News
Gabby Steele is Featured in ESPN Magazine
08/22/08
“She's taken extraordinary measures to have the results of an academic player,” says Doug Kronauge, Steele’s private coach. “There are not a lot of kids out there who are willing to make the sacrifices she’s made.”
WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the 127th General Assembly of Ohio are pleased to congratulate Gabrielle “Gabby” Steele on winning the 2007 Division II State Singles Tennis Championship…
Gabby Steele stood before the chamber and received her designation. The Ohio state Senate had just honored Steele with resolution No. 145, recognizing the Summit Country Day tennis star as a state champion and permanently cementing her place in Ohio history.
When it was Steele’s turn to speak, she had one simple message: thank you.
“She made very brief but very poised comments,” Summit coach Joy Albi says, “It’s one thing to be able to compete on a tennis court; it’s a whole other ballgame to stand before a Statehouse, before state representatives, and thank them for taking the time to make a special proclamation. She was very gracious.”
The legislation described Steele as someone who had “combined talent and competitive spirit with the highest ideals of good sportsmanship” and declared that her athletic achievement was “a justifiable source of pride and a fine reflection not only on her but also her family, her teammates, her coach, her school, and her community.”
“I was pretty surprised because I haven’t heard of anyone who’s actually [had that happen] before,” Steele says. “They gave me this really nice framed proclamation. It’s all written up and professional looking.
Now a senior at Summit, Steele’s success – and well-deserved recognition – is a result of the numerous sacrifices she has made to develop her game. From giving up other sports to enduring early wakeup calls to spending hours on the road traveling to practices and tournaments, Steele has dedicated herself to tennis. She was rated the No. 6 player in Ohio in USTA 18-U rankings as of press time and posted in undefeated high school season last year en route to the Division II singles state crown.
“She's taken extraordinary measures to have the results of an academic player,” says Doug Kronauge, Steele’s private coach. “There are not a lot of kids out there who are willing to make the sacrifices she’s made.”
Steele played soccer and tennis growing up, and succeeded in both. On her soccer travel team, she was one of the leading scorers. But when it came time to focus her energy on one sport, she chose tennis.
Living in the rural town of New Richmond, about 20 miles southeast of Cincinnati, that means early-morning drives to train with Kronauge at the Harper’s Point tennis facility. Three times per week during the school year, Steele wakes up at 5 a.m. for those sessions. Twice a week after school, she travels an hour to Miamisburg for more practice.
She has trained with some of the most talented players in the area, including Kelsey Haviland of Oakwood, who Steele ultimately faced for the state title last season.
The longtime friends know each other’s games well and have hit together countless times. They generally trade wins when they face off, with Steele entering the state championship match last fall having just beaten Haviland in straight sets the week before districts.
Known for her powerful return of serve, Steele had a specific strategy going into the title match: force Haviland from side to side and keep her on the defensive. But with unusually windy and cold conditions, Steele found herself down a set and trailing 3-0 in the second.
“I just kinda choked,” Steele says. “I was feeling really upset with myself in the second set, and she got an early lead again. I said, ‘Stop feeling bad for yourself,’ and I started being more confident. I didn’t want to lose.”
“She made an adjustment and went to more of an every-ball-goes-back strategy,” Albi says. “It was an ‘I don’t care how it goes back, I’m just gonna try to hit it deep’ thing. And she got back her rhythm.”
Steele came back and won, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, a victory that was big news in New Richmond, a town of 2,500 on the eastern bank of the Ohio River. So when the town’s state senator, Tom Niehaus, read about Steele’s win, he decided to honor her in extraordinary fashion.
“We do have a process whereby we can recognize individuals for distinguished achievements,” Sen. Niehaus says. “We invite state champions to come to the Statehouse – in this case, to the Senate – and to be our guest, at which point they are recognized during our Senate session.”
Sen. Niehaus invited Steele and her family to Columbus to tour the Statehouse. Afterward, he read the measure and Steele accepted an honorary plaque. These types of proclamations are brought up on occasion whenever a state champion is crowned,” the senator says.
“I was one of the first people called,” says Steele, who finished second at state as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. “I basically just thanked everyone for all their support.”
With Steele’s place already etched in state history, she is hoping to make another entry into the record books with a repeat this fall. Along the way, she also hopes to raise her stature on the national stage – she was ranked just outside the USTA’s National Top 100 18-U players as of press time.
“What we’re working on now is not being content with just competing or with making it close, but being content with winning and winning only,” Kronauge says. “The thing she needs to work on is believing that she can beat the top players in the country.”
Having already left her mark on the Ohio Statehouse, it sounds like Steele is setting her sights on the White House.
