"Charles in charge"
Ivory Coast native is a dream player with a future in tennis
Ryan Tubongbanua / The Collegian
Fresno State tennis player and Ivory Coast native Charles Irie hopes to have a future in tennis at the professional ranks after he completes his senior season next year. |
By Natalie Garcia
The Collegian
EVEN THOUGH CHARLES Irie’s father died of liver cancer in July 2001, his family thought it would be better if he didn’t know about it.
So instead of calling him at tennis camp in South Africa, they waited until he returned home five months later to Abidjan, Ivory Coast to break the news.
“My family didn’t want to mess up my tennis,” Irie, 21, said. “They didn’t want me to quit.”
Although Irie said hearing the news of his father’s death was one of the hardest moments of his life, it wasn’t a complete shock.
“I knew he was sick when I was home the last December,” Irie said.
“They always said he was fine, then he was not home. I would call and they would say ‘he’s not home, he’s not home,” Irie said.
Irie didn’t appreciate being lied to for almost half a year, but he understood that his mother just wanted to protect him and his budding tennis career, something that could open doors to opportunities he never dreamed of. And as many mothers often are, she turned out to be right.
Now, Irie is one of the top college players in the United States, and has been named the Most Valuable Player twice while playing at Fresno State.
“It’s a dream come true. Where I come from, it’s somewhat impossible being in the States going to college without paying any money,” Irie said.
But in the United States, athletic talent is its own currency, which is ready to be cashed in by competitive programs rabidly awaiting the next top talents from abroad.
“He’s just one of those dream players for a coach,” said Jay Udwadia, head coach of men’s tennis at Fresno State. “He’s really a role model for his other teammates. “He grew up playing tennis and he has aspirations to play on the (pro) tour after graduation.”
Irie has come a long way from where he started.
When he was young, Irie spent his time running around the neighborhood with his friends in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan. All of his friends’ fathers worked at Telecom, just like his engineer father did, and they all lived in the same living complex provided by the company.
Irie spent his time as a young boy like many other children his age, and he wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. But his life took a very drastic turn one day when he was 10 — it was the first day Irie ever picked up a tennis racquet.
“When I started playing tennis for the first time I was very dedicated,” Irie said. “I was one of the best juniors in Africa.”
It was good that Irie hit the ground running, because beginning to play at 10 years old is often too late in a game where many players go pro before their 18th birthday. His success could have been luck, but most likely it was something else.
“I started tennis with five friends. They all stayed in Africa because they did not work as hard as I did,” Irie said.
To this day, Irie’s steadfast dedication to the sport has not wavered.
“Sometimes he obsesses about conditioning,” Lucia “Lucky” Sainz, 21, Irie’s girlfriend said. “One semester he was waking up every day at 6 a.m. to go running.”
Sainz, who is from Barcelona, Spain, is also a standout tennis player on Fresno State’s women’s team.
The two have been a couple for over a year-and-a-half and she ranks near tennis on Irie’s list of priorities.
“Their relationship seems really strong,” P.J. Luna, Irie’s roommate, said.
“They’re always together. I think they just celebrated their 1 year-6 month anniversary. Apparently they celebrate every month. It’s kind of romantic.”
Having Sainz in his life is important to Irie, especially with his entire family on a different continent.
“She has helped me a lot. Being away from home she has given me a lot of support,” Irie said.
Irie left his home in Abidjan at the age of 14. He received a scholarship from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to attend tennis camp in South Africa and compete against the best juniors in the world.
During his time there, he was only allowed to visit his family for two weeks a year in December.
With the sacrifice also came the payoff.
Irie traveled throughout Africa and Europe to play junior tournaments. Among the countries he visited are: France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, England, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria and France. “It’s pretty scary to leave home at 14,” Irie said. “But after two years I got used to it. I made friends who were in the same situation as me.”
During his globe-trotting, Irie managed to obtain the No. 67 ranking in the world in the boys 18 and under division.
Even with his spectacular results, Irie’s future was far from set. The level of tennis in collegiate sports in America is exclusive. No other countries offer athletes an opportunity to continue to pursue athletic and academic careers concurrently. For many players it’s either struggle to make it on the pro tour or give up tennis for a college career.
In order to play in the United States, Irie needed to bridge the gap between him and an American institution. For Irie, that bridge was a man named Brad Dancer.
Dancer was the men’s tennis coach at Fresno State when Irie was recruited. Dancer happened to know Irie’s coach in South Africa. A few phone calls were made, and soon Irie was boarding a plane destined for Fresno, Calif.
Irie adjusted well to Fresno. He has been a constant source of talent for his team, and has earned the friendship and respect of his teammates.
“At first he comes off as a little shy, but he’s really funny, he’s really caring,” said Sergiu Modoc, 21, Irie’s teammate. “He treats his teammates with a lot of respect.”
Everyone seems to get along with “Charles in Charge” as his friends call him, but sometimes they have a hard time trying to decipher the accent of the native French speaker.
“Sometimes on the court we think he’s pissed off and speaking in a different language, but actually he’s speaking English.” Modoc said.
Many times the language barrier is difficult and frustrating for foreigners.
Irie doesn’t let it get to him, but it has made a difference in his personality.
“I was very talkative back home, but when I moved away from home I became very quiet. A new environment, a new language,” Irie said. “But back home, everybody knows me as the guy who talks a lot.”
To teammate Jakub Cech, 22, Irie’s the guy who loves Tupac and can’t swim or drive.
“He likes Tupac. I don’t know anyone who likes Tupac as much as he does; it’s his hero,” Cech said.
Irie confessed to a deep love for Tupac Shakur, the late gangsta rapper. He said he enjoys Tupac’s lyrics because he speaks about real issues and always tells the truth — something others also say about Irie.
“He always tells you the truth; he really cares about people,” Sainz said.
Irie’s inability to swim or drive only makes him smile and laugh when asked about why he never got around to learning how to do either of those things.
One gets the impression that he was too preoccupied to be bothered to do either, the kind of thing that happens to someone so deeply dedicated to excelling at a one singular task.
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