HighFIVE: Jovian Sherrell

At just 12, Jovian Sherrell seems poised to take on the world

Like most 12-year olds, Jovian Sherrell enjoys hanging out with friends, riding his bike, travelling, and spending time at the beach. But he has another side to him that is well beyond his years. That side is fluent – reading, writing and speaking – in English and Russian, loves history and classic Russian literature, and applies strategic thinking he learned playing chess to various aspects of his life.

Both of these sides can be seen in the Colorado native’s tennis game. Jovian’s first venture into racquet sports was actually not with tennis. He says, “My dad and I started by playing racquet ball and once I started hitting the ball with good consistency, we moved it to the tennis courts when I was about 4.”

Currently ranked No. 1 in Colorado, No. 2 in Intermountain and No. 42 nationally in the 12s, Jovian has an impressive tournament resume for such a young age. In the recent Level 3 ITA Summer Championships, he won both the 12-and-under singles and doubles titles without dropping a set. He has also already competed in tournaments in Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Kansas, and most recently in Oregon, where he finished 3^rd in singles and won the doubles title at a Level 2 tournament. 

With the success Jovian has had in his age group, he has the advanced maturity to know that playing against those older than he will elevate his game at a quicker level. Jovian’s main coach is his dad, Harry, but he has also worked with a number of coaches at Lifetime Fitness in Centennial. To round out his training, he incorporates regular hitting partners, many of whom are local high school and college players.

While still competing regularly in the 12s, Jovian also plays in tournaments up through 18s. His success playing up, which includes being runner up in a Level 5 14s tournament in Kansas earlier this year, has garnered him a top-20 ranking in Colorado as well as district and national rankings in the 14s, 16s and 18s. Jovian clearly enjoys the challenge of playing older competition as he says, “Some of my favorite moments in tennis were beating two different highly ranked high school players when I was 11 and winning two 16-and under tournaments. I have also won 18-and-under tournaments which were challenging and fun.” Jovian’s play has not only brought him victories on court, but also the opportunity to become sponsored by Diadem this past year.

An honor student about to enter 7^th grade at Campus Middle School in Greenwood Village and currently the only Five Star Blue Chip player in his class (according to Tennis Recruiting Network) Jovian has set high goals for himself. He wants to win Level 1 and Level 2 tournaments and have a record setting high school career. “I hope to be the No. 1 singles player all four years at Cherry Creek High School and win the individual state championship each of those years. This has never been done before.” After that, he says “I’d like to play for a Division 1 college or possibly more.”

Jovian is definitely a junior to watch, with a great combination of joyful youth and wisdom beyond his years. He sums this up perfectly when he says, “Tennis is a great sport because no matter who you are, you can play the game just for fun or work to get better and compete at a high level. I have a lot of fun with my friends on the court, but I also enjoy challenging myself. I know that my results come down to my performance and I have learned to control the pressure of the game. Sometimes it’s hard to be there by yourself but you have to push through to make good things happen.”

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