Orillia native Dane Dunlap moved to Florida to become a professional tennis player when he was just 12.
Fast forward almost a decade and the now 22-year-old Dunlap is living out his dream, playing NCAA Division I tennis for the University of Miami and helping the program go from unranked to the top of their conference.
It all started when Dunlap asked his parents to put him in a tennis clinic while living in Mississauga when he was six. His weekly trip to the clinic grew from going once a week to five times a week and he practised there until he was 9.
“I used to spend my whole summers in Orillia and wouldn’t play tennis for a whole summer,” Dunlap explained. “Basically my coach told me, 'Look if you want to take this seriously you are going to need to train every day.'”
That’s when the super-competitive Dunlap decided to take his love for tennis to the next level. At the time, he was having stellar results playing in Ontario and was ranked in the top ten in the under 12 age group. He and his family could see the potential and promise.
However, success wasn’t the motivating factor that ultimately decided Dunlap’s move to South Beach.
“It was more my passion for the game that made us pursue it because I wasn’t as talented as some of the other kids who were complete superstars at 10,11 years old,” Dunlap told OrilliaMatters.
“I think the guys who succeed are the guys that have the passion for the game and that’s what drove it for me. I was completely determined there was no other choice for me and my life," he said.
Relying on that strong work ethic, Dunlap started playing in international tournaments and outworked his competition to get noticed by university scouts and coaches.
Dunlap was recruited by North Carolina State and went for a visit, but ultimately decided to make the more natural decision and go to the University of Miami, where he and his parents were living just 40 minutes away from campus.
The decision was easy for Dunlap; he was amazed by the coaching staff who recruited him. There was also a bit of a sentimental tie for Dunlap being a Miami sports fan since he was 13-years-old.
Everything was going as dreamed for Dunlap, until he faced a setback while spending his summer back home in Orillia before freshman year. While water skiing on Lake Couchiching, Dunlap suffered a fracture to the right side of his spine.
“I had no idea that my spine was fractured, so I played through it and then ended up fracturing the left side and tried to play through that as well,” Dunlap recalls.
The bad luck would continue as Dunlap contracted the mononucleosis virus. During Dunlap’s required time away from tennis he got an x-ray that revealed his fractures.
He spent the next three months in a bone brace, a bone simulator and received all sorts of therapy. The combination of injuries and illnesses kept Dunlap away from the court for almost a full year.
“The doctors told me my options are I either get a screw infusion through spine surgery which I was told gave me a 50% chance of me ever playing again, or play through pain and see how much I can tolerate, “Dunlap reflected.
The gritty and determined athlete decided to play through the pain and put in the work to get himself back on the court.
Dunlap returned to the court for his second year at Miami. He felt the pain from his injuries during every match and recorded unsatisfactory results, but it was part of a year-long process to get him back to the quality of play that he was at before the injury occurred.
“After a whole year I started thinking about it less and got used to it. I got a lot stronger as well. Half of it was mental and the other half was me getting stronger and working through it,” Dunlap said.
After that year where Dunlap struggled to find the results he was accustomed to, the determined player known for his work ethic put in even more work and eventually got himself back to his true form and even better.
“The years that followed I played the best tennis that I ever played,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap is currently completing his fifth year at Miami, double majoring in business technology and finance.
On the court at the halfway mark of the season, he was helping the school achieve their best season in close to 20 years.
When Dunlap first arrived at Miami the school wasn’t even ranked. This year they were leading the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is debatably the toughest conference in America.
However, Dunlap’s final tennis season at Miami came to an abrupt ending when the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the remainder of their campaign - and Dunlap’s long tennis career.
“It took the burden off me and decided I’m not going to go pro,” Dunlap decided.
“It’s bittersweet, it’s devastating that it ended so abruptly but it’s good to experience new chapters in life," he said. "My whole life was super dedicated to one thing and it’s refreshing to see what else I love in life and explore other things.”
Dunlap has become passionate about finance and has made some great connections through his schooling and being a student-athlete. Dunlap’s plan before the COVID-19 pandemic struck was to move to New York City this summer to work in finance.
Although Dunlap never made it pro as he planned as a 12-year-old, he still feels like tennis prepared him for his next endeavour.
“I worked on this ultra-competitive mindset my whole career in the classroom and on the court,” Dunlap said.
“I practised from 7a.m. to 1p.m. every day, and then had class from 2 p.m. onwards. My time management became ridiculous.”
Dunlap says if he had to go back to the beginning of his tennis career and do it all over again, he wouldn’t change a thing.
