No home, but plenty of heart

Chee Lim is out of position, his legs crossed, his eyes crossed, his fingers crossed. After sending a shot from the left side of the baseline toward Arbor View's Chad Butcher in the middle of the tennis court, Lim has to race down the line to just reach Butcher's return.

Lim catches up to the ball and tries to slow, but his momentum carries him into the ball. He barely manages to get a backhand return, and the shot undoubtedly will give Butcher an easy smash.

But Lim cuts the racket and sends the ball into a backspin, where it lands 3 feet behind the net, still an easy opportunity for Butcher.

Only the ball continues to cut, veering toward the net immediately on impact with the ground. Butcher is caught off guard, and he bounces the ball into the net.

Point, Lim.

On a sunny Sunday at Flushing Meadows, the crowd would go wild for a shot like that. The spectators would rise to their feet, and Lim might even take a bow.

But on the Mojave tennis team -- with only one other male teammate, and he just started three weeks ago, at that -- there is no cheering. There is no crowd. It's as silent as midnight.

If a good player hits a great shot but no one is there to see, does it matter?

"There isn't a crowd, but if I'm lucky, maybe a couple people will look over and say, 'Yes,' or 'Go, Chee,' " the Rattlers junior said after the team's last match of the season. "If there was a crowd, they'd go crazy for that shot. But I don't expect that."

He doesn't expect much.

Soft-spoken almost to a fault, the tennis star doesn't begrudge what's been a difficult season, sometimes a difficult life.

The Mojave tennis team has played without a home court all season, after it was deemed unusable because deep cracks have it looking like a windshield after a hailstorm.

Early in the season, nearby Findlay Middle School offered its courts to the team, if you can call it that -- the Rattlers have just a handful of players after zoning hit them hard and recruiting students, turned off by the court issues, became difficult.

But the mile walk to Findlay in 120-degree heat was too much of an issue for Mojave coach James Devine, and he nixed the idea. So the team moved its practices to the gym and the outdoor basketball courts. Devine altered the practice routine to focus on conditioning and endurance.

Sit-ups have replaced serves; laps have replaced lobs.

In the process, a good player, one who might have become great, has had to refocus himself, too.

Specifically, Lim has become a leader and a workhorse. He wears ankle weights to class, hiding them beneath his jeans, never complaining. He runs at the back of the pack, helping a squad full of freshmen and sophomore girls to break past its limits.

All the while, he stays true to his coach's motto.

" 'One Team, One Speed,' " Lim said. "Last year, the guys resented that because, you know, they're guys. But we got used to it. This year, I'm trying to promote it.

"We have a small team, and it's better helping everyone."

Some high school athletes would sprint past their teammates, basking in the glory of a coach's praise. Lim is not that kind of kid. Above all, he values respect, he values teamwork, and he values patience.

He learned it early.

"I've had it kinda rough since I was a kid," said Lim, who has a 13-11 record at No. 1 singles. "Growing up, we had to go to the swap meet every weekend and sell shoes. Yup, I was a shoe salesman. So I don't expect much out of life -- but America is the land of opportunity, and you have to make it what you want."

The one good thing about the swap meet? The nearby tennis courts, where Lim and his older brother, also named Chee and a former Mojave tennis player in his first year at UNLV, would play.

Lim didn't truly begin to love the sport until a little later, though.

"Growing up, I remember watching the U.S. Open with my dad," Lim said. "And then, we got a Nintendo 64, and I borrowed Mario Tennis from my friend. I played it for a straight week; my thumbs got blistered. I started playing real tennis after that."

Good thing for Devine.

To say that Lim has been Mojave's best player is to say the Earth is round or the sky is blue. But what truly amazes Devine is his star player's overall package. Brains -- Lim maintains a 4.5 grade-point average, takes advanced calculus and will graduate a year early -- and athleticism and kindness.

"He's not even well-rounded," Devine said, guiding a cart full of 12 tennis balls -- after all, how many do you need for eight players? "He defines the shape of everything he does.

"If you tried to box him in to one particular thing, you'd lose that truly amazing gift that he possesses."

Now only if a crowd was there to see it.