Jonathan Sorbo, Grade 9

Grade 9 Student and CDS “lifer”, Jonathan Sorbo, is an emerging tennis talent in Ontario. He has played the sport his entire life and is trained by his father, Jonathan Sorbo Sr.
Tennis is in Jonathan’s blood. He swung his first racquet when he was 18 months old and hasn’t looked back since. It’s easy for Jonathan to focus on tennis considering his father, Jonathan Sr., was a Davis Cup coach and also the Head Coach of High Performance at Tennis Canada in 2004. Jonathan Sr. also coached Frank Dancevic and currently coaches Philip Bester; two very accomplished Canadian tennis players.

Along with tennis, Jonathan Jr. also played soccer, basketball, golf and karate growing up. Around the age of eight, Jonathan’s father asked him if he wanted to focus solely on tennis. Jonathan replies “Yes!”, so his father designed a training schedule that put Jonathan’s young tennis career in motion.

Today, Jonathan has a very intense schedule which involves training six days a week. During the school year, Jonathan trains with his dad a minimum of three hours a day, and during the summer, he extends that to five. Having his father as his coach has led to an interesting dynamic in their relationship, Jonathan Jr. explains “It’s the type of thing where we leave father-son [relationship] in the house, and on the court it’s just coach-player. We can’t really have a father-son relationship in tennis because it’s not serious enough; it’s not focused on getting better. He’s my coach when he’s on the tennis court; he’s my dad when we’re off.”

Jonathan’s intense schedule is aided by CDS’ High-Performance Phys-Ed program. The program offers an extra spare for those who train more than 12 hours a week outside of school. He explains, “I have that time period in the day to do homework which really helps because it saves time at home that would deduct from tennis. Jonathan had played tennis for CDS previously, but was as not able to fit it into his schedule this year.

His schedule becomes even busier in the winter. Every November, Jonathan travels down to Florida to continue his training and to compete. Last year, he participated in both the Eddie Herr and Orange Ball tournaments, two of the largest junior competitions in the world. For nearly two months, Jonathan lives there and completes his CDS school assignments over the internet.

Along with the training, Jonathan competes in provincial and national tournaments on the weekends. He has won numerous U12, U14 and U16 tournaments and competes in the Provincials and Nationals in both singles and doubles. As a 14 year old, he currently plays in the Ontario Tennis Association’s U16 division, and is ranked in the top 25. Next season, he plans to be ranked in the top 10.

When not playing tennis, Jonathan enjoys watching sports; specifically Formula 1 auto racing, baseball and basketball.

Although Jonathan’s tennis career is young, he is focused on his immediate and long-term goals. “Ultimately, I would like to turn pro after I graduate, but if I need more development, I would like to obtain a tennis scholarship at a top-rated school in the USA, and then go to the pro tour. But really the ultimate goal would be a Wimbledon trophy.”
Back

Land Acknowledgment

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.