the reigning Gila Valley Region boys soccer player of the year - does he consider himself a soccer player or a tennis player?
 "I consider myself both," Rodriguez said. "I have played soccer for nine years now. Tennis, it's my third year playing. When I started playing tennis, I started loving the sport, I loved the dedication to it. I kept getting better and better and better. This being my last year, I think this is my best year playing."
 He helped the Sidewinders to a spot in the  5A team tennis quarterfinals, losing at home Wednesday to Pinnacle after an opening-round win. Now his attention has turned to the individual tournament, when he'll pair with 16-year-old German exchange student Max Pinnow in the doubles draw. The duo earned the No. 7 seed - only the top eight are seeded - and will face a duo from Tolleson when the tourney starts at 3:15 p.m. today at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
 Rodriguez and Pinnow are the only area players seeded in either the boys or girls singles or doubles draw. All Gila Valley teams will be in the tournament with the maximum six players allowed - two singles players and two doubles teams.
 Rodriguez said that despite any language barrier between Pinnow and him that existed at first, the two are now on the same page.
  "I believe that me and Max are really good players," Rodriguez said. "We have grown through the months playing together. We had never played together or met before - he is from Germany. But we're really good friends, so we understand each other pretty good. We talk a lot, we play good together."

 It takes six wins to win a state title, and Rodriguez and Pinnow won't meet another seeded tandem until at least the quarterfinals. San Luis coach Paul Zenker said if Rodriguez and Pinnow started building some momentum, they'll be hard to stop.

 "Once they get that first one, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with," Zenker said. "They're going to be tough. At that point, it's in them that they've got it and they're going to do anything possible to get it."

 Rodriguez didn't record a win in the team tennis playoffs - he lost both singles matches, and the one doubles match that started against Pinnacle was ended with Pinnow and him up 4-1 after Pinnacle secured its clinching win.

 But Zenker said Rodriguez's biggest assets come off the court.

 "Winning isn't everything, hence why we're here right now," Zenker said. "His leadership quality is what brought this team together. He did that. He's got my vote as athlete of the year just because what I see day in and day out. He comes out here and busts it, works and works and works. He wants it, and he still wants to this day even after an upset (Wednesday) that should have gone the other way."

 Zenker said having Rodriguez is like having another coach on the team.

  "If I'm working with other students, Eric will take the initiative and help out," Zenker said. "He'll notice some players ... working on serves or certain drills, he's the one who goes over to these other players and shows them things - the proper grip, the proper form. The type of individual he is, it encompasses a great individual to be around."

 Sometimes, Zenker said, players will be more likely to listen to a coach's advice if a player agrees with it.

 "Being a teacher, you find that if you can get in contact with a natural leader, most of their peers will follow suit," Zenker said. "They'll do what the leader does. It's like in nature, you have the alpha male, or alpha female, and those that follow in the pack. That's like what it is here. He's the alpha male, and these young men look up to him.

 "He's the one they listen to," he said. "I'll talk to Eric and say "Hey Eric, what do you think.' and he'll give me his thoughts. And most likely it's pretty much the same thing I'm thinking. We have him take that role and talk to his teammates and it works. It's a great, great thing."

 Rodriguez said San Luis' results this year - including its second straight Gila Valley Region title - show what some extra leadership can provide a team.

 "We won region straight up, we finished in the top five in state - something that has never been done at San Luis," Rodriguez said. "That was our main goal from the beginning. I told the guys to practice hard every game, to put their hearts in it. That's what we did. We accomplished what we wanted to."