Made the right move
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Jordan Baker had to make a series of adjustments after moving to the area from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the middle of a global pandemic.
The Central Columbia junior wasn’t worried he would get to play, it was a matter of what role he would serve for the Blue Jays.
“I didn’t really know what to expect with a new team. I didn’t even know if I was going to even make the varsity team,” Baker said. “... I played J.V. in New Mexico and had to get used to playing three sets instead of one. It was a big adjustment.”
He not only made the varsity squad but was thrown right into the most vital slot — No. 1 singles — where he had personal and team success in the postseason.
For his accomplishments, Baker was named the Press Enterprise’s boys tennis MVP.
Another element that took getting used to was how the ball played at a much lower altitude. Baker grew accustomed to New Mexico’s elevation — over 10 times higher than Bloomsburg’s.
“It’s a lot different playing 5,000 feet above sea level to playing here,” Baker said. “It bounces differently, but I grew used to it as I kept playing.”
He grew more comfortable with the nuances by taking time to refine his craft with his new teammates over the offseason. Central coach Kevin Flynn said that time spent on the courts during the summer paid dividends, capping the season off with a third consecutive District 4 team crown.
“Jordan came out during the summer and did some workouts with his teammates,” Flynn said. “If we didn’t have that, we would have had a much different season, a drop in competition and it would have made it a lot more challenging.”
It also paid off for Baker personally, being one of only two individuals in the Press Enterprise region — Berwick’s Brendan Turowski being the other — to win a district singles match.
While Baker wondered if his skills warranted a spot on the varsity squad, Flynn noticed he had the talent to compete at a high level. It not only worked out for the team, but also for Baker, who was awarded the No. 3 overall seed in the district playoffs.
“He had great groundstroke consistency that allowed him to outlast most other players. I thought that was a plus in his game,” Flynn said. “He also had a mental, cruel temperament that in tennis can sometimes have you go through ups and downs. He just stayed the course and didn’t allow himself to get too emotionally driven.”
His overall record of 11-4 wasn’t the best on the Blue Jays — that belonged to Brady Madden (14-1) in No. 3 singles — but all four of his losses came at the hands of District 4’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeded players. Baker proved that as the competition got better, so did he.
Despite dropping the match against Donegal’s Luke Yunginger, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, in the state playoffs, Flynn said it was some of the best tennis he saw from Baker all year.
“He played a true No. 1 kid and went two sets that included a tiebreaker that he nearly won,” Flynn said. “He was in it the entire second set and you could see the chess match between the two. They were hitting the ball hard at different angles. He really played some of the best tennis in that state match.”
Baker wants to grow both as a player and a leader — something he never had to do before this season — playing more aggressively and improving his net game.
“He wants to get some of the points earlier rather than let them come to him,” Flynn said. “He also wants to have better first serves by improving his power.”
If done, that bodes well for the Blue Jays who return all seven starters next spring.
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