Andrew Shand is indebted to coach Luke Donovan for impressing on him the benefits of playing tennis. Photo/Duncan Brown
Andrew Shand is indebted to coach Luke Donovan for impressing on him the benefits of playing tennis. Photo/Duncan Brown
When Andrew Shand tragically lost his father, the late John Shand, he was only 6 years old growing up in the family vineyard in Hawke's Bay.
"It was very tough. It made me mature a lot more early compared to a lot of other children," says Shand who was then a pupil at the now defunct Crownthorpe School.
But the father and mother Sarah of the now 18-year-old had always impressed on him the need to be in the outdoors to attain an active lifestyle and maintain it.
Consequently, some days a 4-year-old Shand would find himself watching elder brother, Hamish, now 22, practise tennis under the tutelage of Bay professional coach Luke Donovan at Crownthorpe School.
"So one day I decided to pick up a racquet and join in with my brother," says the Lindisfarne College year 13 pupil who is among the 19-strong Hawke's Bay male and female representative team to challenge Manawatu for the Christie Cup, the symbol of Central Districts tennis supremacy.
The nuances of the game hardly mattered to the youngster who simply relished picking up the ball and smashing it as far as he could.
But when he started maturing, what began as fun slowly saw him start embracing the technical aspects of the game at 10, to the extent that he gave himself the licence to dream.
That dream was to secure a scholarship to the United States to study at a university while playing tennis.
On January 11, the teenager will pack his bags to attend Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia to pursue a four-year degree in sports management.
"I'm very excited and nervous at the same time because I'm going to be in a different country," he says although mindful the pre-match nerves in tennis have prepared him well over the years, not to mention the intensity of a rookie appearance in the Christie Cup challenge from 9am on Sunday at the Havelock North Tennis Club.
"It's always been a dream to go, always," he says, recalling with envy when another Bay talent, Robbie Reynolds, reflected on a "cool experience" at a Lindisfarne College assembly.
"I can't believe it's actually happening to me," he says, revealing he whittled down 10 US tertiary institutions for Davis & Elkins College because it has fewer students so the quality of tuition will be better in a small town of Elkins whose population is 7000 and also devoid of the big-city trappings.
However, the Bay's involvement in the cup has been limited and they ended a drought of 16 years when they won it in February 2015 but lost it in November to Taranaki in Waipukurau that year.
A second-year senior men's rep, Shand studiously came through the age-group grades and went on the road to nationals and internationals.
It was only when Donovan impressed on him that he had potential to develop incrementally in tennis because of his height that Shand got serious.
The player's growth spurts were undeniable. Every birthday his age complemented his shoe size in growth terms.
"When I was 14, I had size 14 feet," he says.
"My feet are huge, my hands are huge and many people have asked why aren't I playing basketball," he says with a laugh.
Shand now stands at 1.96m and mercifully he has hit a plateau. He suspects the tall genes stem from both parents.
Among his arsenal is the ability to launch booming serves down the net although he feels his respectable forehand has the propensity to improve on a dose of consistency.
Shand entered the Rosebowl early this year but, although he played little after twisting his ankle, he learned a lot just by rubbing shoulders with more senior players, including Donovan.
"It's a big step for me from being this wee kid who was always quite shy to going on to getting more time with these top players so it's a bit of a shock to be playing along side my coach of 15 years."
With just one more NCEA paper to sit on Monday, Shand has focused on tennis.
He says Manawatu have a few seasoned players and then a "mixed bag" who could be dark horses or just making up numbers.
Kristen Nash and daughter Sophia Nash have a special bond in tennis. Photo/Duncan Brown
Napier Girls' High School year 11 pupil Sophia Nash, also a cup first timer, will play in singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches.
The 15-year-old has mirrored Shand's age-group path under Bay coach Simon Winter since she was 6.
Her parents, Kristen and Minister of Police Stuart Nash, introduced the teenager to tennis.
"Stuart's playing politics more these days but I still play doubles with Sophia during business house competition [last night]. She's way ahead of me so I pretty much do what I'm told nowadays," says Kristen with a laugh, revealing the daughter's maternal grandmother, June Cuthbert, played top level tennis in Dannevirke.
For Sophia Nash it's a privilege to play in the cup alongside top players as well as watch them .
She is hoping to help the Bay lift the cup. She hasn't given much thought to a future in the sport except to have an impact at the provincial level and make the most of the physical benefits.