Commitment Profile
Fall Signing Week '12: Elliott Orkin Joins Lipman in Gainesville
by Rick Limpert, 16 November 2012
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The 2000 sports movie, Remember the Titans is an inspirational tale of a new coach trying to blend new players with existing players while trying to work towards and ultimately win a championship.
Top Georgia recruit
Elliott Orkin heads to Gainesville
© Julie Wrege, TennisRecruiting.net
It's also one of the favorite movies of top junior tennis player
Elliott Orkin of Marietta, Georgia. With his recent decision to play college tennis at the
University of Florida, he may be able to reflect on this movie as he begins his college career in 2013 and moves towards his goal of winning championships.
"My five official visits I took were to Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida," offered up Orkin. "I always knew I wanted to stay close to home."
He also knew the kind of environment he wanted to play and the wanted the fit to be right.
"During my visit, I got to know the team pretty well," he said. "I knew it was going be a great fit, right away."
It also didn't hurt that new coaches in head coach Bryan Shelton and assistant Amir Delic bring a wealth of experience to the table.
Interestingly enough, Orkin didn't know know Shelton before the whole recruiting process, even though Shelton spent 13 years at head coach of the women's team at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
"My coach knew him," Orkin said. "Once he got the job at Florida, I gave him a call."
As for Orkin's game, if you haven't seen him play - you need to think David Ferrer.
"I'm not a big guy, so I can't blow people off the court," Orkin explained. "I use my speed and mental toughness to win my matches."
The Ferrer comparison comes is valid because Orkin is 5'8" and 140lbs and describes his game as an "aggressive baseliner."
"My backhand is more solid, but my forehand is more dangerous."
Orkin said he has been working on his attacking game and net game in recent months. He also knows his serve needs to improve and he's always working on the depth of his shots.
