The rough scratch of shoes on the court, the glaring light of the sun, and the sound of the ball bouncing off the racket and into the air. The HEHS boys tennis team has been working hard all spring season.
Tennis is a sport that requires power, endurance, motor skills and, most importantly, the mental drive to keep working hard and doing better. All the hard work that the players put into their practice and drills show in their playing.
“My motivation to keep working harder is my drive to be the best. I want to win and I want people to be proud of my accomplishments,” said Mithul Kamalakannan, sophomore.
Tennis may be a solo or duo sport, but the team always has each other’s backs. They support, encourage, and strengthen one another.
“I feel like tennis helped me connect with the people on the team better and allows me to have something to look forward to everyday,” said Hansen Du, senior.
Tennis is a sport full of sportsmanship. When playing against other teams from different schools, honesty is key.
To Coach William Wallace, his favorite part about coaching is “the amount of respect that the players show each other, where they have to call whether the ball is in or out, and just the integrity of the sport.”
Throughout each student’s tennis career, they will learn new skills, make new friends, and explore who they are. Whether their career be one year or four, doing tennis will push them into becoming a better version of themselves
“They go from not having confidence that they could be athletes, and then they prove it over four years,” said Coach Edgar Ramirez. “They just become really good athletes, and they are playing a sport that they are going to play for the rest of their lives with friends.”
