Stacy’s vintage game a good fit at OCC

David Stacy said he has always perceived the world around him as timeless. But it’s a time warp opposing players figure to find themselves in against the 53-year-old member of the Orange Coast College men’s tennis team this season.

“I’m not intimidated by anybody,” said Stacy, who ran the quarter-mile in 50.1 seconds at Westminster High before graduating in 1972. “I think I have elements of my game that these other guys don’t have. I’ve got more experience, than they do and I’ve played more diverse players. I’ve had to study other players to find what their cracks and flaws and patterns were, so that I could anticipate them and beat them at their own game.”

Stacy’s game features a variety of shots, most of which are of the off-speed variety.

“Guys are used to a certain type of game, so it’s my job to take their game away from them,” said Stacy, who is 3-1 in singles for the Pirates, who are 6-0, 2-0 in the Orange Empire Conference heading into Thursday’s conference clash at Irvine Valley College.

“Whatever they like to hit, I make sure they don’t hit it. I give them odd-paced balls, I give them slices, I give them curves, and I give them soft high balls that bounce over their shoulder. It’s stuff they’re not used to getting and stuff they don’t like to hit. My teammates complain about me hitting slices to them, but our No. 1 player is the only one who can consistently hit them. When they complain, I say ‘The last time I checked, a slice shot was still legal.’ I like to get a younger player and put him on a yo-yo.”

OCC Coach Jeff Thomsen, a former player and coach at Newport Harbor High who is in his first year at the Pirates’ helm, smiles when he talks about Stacy’s game.

“He gives a lot of the guys at this level a lot of problems,” Thomsen said. “He really greases up these guys with his slice and his other different types of shots.”

Stacy said he didn’t realize his true potential in the game until joining the old Palisades Tennis Club, which was then in Costa Mesa, in the early 1990s.

“I went out for tennis my first year at Golden West College in 1973,” Stacy said. “It was just a co-ed program, but I became a little discouraged, because everyone else was at least four years ahead of me.

“I gave it up for a long time, but every once in a while, when I wanted to make myself feel better, I just hit the ball around. In 1990, I decided I wanted to be on the team at Orange Coast College. But, after two weeks, I quit.

“I gathered my courage the next year and came out for the team again, which was then coached by Maury Gerard. I started as the seventh man, but the sixth man got hurt in the preseason. I remember our first preseason match was against USC’s second string. Maury always talked to us about just getting the next ball in and that was all I thought about on the bus ride to USC. When we got there, I started playing my opponent and I kept hitting the ball back over the net. He got more and more frustrated, and all I did was keep concentrating on one ball at a time. All of a sudden, I was waiting for his serve, when he said ‘The match is over. You won.’ I was the only guy on our team who won that day.”

Stacy finished the 1991 season by winning the majority of his matches, mostly at No. 6 singles. He received the team’s Most Improved Player award.

Then when academic interests took him elsewhere, he joined Palisades to rekindle his passion for tennis.

“There’s something about my personality that is best suited to all the aspects that tennis has,” Stacy, a Tustin resident, said. “You can use power, strategy, finesse, all the different intricacies. It’s like a symphony with all the different instruments. You don’t get bored with any single aspect of the sport.”

Stacy, self-employed at the time, found himself spending four hours on the court, three times a week, at Palisades. He said he eventually rose to the No. 4 ranking in the state in class 4.5.

Stacy, who turned 53 in January, said he began playing senior age-group tournaments two years ago. But he always knew he had a year of community college eligibility remaining.

When he found himself back at OCC to study in the school’s film department, he decided to try out for the team last year.

“I thought my level was good enough to be the third man, but the [then] coach wanted to play me lower,” Stacy said. I had won pretty easily at the bottom of the ladder my last time at OCC, and I didn’t want to be bored with my last season. I really wanted to challenge myself and be part of a team again.”

Stacy came out again this season and Thomsen is glad he did.

“He works very hard and puts in all the work,” said Thomsen, who said Stacy has played No. 3 and No. 4 singles, but has also been utilized in doubles. “He has got this youthful exuberance, and he brings a lot of wisdom.”

He obviously is not as strong or quick as he once was, but Stacy’s slow-paced game “doesn’t absorb a lot off energy,” he said.

“If I tried to hit all-out with top-spin, I just wouldn’t have the physical energy or strength to match their game,” he said.

Still, Stacy said he has no consciousness of any age difference with teammates.

“There’s no difference in spirit, heart or desire,” Stacy said. “I see my teammates and I really don’t think about being older than they are. I’m here among my peers and that’s how I perceive myself. We all share the same passion.”