Halfway Around <strong>the</strong> WorldYouTube and a nasty forehand brought Malhar Mali from Australia to <strong>the</strong> Golden Islesby Kevin PriceMalhar Mali made a YouTube video to sell himself topotential colleges which might be interested in histennis talents.And once <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> coaches saw <strong>the</strong> video andmade a connection with him, it actually wasn’t hard to sellMali on coming to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> coast to attend school andplay tennis at <strong>the</strong> same time.“I liked (<strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong>) because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> location,” Malisaid. “I liked that it was next to <strong>the</strong> coast. I liked <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r.I wanted a climate as close to back home as possible.”Home for Mali is Brisbane, Australia, where <strong>the</strong>temperature has fallen below <strong>the</strong> freezing mark only oncesince records for such occurrences have been recorded.“I don’t do cold that well,” Mali says.That almost instantly ruled out a school in Delaware thatwas interested in having him come <strong>the</strong>re. Mali eventuallycrossed out o<strong>the</strong>r schools that were on his list andultimately chose to enroll at <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> two years agoto fur<strong>the</strong>r his education and also his tennis career with <strong>the</strong>new men’s program that formed that year.For Mali, now a junior, <strong>the</strong> opportunity to get a collegeeducation and play tennis for <strong>the</strong> same institution fulfilleda dream. It was something he couldn’t exactly do at home.“<strong>The</strong> college athletic system in America is unique to<strong>the</strong> U.S.,” Mali explained. “<strong>The</strong>re is nowhere else reallywhere you can compete at a high level and also pursue an10 <strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> – <strong>the</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>
education. I know that is attractive to a lot<strong>of</strong> athletes, especially those from Australia,but really around <strong>the</strong> world.“In Australia, you can go to a university,but tennis would be something you do on<strong>the</strong> side. You find an academy and play<strong>the</strong>re or train with a coach on <strong>the</strong> side. <strong>The</strong>yhave teams, but <strong>the</strong>y’re like club teams andnot really super competitive.”Whe<strong>the</strong>r it was <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> orsomewhere else that Mali chose, comingto <strong>the</strong> U.S. to attend college was going tobe a major adjustment for him. He wouldbe fur<strong>the</strong>r from home than ever before,obviously for much longer than ever before.And <strong>of</strong> course, that meant being separatedfrom his parents.Mali knew what he wanted to do, though,and didn’t shy away from coming to <strong>the</strong>States out <strong>of</strong> fear for <strong>the</strong> unknown. “You have to go with <strong>the</strong>mindset that this will be your new home for <strong>the</strong> next fouryears,” he said. “You have to meet new friends, new people,and form a new support group.”Mali said doing those things was easier at <strong>Coastal</strong><strong>Georgia</strong> than it might have been elsewhere. For starters, ithad <strong>the</strong> built-in surroundings he desired - <strong>the</strong> location andwea<strong>the</strong>r that made him more at ease from <strong>the</strong> beginning.But it is also a smaller college, where he sees many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>same faces whe<strong>the</strong>r he’s hanging out in <strong>the</strong> residence hall,eating in <strong>the</strong> dining hall or walking <strong>the</strong> campus sidewalksbetween classes.Of course, it’s not surprising that his closest friends arehis teammates on <strong>the</strong> men’s tennis team. <strong>The</strong> team conceptin tennis was something new to Mali until he arrived at<strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong>. It didn’t take long for him to realize it wasa pretty cool deal.“Tennis had been mostly an individual experience forme,” Mali said. “I like having a team that is cheering you onand supporting you, and <strong>the</strong>re’s always a set group <strong>of</strong> guysthat you practice with all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time.”Mali has become really good friends with teammateConnor Bond, his doubles partner on <strong>the</strong> Mariners team.Bond is a junior from Austin, Texas. This summer, Maliwent home with Bond to work on his game ra<strong>the</strong>r thanreturning to Australia.Mali felt it was something he needed to do after strugglingthrough his sophomore season due to drastic changes hehad made to his stroke and his approach on <strong>the</strong> court.“Coach (Reinaldo) Valor and I made a lot <strong>of</strong> changes tomy game, and I really struggled to figure out how to playMali spent <strong>the</strong> summer with friendand doubles partner Connor Bond(pictured behind Mali) in Austin,Texas, instead <strong>of</strong> returning to hisnative Australia.again,” he said. “We changed my strokes.<strong>The</strong>y’re a lot more compact.”“We also changed my mind set. I used tobe more passive and relied on movementand outlasting people. Coach told me youcan only go so far with that, and I agreed.I’m trying to be more assertive and morein control <strong>of</strong> what happens on <strong>the</strong> court.”<strong>The</strong> adjustments have been hard forMali to make. His record was 5-11 insingles and 7-9 in doubles last season.He called it a disappointing season overall, but he wasencouraged by some <strong>of</strong> his performances toward <strong>the</strong> end<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> spring.Had it not been for that, Mali doesn’t know if he would beplaying for <strong>the</strong> Mariners this season. “I went through a phaselast season where I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do itanymore,” he admits. “Last year was a battle for me. Toward<strong>the</strong> end last season, I felt like I was figuring things out.”“I’m starting to enjoy tennis again. I definitely think Imade <strong>the</strong> right decision to stay in America and work ontennis and I enjoyed my summer. Connor and his familyhave been really great.”Mali said his game still isn’t where it needs to be, but it’sgetting <strong>the</strong>re little by little. He hopes to have it back on trackby <strong>the</strong> Mariners’ spring season, which will be <strong>the</strong>ir first in<strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn States Athletic Conference. Mali said <strong>Coastal</strong><strong>Georgia</strong>’s tennis program is headed on <strong>the</strong> right track, too.“We’ve got great facilities - 12 amazing courts,” Malisaid <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new on-campus tennis complex. “I’ve seen a lot<strong>of</strong> tennis courts around <strong>the</strong> world, and we have fantasticcourts. This can be a really solid program and a big winnerin <strong>the</strong> region.”If you’re talking about being solid, Mali has been justthat in <strong>the</strong> classroom during his first two years at <strong>Coastal</strong><strong>Georgia</strong>. He holds a 3.19 GPA and is planning to pursue abusiness degree over <strong>the</strong> next two years.“Academics are obviously an important part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>experience,” Mali said. “You just have to be committed,find time and make time to get it done. It’s really a 50-50balance between academics and athletics, or maybe evenmore than that toward academics. It has to be a priority.” u<strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Coastal</strong> <strong>Georgia</strong> – <strong>the</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> 11
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