Leon “Bud” Bucheit, a long-time fixture in the Hamburg tennis coaching community, returned this spring to coach the Hawks boys’ tennis team following Bill Tritt’s departure from the spring season. Bucheit, 61, coached the Hawks from 1994-2000, but stay involved in the sport locally during his 16-year hiatus as a head coach.
Hamburg is off to a 1-3 start this spring, with Bucheit’s son Quin, a sophomore, playing at No. 1. Hamburg’s match against Daniel Boone at home was to be played last Friday, but was postponed until April 16 at 10 a.m. We caught up with Bucheit for an interesting chat on the state of the game and why he decided to jump back into the fray.
Q >> Why did you decide to get back into it, from a head coaching standpoint?
Bucheit >> “I always like working with the kids, and I volunteered for many years with Bill Tritt. I played college tennis for Edinboro University, so it’s just kind of in me. Besides that, my son plays for Hamburg right now and he’s our No. 1.”
Q >> How did this come about?A >> “When it opened up, of course the notice goes out to all employees in the district, so I applied and got the job.”
Q >> Has anything changed in the game as far as coaching now versus 15, 20 years ago? Anything that you’ve noticed?
A >> “Not really. You have to make sure that their heads are still in the game and they’re doing the things they need to do to stay focused and try to win the game. The game, as far as how we stroke the ball, that is starting to evolve. Hopefully, as a certified instructor, I’ll bring that to my kids and hopefully have them develop a little bit better games.”
Q >> When you say it’s evolved, what are you talking? Grips? Court strategy?
A >> “Well, there’s a lot of power now; a lot of kids play with power, a lot of topspin. I am hoping we can develop all-court players. My son has developed into an all-court player and that brings something to the game a lot of the other guys aren’t seeing too much of. … The stroke is a little different than it used to be. We used to be taught to swing from low-to-high, and now we’re swinging across the ball. If you watch the pro players, they really swing very quickly, racquet head coming over, almost like they’re the racquet up over the ball, not necessarily the hand. Hand comes across in front. That’s what I mean by the evolution of that. It’s really creating some very good topspin balls in that respect … A lot of our players have two-handed backhands. There’s more control with that. But if you can develop a one-handed backhand, you can put more power on it – and if you can control that, you can do some real damage.”
Q >> In your mind, why do you think an all-court player makes for a more rounded player?
A >> “First of all, it will be unexpected to their opponents. When you get closer to the net, you have more opportunities to put a nice angle on the shot and so you can put away balls more easily. The all-court player is someone who is thinking about what he’s doing rather than slugging away. … Another thing, and this important, is that college coaches would be looking for that (a court technician) than just an all-powerful player.”
Q >> Have you set any level of expectation this spring for your boys, either from an individual or team standpoint?
A >> “Well when you come in and nearly every player is gone (graduation losses) except your No. 1, everyone has to move up to those slots best they can. I’m trying to get them to improve with each match, I’d like to see that, and I have. … Nate Parent, a senior, is our No. 2 player, and he’s been doing fairly well. Some close matches. He won against Fleetwood. Our No. 3 player Stephen Eberhardt, a junior. Quin and Nate are our top doubles tandem.”