Knowing your role on a team is essential to success. Just ask junior Harrison Bergeron, captain of the Brentsville District boys tennis team.

"With confidence, I am the most annoying player on the court," he said Monday afternoon in Nokesville, specifically mentioning how his matches can take up to 2.5 hours to complete.

So maybe he's a bit animated and perhaps he's the most unpredictable member in temperment and style for the Tigers. Yet, the Tigers see that as a huge asset if for just one reason: the head coach and players alike claim Bergeron is all heart all the time.

"He's mentally the strongest player I've ever seen," said third-year coach Brian Taylor, who leads the Tigers along with coach Helena Thorpe.

Mental toughness is something that just can't be taught. Fighting for every point, lunging for impossible-to-reach returns; every team needs a character. Even out in the No. 4 position -- not a spot typically reserved for leadership on a tennis team -- Bergeron can lead by example the same way co-No. 1s Nick Allen and Sean Lee display their flawless fundamentals.

When Allen and Bergeron team up in practice, they're able to practice against competition uniquely different from themselves with Allen's more classic style of play against Bergeron's tenacity. After all, they're going to need to be prepared for anything.

"I feel styles work differently for everyone," said Allen.

Dominated heavily by juniors with Allen as the lone senior, the Tiger hasn't needed the coach to stress unity as their veterans have shown it themselves. For instance, when a freshman at the end of a practice was struggling with pull-ups, the boys didn't pick up their bags and start heading toward the exit even though that was it for the day.

Instead, Taylor said they gathered around, gave him a push from the feet and helped him out.

That's the sort of chemistry the third-year coach wants to build on one year after BDHS just barely missed the cut for districts after losing over-time in their final match of the season.

"(We are) a lot more focused, motivated" said Allen. "We have our goals and we want to reach them."

While he's more of the chess player on the team -- always looking ahead two to three moves -- Lee's been able to progress into his junior season without showing any weak spots, Bergeron and Allen said, which can be intimidating to teams. Lee is the type of player who will show up on weekends with a bucket of tennis balls and just take repeated whacks at them, whether alone or not.

"(He's) very hard to break. He's patient," said Allen. "He'll brak down the game."

Bergeron and No. 3 hitter Nick Newman have been playing tennis together since they were six, Bergeron said, adding that Newman is one of two players on the team that hits year-round.

"He's got more developed ground strokes," said Allen, comparing him to last year.

With juniors Chandrahas Jonnala and Brandon Patalano rounding out the top six, Brentsville's takes a team filled with veterans ranging from near-lifetime to at least a full year into a season against a new district and mostly new teams. It's been years since Brentsville's last played Liberty, and Taylor can't recall facing Fauquier. The Tigers tangled with Kettle Run last year, but in high school sports, a year can make a big difference depending on the talent coming and going.

Taylor said one of the biggest challenges for the boys it to "knock the rust off from the winter" His most simple mission, he added, is just to "get them back into the groove of things."