Sasha Semina – a young lady with many talents

"But then you go out and hit with your friends and you realize this is such a great sport. I'm so lucky to be playing it. Dealing with the pressure, I have to do a lot of little mental tricks. I have to look at a lot of sources like books or go online. I have routines on the court before my matches. I have to make sure I'm ready."

Steinbach is well aware of this, but he feels Sasha handles the pressure well.

"I think it bothers her, but she wins her matches," the veteran coach said. "When she plays someone really good, she competes very well. She doesn't display it (pressure), but internally it bothers all of us. She is very composed. She has very good rituals. She probably has the best rituals of almost any player I've had."

Steinbach then explained Semina's rituals.

"Between points, she'll come back to the fence and make's sure she is really ready," he said. "That keeps her from rushing. She's a grunter on her swing, which is what I want all my players to do. She is a good example of breath control and that keeps her from getting nervous. It helps your timing, it helps your strength. Ritual and breath reduces her anxieties."

Ironically, according to Steinbach, Semina is the total package, on and off the court.

"Her ability isn't what's the most important thing for her on this team," he said. "The fact that even though she is the best player, she socializes with everyone on the team. She hits with everyone on the team.

"She treats them well, as equals, which is a really valuable asset to have. Sometimes your elite players are a little stand-offish."

Sasha talked about how much her teammates mean to her.

"It's awesome, so much better than being on your own," she said. "If you lose you have someone to talk to. This team's amazing. We're all so close. "They're all wonderful girls. They all have so much potential. They're already good players.

Photo by Alan Herzberg, SportsPhotos LLC

"It's like I don't really want to win for myself, but I want to win for my team. I love cheering for my team members. It's so much fun; being there for your teammates, who are some of your closest friends. I love it."

Both Steinbach and Semina agreed about her strong points as a player.

"She has a lot of variety in her game," he said. "She doesn't hit shots the same in a rally. She will give you under spin, she'll give you short, give you deep. She is very crafty and she is also is an athlete, so she has good defensive skills.

"She has more than one weapon, so she can watch her opponents, find out what they don't like and experiment. I ask her what her game plan is, she always has an answer. She is always massaging her opponent to find out what they don't like. She can come to the net. A lot of girls can't volley."

Semina expanded on her coach's comments.

"I'm also good at staying calm. It's hard to stay mentally tough during tennis matches," she said.  "A lot of times you want to get down on yourself, but then you let your opponent back in the match. It can make all the difference. I've gotten a lot better this year, especially staying really calm, thinking through matches. My mentality is a big strength."

Sasha is one of the team captains and she feels that is an important part to who she is.

"Making sure I'm a good role model to my team because they're an awesome team," she said. "They're younger, so I want to set the best example. I also want to represent Brookfield Central and coach Steinbach the best that I can. He's known for having a good mental attitude. My main goal is just to have fun and not stress out."

Steinbach says leadership is nothing new for Sasha.

"She was a leader as a freshman already," he said. "She came in, very self-confident. She does other things (piano, composing music, writing) besides tennis that gives her a lot of self confidence. She doesn't strut her stuff. He is a leader by example. When she finishes her matches, she's there. She does all the team-bonding.

"You would love to have one like that every year."