Parklane's Wyatt Dyess officially signed with Holmes C.C. on Tuesday to continue his tennis career at the JUCO level.
The senior has had a unique path to earning a collegiate scholarship.
Roughly two years ago, Dyess had surgery on both of his feet to repair his achilles and provide them with the proper structure. Thus, steel implants were utilized to give his feet an arch, and the achilles tendons were also repaired as surgeons essentially reconstructed both his feet.
Recovering from such ailments usually takes nearly a year of extensive rehab and rest, but after being unable to walk for a couple of months, Dyess was on his feet and able to hit the courts again. And on top of that, he had grown an almost absurd amount due to the added arch and structure.
"I've always wanted to play college tennis, but I wasn't really sure if I would be able to with the surgeries on my feet being major setbacks," Dyess said. "But I came back and was five inches taller, so that helped a lot. And then Holmes gave me the offer and it just seemed like a good environment."
Riley Miller is the tennis coach at Parklane and an instructor at Fernwood Country Club. He explained that Dyess' journey is something he's still amazed by, and he believes that due to his recent physical changes, the Pioneer has plenty of untapped potential.
"He's really a good, hard-working kid," Miller said. "And so I'm excited to see how he grows through junior college because he's had a very interesting story."
In the long term, Dyess hopes to continue playing tennis for as long as he can, but he added that he does want to delve into an engineering field at a four-year university at some point.
