Mac Knefely  |  Special to the News Journal

How did Pensacola Catholic’s Justin Lyons, the area’s top tennis player, celebrate signing with Florida State University on Thursday?

By going to Disney World, of course.

The Crusaders’ five-star senior and his family hit the road to the “Magic Kingdom” soon after agreeing to join FSU and the Seminole tennis team when his stellar prep career is done.

“It honestly feels truly amazing, and very exciting at the same time,” Lyons said. “I’m also a little relieved. It’s kind of on to the next chapter of my life. It’s super exciting in the moment, and I’m really glad I made this decision and chose Florida State.”

There was only one stipulation by his parents for the fun trip: Justin had to leave the racquets at home.

“He asked, ‘Am I going to be bringing two tennis racquets?’ And we were like, ‘No, no you are not,” said Justin’s mother, Jennifer Lyons while standing alongside husband Tommy Lyons. “No tennis, he wanted to bring his racquets to Disney. We’re not doing that.”

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It was a well-deserved break from the tennis courts, but not before Justin squeezed in a set prior to the long, six-hour car ride.

Thursday’s momentous day for Justin’s family, teammates and friends was a culmination of many years of daily hitting and his determination to compete at the highest level, combined with the support from a tennis community that wants him to succeed.

But the path along the journey wasn’t always the smoothest. The family had to be all-in.

“For us, today is pretty special. It’s been a struggle to find people for him to play with. To make it to where he didn’t have to leave Pensacola to achieve this level, was a huge family sacrifice, an emotional Jennifer said. “His younger brother (Connor) and us, traveling all around the country, wherever he needed to go, we would all do it. It was the constant driving, and the struggles with school; making sure he caught up, had good grades, stayed in school. He wasn’t the typical high-level tennis player who goes completely virtual. It was very important to him and us that he would have his friends and real life.”

Tommy echoed his wife’s sentiments, saying he wouldn’t trade the traveling adventures and fun along the way for anything in the world.

“Tennis is a tough sport, especially here in the Panhandle,” he said. “South Florida was our second home, driving down there all the time. We should’ve bought a house down there, as many hotels we stayed in over the years. We’re gonna miss him big time, but we’re excited for this next step.”

Repeating as PNJ’s Player of the Year, Lyons undoubtedly cemented his position as the area’s best last spring.

As a junior, he ripped through singles competition with a 22-1 record, suffering his lone loss at the FHSSA state tournament. He teamed also with Patrick Ling, who now plays collegiately for Holy Cross, to a 19-3 mark in doubles action. 

Unblemished through the regular season, Lyons continued his domination by winning the District 1-1A and Region 1A championships.

During the summer, he played in the Pro Tennis Tour with lower level professionals and college-level players. Lyons nearly qualified for the Atlanta Open, an ATP event.

In the end, five colleges were at the top of Justin’s list: Florida State, Southern Methodist University, William & Mary, Michigan State and Florida.

Ultimately, considering the proximity to home, the decision wasn’t too difficult, as he’ll proudly don the garnet and gold.

“Florida State was there for me from the beginning,” said Justin, who wants to study Business, then probably go into Law. “And the convenience of it being how easy it was getting back and forth definitely played a part. With the education being very good and it being so close to home, Florida State was definitely a tough decision to pass up.”

“Justin’s a really loyal guy, and Florida State has been with him for 15 months. They call him monthly,” added Jennifer, who also acknowledged her son is not a fan of cold weather. “They believed in him from the beginning. They saw his style of play, and his character and they liked talking to him. They felt he had a lot of qualities that they could build on.”

Catholic’s athletic director Richard LaBounty started Thursday’s signing ceremony by sharing praise for the great Crusader in front of a full campus media center.

“Justin is one of the best ones to come through here, and I’ve seen a lot of great ones come through,” LaBounty said. “I can’t ever say anybody’s the best, but I can certainly say he belongs on ‘Mount Rushmore’ for Catholic High tennis.”

Then, Crusaders head coach Geoff Watts spoke with pure emotion about his pupil’s team-first, completely selfless attitude on and off the court.

“Thank you for all you’ve done, thank you for letting me write your name on our lineup card,” he said. “I know you’re going to do great things. Those are my favorite four years in athletics.”

Justin thanked his family for their support and sacrifices, as well as his friends and Coach Watts, fellow Crusader teammates, and the FSU coaches. Also in attendance was local pro instructors Brock Sakey, Patrick Bateman and Pedro Roese, who each helped hone Lyons’ skills and had a special part in his love of tennis.

“First of all, he’s just an incredible, incredible person. His parents have obviously done an amazing job of raising a fine young man,” said Sakey, director of tennis at Roger Scott Tennis Center in Pensacola. “Justin the tennis player, I think he’s going to do amazing things in college. Growing up in Pensacola is not the easiest place to play tennis, because all the tournaments are so far away, but he’s managed to make it work. He’s definitely put in the work, and the sky’s the limit for him.”

Mac Knefely is a freelance contributor for the Pensacola News Journal.