Sarianna Kuuttila is one of a handful of New Mexico tennis stars to balance home school and prep tennis.
Photo courtesy of Your Game Face
It's no coincidence that many of the top prep tennis players in New Mexico are home-schooled. They have rigorous practice schedules and miss many hours of school while playing in out-of-state tournaments.
Wendy Thomas, girls coach at
La Cueva (Albuquerque), pointed out, "It's the new reality. At these tournaments they miss so much school. It's a necessary evil and all the top players are home-schooled."
Thomas' star, sophomore
Sarianna Kuuttila, who was class 6A runner-up this spring, gets her education online at Laurel Springs School, 850 miles away in Ojai, Calif. She has been home-schooled most of the time since seventh grade. When she briefly has tried attending public school, she quickly switched back.
Ivana Corley, Eldorado
Courtesy photo
An "A" student, Kuuttila related, "I was missing a lot of days. I knew I wanted to play a lot of tennis, so this was the only way I could do it. I'm pretty happy with it. I like how I can play a lot of hours and go to a lot of tournaments."
On the negative side, she conceded, "You don't get to see your friends very much. (But) I love playing tennis."
Don't think that prevents her from certain teenage rites of passage.
"I actually do have a boyfriend," she said. "He does sports, too, so I get to see him on weekends."
Eldorado (Albuquerque) freshman
Ivana Corley, who won Class 6A singles, gets her education online at Santa Fe-based New Mexico Connections Academy.
Corley's coach, Helen Horn, noted, "For her it's been great - a win-win. She's a strong leader. She loves to be on a team. They do girl things together. She never left a match early and is a team player."
Corley, who also briefly has tried attending public school, said, "You can have your own schedule. It's a lot more flexible. I've got all A's and two B's. My mom helps me and I have a tutor for math. If I get behind, teachers will help me.
"Obviously I don't get to socialize with my friends. I miss some school events."
Dane Paulsen, Manzano
Photo courtesy of Christine Paulsen
Class 6A boys champion
Dane Paulsen of
Manzano (Albuquerque) elected to bite the bullet, so to speak. He was home-schooled until ninth grade, but for different reasons.
He explained, "It was my parents' choice. It was for athletics, but mainly for religion. They wanted me to have a Christian education. In ninth grade it was my choice. I really wanted to go to public school. It was a good entry way to college. I just wanted to try something new."
So he began attending East Mountain Charter School, just seven minutes from his home. He will graduate this spring in a class of 88.
Paulsen is the first to concede, "I've missed a lot of school. I went to national tournaments. I just had to catch up and got used to it. I had to do a lot of work in the car and then send it. My school was very lenient. One teacher got a little mad."
Despite doing it the hard way, Paulsen has achieved a 3.2 GPA.
Still, he admits, "Sometimes I wonder if I didn't play sports, I'd probably end up with a 4.0."
He's probably a little envious of a rival who carved out a 5.0 GPA and earned valedictorian honors while being a normal public-school student without as much outside activity.
The bottom line, however, is that Paulsen achieved his dream - he will be playing tennis in the fall on a scholarship at Wheaton College in Illinois.
