Commitment Profile
Fall Signing Week '14: Presbyterian College Banks on Belsito
by Blair Henley, 15 November 2014
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From the day Daniel Belsito first stepped onto a tennis court, he has been making up for lost time. He was two months shy of his 12th birthday when he tagged along with a friend to a local tournament. What he saw was the one-on-one competition he was missing on his basketball and baseball teams.
After convincing his parents to buy him a racquet, he started hitting at his neighborhood courts. When that wasn't enough to satisfy his newfound tennis craving, he turned his garage into a backboard. Just ten days after his first on-court experience, Belsito competed in his first tournament.
He hasn't slowed down since.
"Tennis is perfect - because all I need is myself and my competitive nature," Belsito said. "My own thought process is all I have. There is no substitution. You can't take the day off if you're having a bad day. I really enjoy that aspect."
Despite his eager attitude, Belsito faced disadvantages thanks to his unconventional start. In addition to his self-taught strokes, he had trouble moving his lanky body into position on the court.
"When I started, my footwork was very lackluster," he said. "I started playing with my dad at the neighborhood courts, so I never had the early knowledge of how to set up and where your feet go. It was another thing that I caught late."
Belsito started hitting with a coach in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, over a year after catching the tennis bug. His improvement was so extreme that he immediately started contemplating his long-term goals. First among them? Play Division I college tennis.
"I wasn't one of those guys who said I needed to play pro or else it was a failure. I wanted to play college tennis. Every goal was leading to that."