RETURNING LETTERWINNERS FOR THE WEBSTER CITY BOYS TENNIS SQUAD are (left to right) Fabian Ferto-Holdgrafer Nathan Wardell. Not pictured: James Elliott. (Photo by Patrick Coons)

Experience and youth will be two areas that the Webster City boys tennis team tries to blend together this spring to find success on the courts.

Returning to lead the group of veterans will be senior Nathan Wardell, who played the No. 2 position behind Hank Christeson last year. Wardell won three matches.

He is flanked by the likes of James Elliott and Fabian Ferto-Holdgrafer — juniors who saw the varsity court last spring.

“The big thing is just (gaining varsity) experience overall,” WCHS head coach Mark Fisher said. “For the most part, we have a team that just doesn’t know what it doesn’t know yet, and that’s normal for a group that is so young — both in grade and experience.

“That’s also where we’ll lean on Nathan especially some to help build that knowledge up quickly. It’s a process, and for many of these guys, they have a long runway and will have great careers. It just takes time to get there both physically and tactically.”

Wardell will likely slide into the top spot in the lineup, as Fisher notes his “enthusiasm for the sport has grown and he’s been really someone our young team can look up to and learn from.

“I’m excited to see how he develops from last year, as I know he has big goals for himself,” Fisher said. “We also bring back James and Fabian as juniors that enter their third year.”

Blake Arjes, Sage Bock and Max Anderson are three of the freshmen who were involved in tennis at the youth and middle school levels.

“They are really our first boys to graduate out of that into high school since we’ve started (the lower-level programs),” Fisher said. “In an ideal world, they’d be fighting for the lower varsity spots (to get their feet wet), but I would expect all of them to probably be on varsity this year, and quite possibly toward the middle/top. They come in with a nice base already and will continue to develop.

“They will definitely have some ups and downs this year as young players. But they have great enthusiasm, work hard and are very coachable. It will be fun to see them continue to develop as they get thrown into the fire early.”

Prior Taylor, Andrew Vaughn, Vincent Bittner and and Erik Blankenship are three more young players Fisher will count on.

“I think as we continue to develop, just our overall IQ I think will become a strength,” Fisher said. “We have a lot of smart kids and coachable kids, and as they develop, I think you’ll see that come out.

“We also should be pretty solid at the top with Nathan, so seeing how he progresses and influences the rest of the team will be big.”

Fisher, who also coaches the girls tennis squad in the fall at Webster City, can now focus his attention solely on the boys in the spring months.

“We’re just really excited for this season and feel like it’s a fresh start for the boys program,” he said. “It’s been a rough stretch the last five or so years with different coaches, and a few of those years with no full-time coach. But with the girls moving to the fall, this has given them the opportunity to have the spring all to themselves and we’ve been able to stabilize the coaching situation for them and we’re also starting to see some of our youth players hit high school.

“We know there is some building to do still, but we’re excited for the present and the future of the program.”

The Lynx open with road matches at Iowa Falls-Alden on Tuesday and Osage to follow next Thursday before hosting Clear Lake on April 7. They will host the North Central Conference championships on May 6.