Vincent Cannata loved tennis.
So naturally Vincent Cannata started playing tennis.
Wait, what?
Yes, father and son are both named Vincent Cannata (so is grandpa, for that matter), and their mutual love of the sport has lifted the Greenmen — with one serving as their coach and the other as the Suburban American Player of the Year.
The father has long played and loved the game, making it no surprise the son was quickly hooked as well. Their achievements include Cannata securing this year’s Suburban American title at first singles. But the Aurora senior stood out for more than his play, often teaching the freshmen the finer points of the game.
“It’s been great to watch,” Cannata said of his son. “It’s amazing watching him play and seeing the player he’s become, and then also, obviously, the leader that he was in our program.”
How the Cannata family fell in love with tennis
The father has long had a relationship with the game of tennis. He played at Mayfield High School and never stopped. When the family moved from Lyndhurst to Aurora in 2010, Cannata promptly joined Western Reserve Racquet and Fitness Club.
It became a family affair, with both parents playing and then the son as well.
“My dad just made me play it once,” Cannata said. “And then it was fun, so I just kept playing it.”
Cannata was quickly enthralled, traveling to Indiana and Michigan for tournaments before he even started high school.
“As I got better, like, the more I played, then the more I started to like it,” Cannata said. “So I just kind of kept playing.”
Vincent Cannata takes on top competition early
Cannata played the best of the Suburban League right from the start. That’s the lot of a first singles player, with Cannata taking over the lead role for the Greenmen as a freshman.
“The tough [part] was versus opponents who maybe hit the ball a different way,” Cannata said. “Or they would have really big serves that I never really [faced] before.”
Cannata won plenty. Of course, there were also older players who challenged the then-freshman, including Highland’s Elijah Hadler and Revere’s Merit Wagstaff, two Suburban stalwarts who were a grade older.
The key, of course, was improvement. Just because Cannata assumed Aurora’s top position as a freshman didn’t mean his work was complete.
“I worked a lot on my serve as a freshman,” Cannata said. “I wasn’t hitting that hard, but now I can control it and choose what serves I should hit against this person from where they’re standing, or [just] hitting it way harder, which was a big difference and a big jump.”
Cannata started his tennis career creating marathon points with his ability to get the ball back. He evolved into a player who could end those marathon points with his power. That included winning more and more points against his father.
“He was able to develop a big serve and a bigger game and he’d come to net,” the older Cannata said. “And, yeah, when I saw that, I realized, especially when I played him, my days were numbered.”
Vincent Cannata takes on new roles
As Cannata entered his senior season, he took on a new role.
Suddenly, he wasn’t just a first singles star. He was also a player-coach, so to speak.
“With our freshmen, he was able to give them serving lessons and really help out their game,” Cannata said. “He’s really going to be missed next year on our team because it was like having another coach there, and especially some of these matches, when you have five courts going on, it’s kind of hard to be at every single court at once.”
Although the recent Aurora graduate might coach someday, he has more matches in front of him at Baldwin Wallace.
“I really wanted to play college tennis, and their coach is a really nice guy,” Cannata said. “It’s really close to Cleveland and I like the sports there and I like their computer science program, so it kind of checked all the boxes.”
With his son off to college, no one would have blamed the father if he stepped down as coach. Instead, Cannata is still planning on coaching boys and girls tennis at Aurora, mixing in trips to Berea to watch his son play.
What led to that decision? The talent certainly doesn’t hurt with the Greenmen’s returners including Kamy Milano fresh off a district appearance. But it’s about more than that for Cannata.
It’s about what started this whole journey — love of the game.
“A lot of it had to do with the players,” Cannata said. “I play a lot of tennis, but it’s kind of like my way to give back a little bit, and I think outside of being a teacher, a coach is someone who can make the most impact on a young athlete’s life, and so I like that I can help out that way [and] give something back to the sport that I love.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Suburban American Player of the Year Vincent Cannata led Aurora tennis
