How many teens are willing to get out of bed at 5:30 every morning and sign off at 9 p.m.? If you want to be a professional tennis player before age 18, you do. “Now it’s easy,” admits 15-year-old Calvin Baierl, about sticking to a rigorous training and tournament schedule five and a half days a week. In the world of junior tennis, the unassuming, slender teen with a shock of wavy red hair is currently the No. 1 tennis recruit in the nation and has maintained that spot four years in a row, according to tennisrecruiting.net.
ON THE GO, FROM THE START
Calvin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Lee and Susan Baierl. An active child, he played hockey and basketball in Pittsburgh. One summer, while the family
