Student athletes know how tough it can be to balance academics with sports, and some ultimately fail the challenge. Dane Esses, a Tulane 2020 graduate and former Pepperdine student, had to quickly learn how to balance classes, tennis practice, and a college social life as he strove to achieve top rankings in his sport. He rose to the challenge and not only utilized remote learning and online classes, but he also hired a tutor, not just to help with math homework, but to help sharpen his decision-making skills and help navigate the transition from college to adulthood. It worked, and Esses hit high rankings in men’s tennis before graduating this past spring with pretty good idea of what he wanted to do next. After a summer of quarantine in Texas, Dane is entering his first year of law school at LSU, but he’s not fully leaving tennis behind…
Where are you now?
Houston, I’ve been staying here during quarantine.
I spent two years at Pepperdine then transferred to Tulane University and graduated this past year. I’ll be starting law school at LSU this coming semester.
You’ve spent your high school and college career as an incredibly ranked student athlete. Tell us a little about your athletic career.
I actually started my sports career playing basketball. I always loved it and wanted to try to play in college or pro. In late elementary or early middle school, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do that - I just didn’t have the height and a lot of other stuff. I started playing tennis: I had played loosely from a young age and then in middle school really decided to focus on it. It took a while to get good at it - I was a later bloomer, but I thought that was the best chance at going pro or playing in college.
In high school I was still under the radar for awhile and then things started taking off and my senior year I was ranked #2 in Texas in the 18 and under and started getting college offers.
Was tennis something that ran in your family?
No, never - but it was something everyone played in my club.
How did you decide to attend Pepperdine University?
When Pepperdine made their offer I felt like academically and athletically that was the best choice. When I committed to Pepperdine, the tennis program was going in a good direction - I wanted to try to play professional after, so the first year was good. My second year, the program fell apart; as a team we were 4 in 18, and because we were poor as a team as a result I didn’t get opportunities individually to do what I wanted to do. I felt like I had turned into too much of a big fish in a small pond and I knew I had a lot of programs I could transfer to in the top 25.
How did you end up transferring to Tulane?
When I was still in high school I’d talked a lot to Tulane and knew they were doing super well. I’d always had Tulane in the back of my mind and wanted to see it. The opportunity came to transfer to Tulane and I made the switch.
What did you study and how’d you decide on your major?
I didn’t think very much about what I wanted to do, it was all tennis before then. I started out in sports administration at Pepperdine, then changed to political science, and at Tulane changed to sociology.
Was the transfer a good decision?
I definitely feel like from a tennis standpoint it was a good decision. I was able to play in an NCAA tournament, and ranked individually - something I always wanted to do - because we also played better schools.
Describe how it’s been balancing academics with your sport/career.
I think oddly enough my freshman year was the toughest. I didn’t know how to time manage. But honestly it’s overrated how hard you think it is to balance sports with school. You learn how to prioritize and make a good schedule. Study when you’re supposed to study, play when you’re supposed to play.
How did you strategize and figure out how to time manage?
The only thing I did was make sure with my academic advisor that classes wouldn’t conflict with tennis. The next thing I did that was beneficial was I made sure that each window of time was used in doing something. If not tennis, then I was trying to find an internship, study for the LSAT or a test, and in every way make good use of time. Ensuring my time was spent productively was a priority. The very cool thing about Tulane is that we’re all close as a team so when we practiced and spent time together, we used that as social time as well, checking off that aspect. It wouldn’t have been as manageable to use social time to go out, so having a close-knit team was something that was helpful to productivity.
How did online learning/distance education help you balance your sports and academics?
I got connected with Jake during my freshman year at Pepperdine because it felt like I needed a high-level tutoring service that would give me tools to be successful rather than using school help which was usually geared toward more specific help like a test or exam. Working with Jake, I could be equipped with more knowledge, for example, learning how to write in a way that is more scholarly, a lot of things.
What really stood out was the holistic approach Jake takes to make students better. We talk about not just school but also internships, jobs after college, things like that. The tutors I had access to through athletics or school would just try to help me with the next step. Jake helped me set up a LinkedIn and write a resume. In so many aspects - not just classes I was taking but overall - on my path to what I could do after college Jake was so helpful.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in school?
