Blue Springs South’s Nguyen gives back again as he ends his prep tennis career
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (BVM) — Sean Nguyen is no stranger to giving back. And this summer, he had the chance to do so yet again. Nguyen had a terrific tennis career at Blue Springs South High School, but he did not get to cap it off as his senior season was canceled. That heartbreak sparked an idea for Nguyen and friend Mason Gates, however, who put together an unofficial state tennis tournament held a couple weeks ago.
Nguyen has been playing tennis for almost a decade. When he was 9 years old, he sat and watched Rafael Nadal face off against Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open. After that, he decided he wanted to try out the sport for himself, going to Walmart to buy a racket.
“Right away I really loved it and everyday I just wanted to go out and hit,” Nguyen said. “I started taking lessons at a local club and now I can’t let a racket go.”
The 18-year-old trained at numerous tennis clubs throughout his youth. During a national tournament at Overland Park Racquet Club in Kansas, Nguyen knocked off two of the top rated youth players in the Midwest. It was at that moment he realized he had a special talent in the sport.
At Blue Springs South High School, Nguyen continued to shine. As a freshman he was the team’s No. 1 player and leader right away. By junior year, Nyguen represented the Jaguars in the state tournament.
“Qualifying for state was awesome,” Nguyen said. “The state experience is really different. It was a bummer that I didn’t place higher but it was a really cool experience.”
Nguyen had high hopes for not only himself but his team as a whole coming into his senior season. The Jaguars graduated just one senior from the previous year’s team, and also would not have to play Rockhurst High School in order to get to state — a true hurdle for Blue Springs South in prior years.
“I wanted my team to make it to state and I wanted to medal at state in doubles as well,” Nguyen said.
Although the stars seemed aligned, Nguyen would never get to play his senior tennis season after it was canceled due to COVID-19. Like many senior athletes, the tennis star took the news very hard.
“I was looking forward to being a senior on the team and was especially really looking forward to senior night,” Nguyen said. “I was shocked and frustrated when I heard the news and just heartbroken. But one thing I wasn’t was dispirited.”
Despite the tough news, Nguyen and Gates stayed positive. During a phone conversation they had right after the season was officially canceled, Gates made a joke that the two should create their own state tournament. Although they knew it would be tough, the two friends attempted to make this dream become a reality.
One thing working in their favor was Nguyen’s prior experience of putting on tennis tournaments. A few years back, Nguyen created his own non-profit called Forty Love. The organization was created to raise awareness about homelessness in society while raising money to help out those without a place to live.
The non-profit has put on tennis tournaments the last two years thanks to Nguyen, with money raised from the events going to Uplift Organization Inc., which helps provide assistance and supplies to the homeless in the Kansas City area.
For Nguyen, this issue is close to his heart. His father was jailed during the Vietnam War, and later fled to the United States where he would be homeless for several years. Inspired by that story, Nguyen decided to create Forty Love, while also volunteering at homeless shelters over the last several years.
“I was inspired by my dad and thought why can’t we do something I’m so passionate about in tennis to support a cause I’m so passionate about in homelessness,” Nguyen said. “I don’t think I had seen a tennis tournament that supports homelessness before so I thought why not start it up and see where it goes.”
The tournament has been a success in its first couple years of existence, and Nguyen expects it to grow further.
“Even though I will be in medical school I don’t plan on ending it anytime soon,” Nguyen said. “I will pass the torch on a bit to Mason. But we want to expand it because it doesn’t have to just be tennis. It can also be baseball, soccer, football, you name it. We plan on just keeping it steady and continue to raise money for a great cause.”
Nguyen and Gates knew they would not be able to put a summer state tournament on by themselves, let alone play in it as well. After reaching out to several coaches and the Missouri United States Tennis Association among others, Nguyen received one response. That was from United States Tennis Association Vice President, Rhonda Kaissi. Having Kaissi step in to help made the tournament a legitimate vision.
“I’m very, very thankful,” Nguyen said. “Without Rhonda Kaissi the state tournament was not going to happen. Me and Mason could not have run the tournament by ourselves. It was like the stars finally lined up for us.”
The tournament was played at Cosmo-Bethel Park in Columbia, Mo., with the use of the courts paid for by donation. Anyone who qualified for last year’s MSHSAA state tennis tournament was automatically able to enter into the tournament. Many of last year’s state sectional qualifiers were also allowed to play based on their universal tennis rating.
At first, the tournament was not garnering significant interest. But after a promotional video on social media and word of the tournament spreading, the event began fielding more and more players. In all, nearly 40 players would participate including 19 singles players and nine doubles teams.
Despite rain in the morning of the first day of the event, the tournament ended up being an overall success, and Nguyen couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
“Everyone at this tournament was almost shocked that this was even happening,” Nguyen said. “The look on peoples’ faces was incredible and everyone was coming up to Rhonda, Mason, and I saying how thankful they were to get some kind of closure. It was an awesome atmosphere and was actually hitting two birds with one stone because we got closure for the seniors while also continuing the Forty Love tradition.”
With no official Forty Love tournament this summer, this tournament served as a substitute for the one typically played, and was able to raise money for Uplift once again.
Lost in the midst of the amazing job Nguyen did in putting on the tournament was the fact that he actually won the doubles portion of the event with partner Carter McIntosh, giving him a perfect cap to his prep career.
“It was kind of unreal,” Nguyen said. “I had no idea my season would end this way but to end it with Forty Love and a state win maybe was meant to be. Running my own state tournament and then winning it was crazy and extraordinary.”
With a cap on his high school tenure, Nguyen will begin medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). He plans on studying medicine in an accelerated six-year program, and is excited to be able to do so close to home.
Nguyen will continue his tennis career as well. While his competitive playing days might be over, he was planning on playing intramural tennis at UMKC prior to the fall sports season being canceled, and will look to play in the future.
But what Nguyen has done on and off the court over his high school career is as impressive as it gets. The 18-year-old has found a way to combine his two greatest passions, and what he did this summer for senior tennis players across the state of Missouri will not be forgotten.
“The look on people when they started coming into that tournament was unlike any other,” Nguyen said. “There was something different about this one and it was a privilege and once-in-a-lifetime experience. This was something special and I will remember it for the rest of my life.”
