Alex Roth’s coach, Gregg Goldberg, pushed him to improve ever since he started playing tennis in fourth grade. Goldberg always told Roth if he wanted to do something, like use a one-handed backhand as opposed to two, do it right. The lesson carried over into all facets of his life.
“Anything you do you should put out the effort to do it right,” Roth said. “Gregg gets in your face if you don’t do something 100 percent.”
Goldberg also challenged Roth his junior year when he played second singles on varsity. Roth admits it was higher than he could play. He lost every match at second singles, but there was one day that stood out, a match where he was more competitive than usual.
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“That match showed that I have the potential to get to a higher level of play,” Roth said. “It’s just a matter of working for it. It’s a good feeling to know that potential was there.”
Tennis wasn’t the only thing Roth worked hard at. He's also played violin since fourth grade and throughout his years at Beachwood in the orchestra. Through orchestra, he went to London and Paris his freshman year and then to Madrid and Barcelona three years later.
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“It was cool to be out of the country with friends and the parents aren’t there,” Roth said. “Madrid is a really cool city.”
Roth also found his passion for engineering through Beachwood’s math, science and an engineering drawing class where he used AutoCAD and drew three 2D views of various 3D objects. The experience caused him to take an architectural drawing class, where he designed and built models of houses.
For his senior project he shadowed Craig Cohen, a structural engineer. Roth got to see all the different projects he was working on and then got to help out with one. He dimensioned a parking garage in AutoCAD, then took a distress report and labeled all the damaged supports and stalemated concrete.
Roth is attending The Ohio State University in the fall and will pursue an engineering major.
“I think it would be cool to open up my own firm of whatever engineering I decide to do,” Roth said. “Maybe even go in with some of my friends who did engineering with me in AutoCAD.”
His varsity sports career ends in Beachwood, but he hopes to make the club tennis team and continue through intramurals.