Sportlight

Troy Steiner recovers from wrist injury

By Bond Brungard
Posted 4/10/19

As a freshman, Troy Steiner missed his season on Newburgh’s boys tennis team with a wrist injury.

“That’s a big deal in tennis,” said Dennis Maher, Newburgh’s …

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Sportlight

Troy Steiner recovers from wrist injury

Posted

As a freshman, Troy Steiner missed his season on Newburgh’s boys tennis team with a wrist injury.

“That’s a big deal in tennis,” said Dennis Maher, Newburgh’s coach.
Steiner has recovered a while ago after not playing for three months, and he is now the number one singles player for the Goldbacks.

Steiner joined the team in seventh grade, and he went to the sectional tournament that year as a wild-card doubles player with David Salazar. And a year later, when Steiner was in eighth-grade, the pair won a sectional title.
“He’s a type A kid. He always wants to succeed. He wants more, and those kids are kind of rare,” said Maher. “He’s someone we will lean on this year to move forward.”

And while he was out of Newburgh’s lineup for nearly two years due to his missed freshman season, Steiner grew to over six feet tall with some added bulk to fill that height.

“That’s changed his game a little bit,” said Maher, “using that serve and making that a weapon.”

Maher said better net play by Steiner is also expected this season. Steiner started the season with a victory over New Paltz before dropping to 1-1 with a loss to Cornwall. Last week against Middletown, Steiner, who started playing tennis when he was eight or nine years old, raised his record to 2-1 with a straight sets victory.

“I picked it up at a young age and just stayed with it,” said Steiner, prior to facing Middletown. “I feel great. My first two matches, I played really well. I am expecting to continue that.”

Steiner helped the Goldbacks sweep through singles last week to beat Middletown 5-2, and Steiner enjoys playing for a team that annually can be a difficult opponent for many Section 9 teams.

“It’s a great team. Our coach is really dedicated,” said Steiner. “Our team seems really into it, and that’s awesome.”

Steiner has already reached the state championships as a doubles player, and this year, he wants to do the same as a singles player. And his mental game will be something he will work on this season.

“I just need to focus on my mental game,” he said. “When I am under pressure, I have to figure out how to calm down. And just play my game.”