News & Features

Recruiting Update
Talking with Harry Fowler
by Gregg Jones, 2 February 2007

As a child prodigy on the Texas junior tennis circuit, Harry Fowler was an explosive force on the court - in talent as well as temperament. His forehand was fearsome, and so were his on-court eruptions.

"When I was 8, 9, 10, I would throw the biggest fits in the world," Harry recalls. "I would cry on the court, drop on the court. It cost me so many matches, it was getting ridiculous."

In between meltdowns, Harry had his share of success. In February 2002, just two months after turning 10, he finished third in the Boys' 12s USTA National Open Championships in Lake Charles, La. As a 12-year-old in 2004, he captured a gold ball in singles by winning the Boys' 12s National Clay Court Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Those successes hinted at Harry's potential, but, all too often, the fiery competitor from Houston, Tex., could be counted on to beat himself. His patience would crumble. He would struggle to grind out matches when his high-risk game misfired. He would lose heart when he got a bad line call or things didn't go his way.