Cranston Herald – May 9, 2013
By William Geoghegan
Sports Editor
When Lisa Zarrella brought her son Nick to Cranston East tennis tryouts last spring, she didn’t make any special arrangements. It was a new approach. Nick is on the autism spectrum. Making arrangements ahead of time comes with the territory.
Lisa didn’t want Nick to get any special treatment. More than that, she wanted – just for a day – to see him on the court, playing tennis like everybody else.
“You want to see your kids doing what kids do,” she said.
A year later, she and her husband, Jeff, get to see it nearly every day.
And Nick gets to live it.
He’s a sophomore at Cranston East, an honor-roll student – and a full-fledged member of the East tennis team. He’s playing No. 1 doubles this year and even jumped to the singles ladder when the team was short-handed in a match a few weeks ago.
Nick and his family have loved every minute.
“It’s been a joy,” Lisa said.
When head coach Richard Perrotta met Nick at tryouts last year, he noticed pretty quickly that something was a little different about the lefty-swinging freshman. He talked to Lisa and she confirmed it.
It didn’t really come up again. Nick earned a spot and has been a contributor since day one. Challenges crop up occasionally, but nothing that’s a big deal.
“In all my years of coaching, he’s one of the most fun kids I’ve had on the team,” Perrotta said.
To be just another member of the team – just another kid – is no easy task for a teenager on the autism spectrum.
Autism is a disorder of neural development marked by impaired communication and social interaction. The spectrum covers a wide range. Nick is on the less severe end, but the challenges are still a constant.
“What it takes for him to keep it together all day, it’s a lot,” Lisa said. “For him to physically get through that day, it’s harder than we even think.”
Lisa and Jeff first noticed the signs when Nick was 3 years old, and in retrospect, they could point to even more. He started talking late and would walk in circles repeatedly. When Lisa took Nick to the zoo, he didn’t point at a single animal.
The Zarrellas got Nick into the Developmental Learning Program at Garden City Elementary School when he was 3. Since then, there’s been steady progress in every area.
“Once he started with therapies, he blossomed,” Lisa said.
Lisa praised Cranston Public Schools and the Autism Project of Rhode Island for helping Nick find his way. At East, he has shined in the classroom, making the honor roll while taking a full load of courses. In Carmen Ruggieri’s social skills class, he’s learned many of the social cues that others take for granted.
“Cranston has been fabulous,” Lisa said.
For all the strides Nick has made, his parents still feel the tug of wanting the best for him – independence, success, a chance to just be a teenager. It’s a common feeling for parents of children on the autism spectrum.
“You drive by the YMCA and see a summer camp and you wish your child could experience that,” Lisa said. “Those things weren’t options for us.”
Tennis has filled the void.
Nick first gave it a shot the summer before high school, when he signed up for a clinic with CLCF. He had always liked tennis and he quickly took to it.
“It was excellent,” Nick said.
Movement can be a positive for those with autism, and the structure of tennis seemed to fit Nick’s personality.
“Tennis has been great for him,” Lisa said. “Even at home, to calm himself down, Nick will be outside hitting off the house.”
With the ’Bolts, Nick has found a home on the court – and has blossomed all over again.
“Last year, he was very quiet and withdrawn,” Perrotta said. “The kids are great with him. Some of these guys are goofballs and I think that’s loosened him up a little bit. He’s grown as a tennis player and as a person.”
Perrotta tries loosening him up, too. He calls him Nicky, which no one’s ever done, and he likes to keep things light.
“I have to come up with new jokes for him,” Perrotta said. “He’s starting to get my jokes a little bit more. He lifts his foot sometimes when he’s hitting. I asked him if he was a ballerina in a former life. He liked that one.”
Nick is teaming with senior Kyle Niederberger at No. 1 doubles this season and they’re finding their groove. Nick’s relationship with teammates carries over to school, as well. Senior Tom Mulholland, East’s No. 1 singles player, often lends a helping hand in their desktop publishing class.
“Last year’s seniors were just phenomenal,” Lisa said. “This year’s group has been great. I think they sense that Nick is a pinch different. They don’t quite know what but they know there’s something different. I think they just know with him, you have to be direct.”
Nick’s tennis skills have blossomed as well. He’s one of the hardest hitters on the team. Watching practice last week, Perrotta pointed to a shot and said Nick was the only one on the team who could do it.
“He has a lot of raw talent,” Perrotta said. “He has the physical game. It’s just getting the whole mental part of the game.”
Nick has his quirks. He’ll talk to himself during matches, and he’s so bent on following the rules that he’s argued a few times with his own partner about close calls.
But he also finds his way through challenges. Two weeks ago, when Perrotta needed him to play singles in a match with Exeter/West Greenwich, Nick hesitated – but got through it.
“When I went for singles, I had to take five deep breaths, and Mr. Perrotta said, ‘Yes or no?’” Nick said. “I said yes and went out and did the handshake and I played.”
He held his own, too, losing 6-4, 6-2. Back at doubles, he and Niederberger won 6-3, 6-2 against Coventry.
“I like how you move around and get into the game,” he said.
More and more, tennis is becoming a big part of his life. The television in the Zarrella house is almost always on the tennis channel, and the family is planning a trip to Connecticut for a WTA tour stop this summer. Nick is hoping to see his favorite player, Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan.
“It’s been a God-send to us that he has tennis,” Lisa said. “He looks forward to it, and I think it’s a great thing for our family. His aunts and uncles and grandparents – you all want to see your kids doing something. My aunts and uncles come watch him. They’ll talk about it with him. When he sees our family on the weekends, they ask him about his matches. It’s great for everybody.”
Tennis does not solve every problem. There are still bad days and challenges. There’s uncertainty about the future.
“It’s hard to fit in when you’re not doing other things 16-year-olds are doing,” Lisa said. “Driving is not on his radar. Dating is not on his radar. But in time, you just hope he’s able to take care of himself. That’s our goal.”
And for a few hours, those concerns move to the back burner. Lisa and Jeff are more worried about Nick getting his first serve in, about him handling a tough volley.
For a few hours, that’s what matters.
Because Nick Zarrella is a tennis player.
“I feel proud,” Nick said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m going to win. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to lose, but I’m going to give it whatever I’ve got anyway.”