Josh Lucas of James Wood High School readily admits he has an obsession.
From the moment he rolls out of bed in the morning and for most of the day, there is only one thing on his mind: tennis.
It's pretty much the only thing I think about during the summers and at school, he said.
And just a short time into his high school career, Lucas put that obsession to good use. As a sophomore, he jumped to the No. 1 singles and doubles rankings for the Colonels and became the top player in the Class 4 Northwestern District.
Lucas lost only one close match in the district competition and only four in total, making him the only local singles player to reach the Region 4D semifinals.
Lucas' meteoric rise has made him the Winchester Stars Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
As a freshman, Lucas played at number four for the Colonels in singles. With his graduation loss, he thought he would move up in the Colonels' lineup, but that wasn't good enough for him. Lucas not only wanted to be the best for James Wood, he also wanted to beat the best players.
To take on that task, we had to put in hours before the Colonels opened their practices this spring.
Pretty much the only real challenge was working hard during the summer, said Lucas, who is a fixture at both the Winchester Country Club and the Winchester Country Club. I'm doing the same now as last year. I came out every day from 8am to 6pm. I was just hitting and I didn't want to stop.
Christian Hellwig, James Wood's coach and former Millbrook High School star, says it often feels like you have to drag Lucas off the field.
“I have to tell him to slow down sometimes because he'll just hit and hit and hit for hours and hours and hours,” Hellwig said. Sometimes he just hits the ball machine alone for hours.
It’s that discipline that has made Lucas one of the top players in the area and the region. During the season, the left-hander lost just one time in district action, an 8-6 decision to Handley’s Jack Boye, whom he also defeated during the regular season. He avenged another of his regular-season losses with a win over Washington’s Jack Schottler, and his most recent loss came to eventual Class 4 champion Drew Perez of Salem in the Region 4D semifinals.
While he was dominant locally, Lucas said he benefited greatly from his losses. The new people I played against, I was just shocked, he said. I thought I was really good at first, but that was like a wake-up call. I thought, okay, I still have a lot of work to do.
His tennis career shows that he certainly knows something about that.
Lucas said he started playing around the age of eight, but didn't start taking the sport seriously until he was about 12. From there, he developed his passion for the game.
“I just find it fascinating how I can always improve,” he said. I don't really like team sports. I played football and baseball. It was mainly up to the team [to win]. Tennis is about individual growth. It's all about me and I think that's why I like it so much. Even if I'm just hitting the wall or ball machine, I can criticize my own play because I want to be good enough where I don't have to worry.
Hellwig has known Lucas since he first showed up at the Winchester Country Club as a youngster. He now sees the fruits of Lucas' birth.
“I started with Josh when he was eight when I was working here at Winchester Country Club,” Hellwig said. “He came in and it was his first tennis camp ever. He was an eight-year-old boy and he wasn't very good at the time.
Over the last couple of years that I've been able to watch Josh and work with him and see his progression, it's been an extreme change from last year to this year. He's done the work. His serve is ten times better this year than it was last year. All of his groundstrokes have changed phenomenally. It's been a pleasure to really work with him this year.
And Hellwig has seen the passion grow.
“I've never met another player who is more obsessed with the game than Josh Lucas,” he said. “I think it's because of the coaches he's had, especially Jamie Morgan at Winchester Country Club. He's really made him such a great player and really instilled in him the love of tennis.”
Lucas says he is fortunate to have both a court and a place to play at WCC. He has learned to string rackets (mostly through YouTube videos), which has become an important skill because he wears them out all the time.
He continually tries to test his skills against the best players. He can be found with former Handley standout Nick Mueller, who played Division I college tennis at Richmond, Bucknell and Fordham, and current members of the Shenandoah University team.
It's a little bit more of a challenge now that I'm better than last year, Lucas said about finding hitting partners. I'm starting to diversify and hit with college players. That makes it a little easier for me. There is certainly no shortage of college players returning for the summer.
Lucas said it's important for better players to examine his game so he can find the areas he needs to work on.
“I just can't afford to have a weak shot,” he said. “I can't let anyone pick on me and use that to their advantage. I have to be well-rounded overall and absolutely crush my forehand.”
If last summer is anything to go by, Lucas' opponents should prepare for a fight next spring. In addition to improving his physical game, he believes he has also made strides mentally.
In my ninth year I was not resilient at all, Lucas admits. I wasn't supposed to be number 1 last year. This year I feel like I've really gone a step further. I have grown enormously as a person and as a tennis player this past summer. I could say: You know what? Anyway, it's a new point.
Lucas played two games that were his favorites this season and both games proved his mental toughness.
The first was our first exhibition game against Loudoun Valley, Lucas said. I was down 2-7 and I came back and won. I had to win seven games in a row against a guy I didn't think I could beat.
“I honestly couldn't even tell you how I did it. It was a lot of luck and a lot of good service.
No. 2 came against Schottler.
It was my rematch against the Washington kid, Lucas said. I lost the first one because I was in my head. In the rematch, I think, I was also down 2-7 and it went to a tiebreaker and I won by two points.
The tennis portion seemed easy for Lucas, but it was another responsibility that presented a big test. Teammates see the No. 1 player as a leader.
Honestly, I think that's been the hardest part of the season, just being a leader, Lucas said. Last year I was No. 4. I wasn't really interested in leadership or anything. It's been especially hard with the two new coaches and the head coach who's been my friend for eight years. It's hard to have everyone call him Coach Christian, and I don't call him Coach Christian.
Hellwig said Lucas was an excellent leader who not only worked on his own game but also helped others and led by example.
He was always on time, Hellwig said. He always did the right thing. He is one of the best people to coach and one of the best players I have had the pleasure of working with.
Lucas would like to win a state title and would like to attend the University of Virginia to play and study medicine. In his spare time, Lucas likes to work on the brain.
“I've always loved the idea of helping people and I've always loved the brain and how sending messages through the body works,” said Lucas, who wants to one day become a neurosurgeon. It's kind of a perfect thing.
At the moment he is mainly concerned with improving, hoping that he will get another chance with Perez next season.
It definitely motivates me more than ever, Lucas said. I really want that second chance.
Hellwig is happy that Lucas will stay with him for two more seasons.
“I think if he keeps going, he's going to get better and better,” Hellwig said. “By the time he gets to his senior year, he's going to be a phenomenal player. I saw a state championship next to his name.”