My biggest struggle was that I couldn’t find any interest in any of my classes and it was hard to gauge what I wanted to do after school based on those classes because nothing interested me. Eventually after taking some liberal arts classes, learning how to write with Jake, I realized that even if I didn’t enjoy course material I think there’s a lot of value in reading and writing.
How did you decide to attend law school this Fall?
When I graduated, I didn’t have any jobs I was very interested in, so I didn’t want to jump into a job that i didn’t see an end goal to. It felt like law school with all the different possibilities would open more doors. In the meantime, I feel like I can try to get a better feel for what I want to do after law school, whether it’s law or business or anything. That’s another thing that was helpful about learning with Jake, he helped me see there are so many other jobs you do with a law degree beyond being a traditional lawyer.
What is the biggest thing you’ve learned as a student athlete - whether it’s about yourself or about a topic that’s interesting or about the world around you?
The biggest takeaway was trying to understand that in everything I did was to always find ways for self improvement, always keep improving. It was hard coming to the realization that a professional tennis career wouldn’t work out, but those experiences playing competitive tennis in college made me a better person. The same mentality of using a situation to always try to improve, that is what I’m going to take to law school.
Do you have any mentors that you look up to?
My tennis coach in Houston has been my biggest mentor, he was top 2 in the country for college tennis. When I first started working with him we didn’t know if college tennis would even be an option for me, if I could even get into a Division III school. He helped me so much from a tennis standpoint and made it possible to go to a Division I school and even meet someone like Jake. Having them in my corner was such a great combination of guys.
What’s been the biggest accomplishment or something you’re most proud of?
Men’s tennis in college has 125 ranked individual spots. During my first two years of college, I was never ranked. My first Fall at Tulane, junior year, I ranked 47. That’s probably my proudest accomplishment as far as tennis.
Outside of tennis, I’m really happy - even between two schools - that I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many great athletes and teammates from around the world. It’s made the whole experience worthwhile.
Describe a typical day in the life of Dane Esses this summer.
My schedule is not as rigorous as it was but I’m still trying: trying to work out, learn Spanish, and enjoy things at my own pace. Spend time with family. It’s nice not having due dates for assignments.
Are you still playing tennis?
Playing tennis is taking a bit of a break but I’m interested in coaching. In fact, I’ll be volunteer assist coaching for the LSU men’s tennis team next year. I’m also rooming with some of the guys on the team while in law school so I’ll have a group of guys I’ll be familiar with.
What gets you excited?
New opportunities for personal growth and meeting new people. I’m always self-improving, and trying to be better gets me passionate. One thing I’ve gotten better at is doing more with a purpose. I think it’s sometimes hard in Gen Ed classes - a lot of times you’ll never use those classes again. But if it’s running, learning Spanish, LSAT, all those things can be done with purpose. It was really nice later in college to be able to know I have a purpose in doing the things I was doing.
What are your hobbies/interests outside of sports?
I definitely want to become fluent in Spanish. Lots of my teammates have been Spanish-speaking, and I think it’d be so mind-opening and cool to be able to speak fluently and live closer to the authentic experience of people in those cultures. I would like to visit them and not be a tourist and really see the culture; being able to speak would be a good means to do that.
Other than that, I love hiking, going to beaches (when I’m not in TX), going outdoors, and just being active.
What excites you the most about the future?
Getting to a point where I have more autonomy and I can choose a job I love, and don’t have to spend time doing things because other people are making me do them. I think when you get to control more of your own life, it’s better.
What scares you the most about the future?
What makes me a little nervous is trying to find something where I love doing it and I can make a decent amount of living so I can live the life I want to live. A couple of my friends got great finance jobs on Wall Street already, and it was cool to celebrate they got it, but now they’re there and already miserable. I want to do something I love but also make a decent amount of money.
Where do you see yourself three years from now, after law school?
I’m leaving it pretty open - my future living situation isn’t as important as doing something I’m passionate about. I would rather live in a small town where there isn’t much else happening, doing something I’m passionate about, than in a nice part of the world.
Follow Dane on Instagram.