Tennis: The three-court crown of the sea

Richard Dunn

It has become the golden island of tennis, a cozy, three-court

jewel bustling with myriad ground strokes and overheads as if the

undeniable center of Tennis Town USA, i.e. Newport Beach, was located

right here at Lido Isle.

The quaint, neighborly community nestled along Newport Harbor’s North

Lido Channel is perhaps better known for raising sailors and kayakers,

canoeists and captains.

But for Mr. Everything Lido Isle Tennis Club head professional Jon Flagg,

it has been like finding a treasure chest washed ashore.

“I wouldn’t trade this (job) for anything. I love this place,” said

Flagg, the tiny facility’s director of tennis, general manager, teaching

pro and just about any other title you’d care to bestow upon him.

“It’s a one-man show, but it couldn’t be better here. This community is

so active in tennis and supportive of everything, and there are just

great people down here ... but I only have one part-time assistant for

six-to-10 hours a week in the summer, so I’ve got more than I can handle

down here.”

Flagg, an Estancia High product and currently Southern California’s No.

1-ranked amateur player in the men’s 30s, said he’s willing to haul the

extra hours at Lido Isle, which has between 75 and 85 juniors playing

each week, 45 to 50 ladies and 25 to 30 gentlemen.

On lessons alone, Flagg spends between 45 and 50 hours a week. “But if

they like you down here, they’ll take good care of you,” Flagg said. “If

you’re willing to work it, it’s worth it.”

Lido Isle doesn’t necessarily carry the prestige of some of the large,

private tennis clubs in Newport Beach, but its advantages include

small-town charm and resort-like atmosphere.

“You’re right next to people coming out of their front door to play

tennis,” Flagg said. “I’ve developed a lot of good relationships with the

people I’ve worked with.”

When Flagg accepted the position 8 1/2 years ago, some of his friends

cringed. “You have only one court to teach on?” they asked.

“People said I was nuts,” quipped Flagg, 34, who started his teaching

career at Woodbridge Village, a homeowners’ association in Irvine, where

he lasted 18 monthes before docking at Lido Isle.

Flagg, a Costa Mesa resident and a playing and paying member at Palisades

Tennis Club, could probably land a high-end position at some

fancy-schmancy resort. But Flagg, a humble character, isn’t about to

relinquish his prized gem.

“There’s just something special about being at a small community like

Lido,” he said. “It’s very unique.”

Tennis is so popular at Lido Isle, often when a junior player begins to

really blossom and require more personal attention, Flagg refers them to

a place like Palisades, where there’s more court time and the

availability of instructors is plentiful.

“There are so many adults and kids playing (tennis) here on the island

that we can’t even get tennis courts ... thanks to this enthusiastic

man,” resident Ann Hatton once said last year. “And, I myself, have taken

up tennis after quitting 20 years ago.”

Indeed, the treasure chest is alive and well on Newport’s tropical harbor

island.

One of the teams Flagg coaches at Lido Isle, the boys 12-and-unders,

advanced to the finals and captured second place in the United States

Tennis Association’s Penn League in the intermediate division last month

at UCLA.

The squad of John Hutchinson, Daron Arnold, Cole Hatton, Wade Hatton, Dan

Darnell and Ian Connolly won the Orange County title to earn a spot at

the USTA Penn League Regionals.

The Lido Isle girls 15-and-under team of Cammie Quinn, Katie Bissell,

Megan Dougherty, Brittany Early, Meagan Barry and Lyndsay Tippett

finished the Orange County Championships in second place.

“That was my best girls team,” said Flagg, who delicately balances his

time coaching all the Lido Isle teams, not wanting to give too much to

one team and take away from another.

Last month, Flagg also coached the Lido Isle C ladies team to a runner-up

finish in the Southern California Hill & Canyon League for public

facilities.

Flagg, a three-time NCAA Division III All-American at the University of

Redlands in the 1980s, practices what he preaches, maintaining a top

ranking this year in the SCTA 30s singles division with two titles in two

tournaments.

“I’ve just had some good draws and no bad losses,” said Flagg, who won

the Laguna Niguel Senior Tennis Championships on Father’s Day, and,

earlier this year, captured the Anaheim Hills Tennis Tournament with a

7-6, 6-2 victory over Chris Ganz of Huntington Beach.

Flagg graduated from Estancia in 1984 and returned to coach there in

1989, when the Eagles featured standout Devin Bowen, a Mesa Verde Tennis

Club protege currently playing on the Association of Tennis

Professionals’ Tour.

Flagg will play two more tournaments in 2000, including the Pacific

Southwest in September at the Palisades Club.

“I never tried the pro tour,” Flagg said. “I just thought it was too

rough out there. Actually, I just wasn’t at that playing level. Being an

All-American in college and jumping to the pro tour is a big difference.

“The game’s played so well right now, it is a treat to watch it.”

The Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club will host the 11th annual War by the

Shore Tennis Classic July 24-28, one of the top junior tournaments in

Southern California.

The event, which attracts international players, usually features about

400 entries, and this year should be no different, according to

tournament scorer Sharon Spradley.