Ashe award winner Bon serves others with single-minded passion

Pete Sampras has described tennis this way: "It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball."

Sheryl Bon has done what many might imagine impossible. She has succeeded at the ultimate of individual sports with a character defined by unselfishness.

She has, by opening her heart to others, excelled in an arena where self-centered thoughts are required to be great.

She has crushed the stereotype of egotistical tennis player like a set-up lob.

"In boxing, you go to a corner every three minutes to talk with your trainer," Saad Ashraf said. "In golf, you have a caddie carrying your bag and giving advice. Not in tennis. You are by yourself, and that can help make you stronger mentally.

"Sheryl has also used it to help make others stronger."

Bon is a Durango High School alumna and three-time All-American at Azusa Pacific, who at the U.S. Open next week will be one of 10 recipients of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association/Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.

"I'm not surprised at all about this," said Ashraf, a former coach of Bon's and the director of junior development at the Darling Tennis Center. "A lot of kids around the country deserve this kind of recognition, but none more than her. In all my years of coaching tennis, no one displayed leadership qualities like Sheryl."

It's heady stuff. The award dates to 1982 and honors players from Division I, II, III, NAIA and junior and community college levels for scholastic, humanitarian and tennis achievements. To be considered, you have to be very good on the court and very giving off it. Bon is both.

"You knew from Day 1 she would not only be a top junior player (in Nevada), but she would be successful at whatever she chose to do in life," Ashraf said. "It's all coming to pass now, the kind of person she has become through tennis. A strong leader. Someone who knows what she wants and is not going to waiver."

Ashe died in 1993 at age 49, a man who used his position as the first African-American to win a tennis major championship to fight discrimination inside tennis and out. He cared as much about being an outstanding citizen as a terrific player.

Bon owns such traits. She plays No. 1 singles and doubles at Azusa Pacific, a small Christian college 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles, a picturesque campus in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. She is the team captain, a senior who has improved her game each year.

She also turned down full scholarships to schools such as Syracuse and Liberty to take less at Azusa Pacific, turned them down because they didn't seem a right fit. You get the feeling she isn't one to go along with a crowd.

She has passed out food to the homeless, served as a mentor to middle school students, helped raise funds to provide 150 school kits to homeless youth. She traveled to Korea this summer to teach students English. She wants to be a social worker, to empower others.

All at the age of 21.

Yep. Ashe would have approved.

"It's a great honor," Bon said. "I've set pretty high standards for myself. Basically, I like to take the time to help people."

Bon's first tennis racket was made of plastic and given to her by her father. She was 4 then. She got serious about the game three years later.

Bon was consistently ranked among the state's top junior players, and was homeschooled the first two years of high school before attending Durango.

Mark Bohren recruited her to Azusa Pacific, recruited an athlete he knew would prove far more than an outstanding player.

"As a coach, you always hope someone like Sheryl gets recognized like this," Bohren said. "She has a servant's heart, a coach's dream. Tennis is very much a me-me-me sport. It's hard for many players to leave that personality behind when they leave the court. Here you have the best player on a team who is also the most giving. That's a hard combination to find.

"You're probably not going to get rich being a social worker. It's something you really have to have a passion for while putting in a lot of hours and dealing with some very tough, emotional things. But it doesn't surprise me Sheryl wants to pursue (the profession). Not at all."

Ashe once said that from what we get, we make a living; from what we give, makes a life.

Sheryl Bon deserves her award.

She defines it.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.