Foothill’s Parson Is Voice of Reason On, Off the Court : Tennis: Unbeaten senior sets an example for her teammates.

SANTA ANA —  Amanda Parson, the top singles player on the Foothill High School girls’ tennis team, sent a forehand rocketing over the net. Her opponent raced back to the baseline and prepared to return the shot. But she stopped, raised her racket and yelled, “Out!”

Parson stared in disbelief. Wearing a cap that covered her long hair and shielded her face from the blistering sun, she glared at the spot where the ball had bounced. After a few seconds, she walked to a nearby bench for a quick drink and to towel off. Her displeasure was obvious.

“I thought that shot was good,” she said after the match.

When the set resumed, Parson briefly fell out of sync. She led, 4-0, at the time, but lost the next game. That’s when Parson’s new mental approach took over. She unleashed a devastating attack with strong, well-placed shots and quickly disposed of her opponent for a 6-1 victory.

A few days before, another opponent found out the hard way that it’s not easy to keep Parson rattled.

“She was playing in a match in which she was beating her opponent real bad,” said Dennis Claus, the first-year Foothill coach. “All of a sudden, some football players from that school showed up and started rooting loudly for the other girl. Before, she would have lost it. But this time, she was bothered initially but then got her composure back real fast.”

Parson, 17, won that set. And she has used her mental toughness to complement a fine array of shots for a 42-0 record this season. Her play is a big reason the Knights are 10-4 and 5-0 in the Century League.

The 5-foot-10 senior, who says she’s too shy to run for student body office, nevertheless is the voice of reason among her teammates. She’s the team’s co-captain with doubles player Andrea Claus (the coach’s daughter). It’s a role Parson enjoys and one that the other girls admit couldn’t be in better hands.

“I like organizing things. I try to sort problems out so that it benefits the team,” Parson said. “I think I’ve matured a lot since last year and I like being a leader.”

Said teammate Mitzi Van Cleave: “She sets an example on and off the court with her attitude. . . . She’s a very enjoyable person to be around.”

Parson was born in Calcutta, India, to her Indian-born father, Raja, and her Danish-born mother, Dorit. The last name is a modification of the family’s original name, Parsan, which means gold in Sanskrit, the classical language of ancient India.

“Our family were jewelers by trade,” Raja Parson said. “When we sent jewelry to England, they (British) mistook the name for Parson. My grandfather thought it would be more profitable if they thought we were British, too.”

Raja Parson, an electronics engineer, met his wife when they worked for the telephone company in Denmark. The family--including younger brother Rahul--moved to Copenhagen when Amanda was about 5 1/2 and then to the Villa Park in 1980. They now live in Tustin.

It was Raja Parson who introduced Amanda to tennis and who still coaches her outside school along with professional coach Troy Collins.

“My dad plays tennis and he got me started, but he never forced it on me,” said Parson, who last year was ranked 25th in the 16-and-under division in Southern California by the United States Tennis Assn. “Now it’s an addiction for me.”

And an affliction for those who have to face her on the court. On the advice of her coaches, Parson said she’s trying to take the game to her opponents instead of playing passively or waiting for them to commit errors. The plan is working.

“My dad and my coaches want me to serve and volley a lot more than I do now,” Parson said. “I want to have a well-rounded game. I like to play an aggressive game. I’m not content with (only) a baseline game.”

To reach that goal, Parson said she recently began taking ballet lessons. She said the work in the studio helps to develop strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. It’s also a haven from the rigors of tennis, though the lessons can be extremely demanding.

“It’s very tiring. You’re sore after you’re done with ballet,” Parson said. “But it’s something I really enjoy. I wish I had started earlier.”

Some of her opponents probably wouldn’t mind it if she took up ballet on a full-time basis.