There are few places stateside where Braylon Desquitado hasn’t played tennis. He first picked up a racket when he was 2 after watching the Australian Open on TV and began training in hopes of becoming a professional at 8. Since then, Desquitado has played in tournaments across the country, incl uding Florida, Virginia, Nevada, North Carolina and California. He also trains twice a day throughout the year. “It is just a grind. We are on court from 9-11 in the morning, and then lunch, and then back from 1-4 and that’s basically my schedule on a daily for just about the year,” he said.  Desquitado is a sophomore who attends The Village High School while playing No. 1 singles at Pine Creek. The Village’s nontraditional hybrid learning format allows him to attend tennis academies in Florida and California during the academic year. But despite the big tournaments and bigger dreams, there’s still a young man who likes to have fun.  “My experience in high school tennis is just great. It might be smaller than the tennis itself from California and Florida, but my team bonding with the people individually … has been really good,” Desquitado said. “I got to meet a lot of people and made good connections. Last year, one of the guys on the team, he’s now at Stanford, and I got to stay with him in his dorm. So it’s just really cool experiences and meeting new people like that.” Desquitado went 15-4 for the Eagles this season, won regionals and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 5A state tournament. He is The Gazette Preps Peak Performer of the Year for boys tennis. Pine Creek’s Braylon Desquitado is The Gazette Preps Boys’ Tennis Peak Performer of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Braylon Desquitado) Maturity is a must, given Desquitado’s lifestyle. His schedule as a high schooler mirrors that of a highly productive adult. Despite his training and travels, Desquitado has to maintain his academics. “Balancing out my athletics with academics comes hand in hand, and it comes down to discipline when I really need to do my schoolwork. I just need to lock in and put myself away from the court for a bit and get that done,” Desquitado said. “Focus on all that I need to do for the day for my work to make sure I’m on top of it, getting good grades. You just find the time during the tournament, while I’m training at the academy, during lunch, there’s always a time for me to do my academics.” Desquitado also attributes his mature mindset to his parents and the fact that he’s around older tennis players who share their experiences.  The maturity shows up in Desquitado’s handling of success and failure. As a freshman he went 20-1 for Pine Creek and fell in the 5A state final, remaining composed throughout.  “He lost that match last year 4-6 in the third (set) and he came off the court and said, ‘You know what? That was one of the most fun matches I’ve ever played. Win or lose,’” Pine Creek coach Jason Warkentine said. “His maturity level at the age of 14, this year, at the age of 15. If you’d look at him, you talk with him, you have a conversation, you wouldn’t know how old he was. You’d say oh that kid’s an 18-, 19-year-old kid who’s playing college right now.” Desquitado’s sophomore season provided more tests, as the budding tennis star fell in a 10-point tiebreaker in the opening tournament of the season at Castle View.  “I truly believe that you can’t get better until you lose,” Warkentine said. “We got back to the drawing board and we continue practicing hard. What could we have done better and we also look at what did we do good when we were out there as well. Let’s try to build on both of those.” “It was a little bit surprising at first. I put maybe too much pressure on myself coming in opening matches for the high school season, and I was putting too much expectation on myself. I just had to let go after that loss. (It) kind of put me back in reality and put me back in check for the rest of the season,” Desquitado said.  Pine Creek’s Braylon Desquitado is The Gazette’s Boys’ Tennis Peak Performer of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Braylon Desquitado) His record from his sophomore season doesn’t stand out nearly as much as the fun times do for Desquitado. He recalls team dinners, riding in the car with his teammates and enjoying some music and other team bonding moments. Desquitado’s passion for the game ignited the same in his coach. “First and foremost, practices, I want them to be fun. I want the kids to look forward to it and I tell the kids I want to look forward to the practices as well. I want to have fun but I also want to work hard,” said Warkentine, who appreciated Desquitado’s willingness to work with his less-experienced teammates. “Then you have people like Braylon, they’re coming to practice, they’re working hard. They’re going to personal practices before, maybe even after … they’re working on things that they want to get better with but they’re also working with other kids. ‘Oh wait a second here, your serve let’s try to come down on that serve a little bit more, keep your head up.’”  Desquitado is unsure whether he’ll have the opportunity to play a full season for the Eagles again in the fall. He’ll be ramping up personal training with an eye on college recruitment.  But much like he spent time in practice helping others, Desquitado still wishes to be a part of the team no matter what.  “I would definitely still like to be associated with the team,” Desquitado said, “and try and help out so I would talk over with coach to see what I could still do.”  ...read more read less