Boys' Tennis Player of the Year: James Wood's Josh Lucas

James Wood High School's Josh Lucas readily admits he has an obsession.

From the time he rolls out of bed in the morning and for the majority of the day, there is mostly one thing on his mind — tennis.

“It’s pretty much all I ever think about during the summers and in school,” he said.

And just a short time into his high school career, Lucas has put that obsession into good use. As a sophomore, he made the leap to the No. 1 singles and doubles spots for the Colonels and became the best player in the Class 4 Northwestern District.

Lucas would drop just one tight match in district play and just four overall as he became the only local singles player to reach the Region 4D semifinals.

Lucas’ meteoric rise makes him The Winchester Star’s Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year.

As a freshman, Lucas played at the No. 4 spot for the Colonels in singles. With graduation losses, he figured to move up in the Colonels lineup, but that wasn’t good enough for him. Lucas not only wanted to be the best for James Wood, he wanted to beat the best players.

Taking up that mantle meant putting in the hours long before the Colonels opened practice this spring.

“Pretty much the only really challenge was working hard over the summer,” said Lucas, who is a fixture both working and playing at Winchester Country Club. “I’m doing the same thing now that I did last year. I came out every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. I just hit and I would not stop.”

James Wood coach Christian Hellwig, a former standout at Millbrook High School, said it often feels like you have to pry Lucas off the court.

“I have to tell him that he needs to slow down sometimes because he will spend hours and hours and hours just hitting and hitting and hitting,” said Hellwig. “Sometimes he just hits on the ball machine by himself for hours.”

It’s that discipline that vaulted Lucas to being one of the top players in the area and region. During the season, the lefty lost just once in district action, an 8-6 decision against Handley’s Jack Boye, who he also defeated during the regular season. He avenged another of his regular-season losses with a triumph over Washington’s Jack Schottler and his final loss came to eventual Class 4 champion Drew Perez, of Salem, in the Region 4D semifinals.

While he was dominant locally, Lucas said he benefited mightily from his losses. “The new people that I played against, I was just shocked,” he said. “I thought at the beginning I was really good, but that was like a wake-up call. I was like, ‘OK, I still have a lot of work.’”

His tennis career has shown he certainly knows quite a bit about that.

Lucas said he began playing around age 8, but didn’t start taking the sport seriously until he was around 12. From there, he developed his passion for the game.

“I just think it’s so fascinating on how I can always improve,” he said. “I don’t really like team sports. I played soccer and baseball. It was mainly up to the team [to win]. Tennis is about individual growth. It’s all about me and I think that’s why I like it so much. … Even if I’m just hitting against the wall or with the ball machine, I can critique my own game because I want to be good enough where I don’t have to worry.”

Hellwig has known Lucas since he first showed up at Winchester Country Club as a youngster. He’s now seeing the fruits of Lucas’ labor.

“I started with Josh when he was eight when I was over here working at Winchester Country Club,” Hellwig said. “He came in and it was his first tennis camp ever. He was an eight-year-old boy and he wasn’t very good then.

“Over these past couple of years of being able to watch Josh and being able to work with him and watch his progression, it’s been an extreme change from last year to this year. He put in the work. His serve is 10 times better this year than it was last year. All of his groundstrokes have changed phenomenally. It’s been a pleasure to really work with him this year.”

And Hellwig has seen the passion grow.

“I’ve never met any other player who is more obsessed with the game than Josh Lucas,” he said. “I think it comes from the coaches that he’s had, especially Jamie Morgan at the Winchester Country Club. He has really made him such a great player and really gave him the love of tennis.”

Lucas says he’s fortunate to both have a job and a place to play at WCC. He has learned to string rackets (mainly through YouTube videos), which has become an important skill since he wears them out constantly.

He’s constantly trying to test his skills against the best players. He can be found hitting with former Handley standout Nick Mueller, who played Division I college tennis at Richmond, Bucknell and Fordham, and with current members of the Shenandoah University team.

“It’s been a little bit more challenging now that I’m better than I was last year,” Lucas said of finding hitting partners. “I’m starting to branch out and hit with college players. That makes it a little bit easier on me. There’s definitely no shortage of college players coming back for the summer.”

Lucas said it’s important to have better players probe his game so that he finds the areas he needs to work on.

“I just can’t afford to have a weak shot,” he said. “I can’t have someone pick on me about that and use that to their advantage. I need to be be well-rounded overall and absolutely crush my forehand.”

If last summer is any indication, Lucas’ opponents better be ready for a tussle next spring. In addition to improving his physical game, he believes he also made strides mentally.

“In my ninth-grade year, I was not resilient at all,” Lucas admits. “I was not meant to be No. 1 last year. This year, I feel like I’ve really stepped up to the plate. I grew so much as a person and a tennis player over the last summer. I was able to say, ‘You know what? Whatever, it’s a new point.’”

Lucas has two matches which were his favorites this season and both proved that mental toughness.

“The first one was our first scrimmage against Loudoun Valley,” Lucas said. “I was down 2-7 and I came back and won. I had to win seven straight games against a guy I thought I couldn’t beat.

"I honestly couldn’t even tell you how I did it. It was a lot of luck and a lot of good serves.”

No. 2 came against Schottler.

“It was my rematch against the Washington kid,” Lucas said. “I lost the first one because I got in my head. In the rematch, I think I was also down 2-7 and it ended up going to a tiebreak and I won by two points.”

The tennis part seemed to come easy for Lucas, but it was another responsibility that provided a big test. Teammates look to the No. 1 player as a leader.

“To be honest, I think that was the hardest part of the season, just being a leader,” Lucas said. “I was No. 4 last year. I wasn’t really into the leadership or anything. It’s especially been difficult with the two new coaches and the head coach being like my friend for like eight years. It’s tough to get everyone to call him Coach Christian when I don’t call him Coach Christian myself.”

Hellwig said Lucas was an excellent leader, who not only worked on his own game, but helped others and lead by example.

“He was always on time,” Hellwig said. “He always did the right thing. He’s one of the best people to coach and one of the best players I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”

Lucas has desires to win a state title and would love to attend the University of Virginia to play and study medicine. In his spare time, Lucas likes to ready about the brain.

“I’ve always loved the thought of helping people and I’ve always loved the brain and how sending messages throughout the body works,” said Lucas, who wants to someday be a neurosurgeon. “It’s kind of a perfect thing.”

Right now, he has his mind set on improving, with the hopes of maybe getting another shot at Perez next season.

“It definitely motivates me more than ever,” Lucas said. “I really want that rematch.”

Hellwig is glad to have Lucas for two more seasons.

“I think if he keeps going, he’s going to continue to get better and better,” Hellwig said. “He will be a phenomenal player by the time he reaches his senior year. I could see a state championship by his name.”

— Contact Walt Moody at

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