Canyon’s Wilkins Taming Her Clumsy Side : Tennis: Sophomore singles player is growing into her 5-foot-11 frame and turning into a power player for the ninth-ranked Comanches.

ANAHEIM — Canyon High sophomore Shannon Wilkins probably wouldn’t be someone you’d want handling your expensive crystal at a dinner party. And she probably wouldn’t last too long on a balance beam.

Fortunately, the only things she can harm on a tennis court are the ball and her opponent, and occasionally herself. This season, Wilkins’ opponents have gotten the worst of it. As the No. 1 player for Canyon’s ninth-ranked team, she has won 42 of 45 singles sets and all three of her doubles sets.

After an awkward couple of years, Wilkins is growing into her 5-foot-11 frame and starting to take advantage of her reach and power advantage.

“At first it was hard because I couldn’t catch up to my body,” she said. “I was all arms and legs, really gawky. I grew so fast. It was frustrating, but I’m slowing down now and I’m getting my coordination.”

But there are moments when Wilkins still has problems with her coordination. In a match against Villa Park two weeks ago, she crashed into a fence while running down a ball. She banged her elbow on a pole and was limited to playing doubles the next day against El Modena.

But it could have been worse, Wilkins said.

“The last time I did that I fractured my arm, so I’m not doing so bad,” she said. “I’m just a klutz. I have bruises here and there from running into things.”

Rick Trager, who has coached Wilkins six years, said it was often frightening to watch Wilkins play in her younger days.

“She’d run down anything,” Trager said. “She sees that ball and that’s all she sees. Sometimes, I’d be watching her and think, ‘Uh-oh, here comes the net, watch out.’ ”

Barbara Wilkins, Shannon’s mother who teaches tennis at Anaheim Hills Racquet Club, has painfully watched her daughter’s development.

“She was really lanky and gangly growing up,” Barbara Wilkins said. “It was frustrating for her. It was hard for her to get down to that short ball. But the last six months to a year, she’s come into her body. She’s figured it all out now.”

Said Trager: “She’s going to be one of those players that blows people away with her power. The strokes are there. My job now is to get her to believe in herself. Once she gets that confidence, she’s going to be a real bear out there.”

But before Shannon gains that confidence, Barbara Wilkins said her daughter might have to endure more growing pains.

“I still think she’s got some growing to do,” Barbara Wilkins said. “My husband’s sisters were all well over six feet.”

Shannon Wilkins is already taller than her friends and one of the tallest girls at Canyon. So the begging question is, has she thought about basketball?

“I’ve never played it much, but I want to try out this year,” Wilkins said. “I think maybe I could do OK.”

Wilkins, who transferred from University after last year’s tennis season, has done more than OK for Canyon this season.

“I had heard from one of the kids that we were getting a really good transfer,” Canyon Coach JoAnn Cutshall said. “But I just figured, ‘Well, we’ll wait and see. How good can she be?’ Well, the kids were right. She’s pretty good.”

She was almost great last week against Villa Park’s Faye DeVera, one of the county’s top players. Wilkins led DeVera, 5-2, and, 40-0, before falling apart and losing the set in a tiebreaker.

“I just choked,” Wilkins said. “I just got so nervous. I started thinking, ‘Hey, I’m beating Faye,’ instead of just playing the match. It got to be a mental thing after a while and she got a couple nice breaks too.”

Last Thursday’s rematch with DeVera wasn’t close; Wilkins was beaten, 6-2. After especially frustrating defeats, Wilkins usually turns to Trager for help, rarely accepting advice from her parents, who are tennis coaches, or her brother, Robbie, who plays at Foothill Community College near San Jose.

“It’s kind of hard to take advice from my brother or my parents,” she said. “I guess I take it too personally.”

Said Barbara Wilkins: “We don’t like to push her. We tell her things from time to time. We just have to pick the right time. That’s pretty typical of the age she’s at. Kids don’t like taking advice from their parents.”

But who knows? As Wilkins matures, she might start taking tennis tips from her parents and she might even start getting invited to dinner parties.