Johan Backström
By: Darby Radcliff
For the 2011-2012 year, Johan Backström will be playing as the #5 singles player on the Ole Miss Men’s Tennis team. Coming to Ole Miss all the way from Uppsala, Sweden, Backström was scouted out by the assistant coach here at Ole Miss who is also Swedish. Backström came second semester of last year to join the division one tennis team here at Ole Miss. Prior to joining the Ole Miss tennis team, Backström was ranked No. 3 in juniors in Sweden and was No. 21 in men’s rankings in Sweden.In last year’s tennis season, Backström helped lead the Ole Miss Rebels to their 18th straight NCAA appearance, and had a 11-10 overall record, 9-9 in dual matches, and had a record of 7-4 at No. 5 singles.
Now,a second-semester freshmen majoring in business with a concentration in finance, the college athlete opens up on his past season, gives tennis tips for future college tennis players, and shares his advice based on his experiences playing on a division one college tennis team here at Ole Miss.
Backström reflects on his experience playing on the Ole Miss tennis team as a really enjoyable and fulfilling experience because he enjoys being with everyone on the tennis team, as well as getting to do what he loves in life. He feels that the Ole Miss tennis team is not only a lot of fun, but he feels like he is a part of a family on the team. A typical day for Backström consists of waking up early, going to conditioning, then attending class all day starting at 9:00 a.m., then at 2:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. he has tennis practice, then after that he eats dinner and does all his homework assignments and studies.
With his busy schedule during the year being on the tennis team and taking a full course load, the biggest challenge for Backström is balancing school and tennis because being on a D1 sports team you miss school, so being able to handle school and tennis can be difficult at times.
But, even with a packed schedule during the year, the tennis player still has time to enjoy some of his favorite hobbies, which includes watching sports on television, watching his favorite television show “How I Met Your Mother”, and also going to The Grove on Gameday and hanging out with friends.
Some tips the tennis athlete has for aspiring college tennis players is that you need to be willing to sacrifice a lot of your time if you’re on a college tennis team, and you need to be organized with your life so you can handle missing school for tennis and keeping up with your practice schedule.
The 2011-2012 tennis season for Ole Miss will begin in late January, and the Ole Miss Rebel’s biggest competitors for the upcoming season include the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia, the University of Georgia, and the University of Florida.