“Having a good attitude for everything, like even if you miss a ball and encouraging others” are freshman and JV player Hailey Byrd’s best tips on being a good tennis player. Since the 1990s, Girls’ Tennis has been on the uprise, gaining more popularity and evolving skills, especially nowadays. We can clearly see this by looking at this year’s Varsity and JV teams here at Doherty. “I would say our best qualities as a team are our ability to get along, like varsity is super close with no-drama and we all want to get better,” says sophomore and varsity player Valyn Fox.
“I wanted to try something new and tennis was my first option,” says Hailey Byrd. “I like that you can have movement, but also have the station of hitting the ball and the competitive feel.” Being involved in tennis can help develop good fitness habits and define the importance of teamwork. Moreover, girls should join tennis because, “The environment is super fun and the coaches are really nice and you get addicted really fast.” As sophomore Valyn Fox says,”Tennis can be seen as civilized combat, where you’re going into a head to head battle but you don’t even have to touch your opponent. Junior Connie Omar from the JV team adds, “I just like the game in general and i like being able to create a pact with my double”
Tennis does not only improve and keep your physical wellbeing in check, but also impacts your mental health. According to Tenniscampanion.org, tennis enhances your brain functions, as the ample thinking and coordination required in tennis stimulates brain activity, “improving memory, learning, social skills, and behaviour.” Junior Connie Omar says, “It is a good physical workout and it blocks out any distractions.” Additionally, this year’s tennis team at Doherty has become a big friendly community, “The girls are really nice, I feel closer to them than I did in volleyball or basketball, and so are the coaches.” comments freshman Madison Romero. The mindfulness practice of tennis can improve your agility, coordination, and bring new, compatible people into your life, the best pro of playing.
As we can see, there are many positives to the sport, but what about the negatives? If you look at the roster for the JV and Varsity teams, you will see that there are a lot of girls. This can affect who can play matches and how many matches they get to play, but also affects who can be on the team. “Cutthroat, you can lose or win your spot just like that and that’s for at least half of the season. It’s hard when you make friends but it’s also nice that you can make friends so easily,” says Varsity player and Freshman Madi Romero. Furthermore, tennis is a lot of work and can take up a lot of time, Valyn Fox a Sophomore and player on Varsity says, “the cons are you have to practice everyday and there are a lot of matches.” Not only this but many players feel a lot of pressure especially when playing doubles. Freshman Haliey Byrd says, “ it can be stressful because you have to rely on the other person. There is also a lot of conditioning.” So while it may seem like tennis players have it easy there is more to the sport than meets the eye.
Despite tennis seeming like a sport that only requires your own focus, you still need to work as a team in the end to win. There are so many tips to being a good team player and some of the players on the team gave us their input. “Attitude, having a good attitude when making mistakes and being coachable, also being able to fix what you are doing wrong,” explains Sophomore Valyn Fox. Attitude seems to play a big role in really any sport, according to sportingprodigy.com the attitude of an athlete can affect their motivation, confidence, and resilience. A positive attitude can cause a player to create more goals and cause them to train harder. Confidence is key as it helps players to trust themselves more and makes it easier for them to continue after setbacks, and resilience provides growth. “Keep moving, don’t stop or you wont get it. Listen to the coaches and dont be lazy. Correct hitting form. Hand-eye coordination,” explains Freshman Madi Romero, so while you need to have a good attitude you also need to practice and work on specific skills. So as you can see there are many different details that go into sports.
Overall, the Girls Varsity and JV tennis teams are a really good team and are always ready to play no matter the match. They are a very inclusive and proud team ready to welcome any new teammates. As Freshman Madi Romero says, “I eat a sandwich with pepperoni, pickles, ham, cheese, and mayo. Try not to drink a lot of water. And lots of stretching. Just work on hits and serves. Do not take naps, or it will drain you.” Wise words from a star player.
