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In 1993, Northeast Ohio Tennis Association President Bob Malaga approached a reporter at the Plain Dealer Junior Tennis Tournament and said “Watch this 10 year old kid from Valley View. His name is DJ Spice and I’m telling you this little guy has the makings of a great tennis player”. A prophetic statement to say the least. DJ was a student in the North Olmsted school system until the end of his sophomore year when he transferred to Midview, much to the delight of Midview tennis coach Nevin Razor. Suffering his first loss in two years, DJ was still headed for the state tournament his junior year. Buzzing through his first two rounds he drew Canton McKenley’s Ben Kirksey in the semifinal and defeated him 6-1, 6-2 and went on to defeat Geneva junior Jeff Koder 6-2, 2-6 and 6-4 to claim the first ever Midview State Tennis Championship. He grew to 6’4” his senior year and became the Division I State Champion for the second straight year. In the Semi-finals he struggled past Chardon Junior Stephens Rozek 6-4, 7-6 and 7-5 and then methodically beat North Canton Hoover junior Scott Green in the finals 6-2, 6-3. Derrick won a full athletic scholarship to Wake Forest University. After passing up offers from Ohio State, Michigan Clemons and Kentucky, he left Midview ranked as the 31st player in the nation for boys 18 and under. He led the Demon Deacons in singles wins with a sparkling 36-12 record his freshman year breaking the previous school record of 30. He accumulated a 7-1 record against conference foes. He was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Tennis Team three times in both singles and doubles competition in his career at Wake Forest. Derrick Spice is now an instructor at the Smith-Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
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