High School is one of the most interesting periods of our lives. Although everyone is essentially the same age when entering high school, people are at different stages of their lives mentally. Some are eager to get through high school and leave their hometown, some just moved from a different state and are starting a completely new life, and so on. The aspect of high school that’s consistent for everyone is the inevitable ups and downs that must be faced regardless of your situation. It’s also a period of discovering your own identity and learning new things about yourself that you never knew to be true in the 16 years leading up to high school. When reflecting on my own high school experience, which started 9 years ago (wow), the fondest memories I have are from my time on the Sunset High School Tennis Team.
Sunset High School Senior Day - 2019
From the left: Rohan, Josh, Coach Salness, Rutwik, Nima (Me), and Coach Van Pelt
When first entering high school, it’s important to get involved with different sports, clubs, and activities. If tennis excites you, even just a little bit, I highly recommend joining your high school tennis team as there’s a wide range of people who will benefit from joining. From serious competitors who regularly play in USTA tournaments to beginners who have never played tennis before in their lives, everyone can get something out of the experience of playing high school tennis. For the USTA competitors, high school tennis allows you the opportunity to represent your school and play in a different environment than USTA tournaments. High schoolers that are new to tennis or played tennis casually throughout their life (like I did), joining your high school tennis team presents you the opportunity to improve your skill set and potentially turn you into a competitive tennis player if you find it appealing at any point.
Beyond tennis, there are other benefits to joining the team. In the rest of this post, I’m going to give you insight into my own experience playing high school tennis to help you decide whether it’s the right fit for you. I’ve categorized my own experience into three sections: The Grind, Friendships, and Personal Growth. Although your experience may differ, these are the broad categories that my various experiences fell into. By the end, I hope you’re able to confidently answer the question: Should you play high school tennis?
The Grind
I played doubles on the Sunset High School tennis team during all four years of high school from 2015 - 2019, which was an experience I’ll never forget. As someone who grew up playing tennis casually throughout my life, joining the tennis team was a no-brainer for me. My motivation for joining was strictly tennis-related - I didn’t even think to consider the other aspects of my life that would be enriched through this experience, which I’ll touch on later. I tried out for the team during the spring of my freshman year and was able to land a junior varsity spot. Although I felt capable of joining varsity, I recognized the talent we already had on that squad and used being placed on JV as motivation to earn a varsity spot.
My opportunity came the next year when I got my chance to play on varsity after switching doubles partners a few times. I got extremely lucky and was paired up with Aryan, a talented tennis player who used to be in one of the group tennis classes I used to play in growing up. I didn’t know him that well up until this point but our bond grew extremely strong throughout the rest of high school. Although he decided to play singles in my junior year, which meant I played with a different partner this season, we decided to team back up for my senior year.
During the summer before my senior year, Aryan and I chatted about how we could take advantage of our final chance to make the state competition, which you earn by reaching the semi-finals of the district competition that occurs at the end of every tennis season. He invited me to train with Coach Rob, who’d been his private coach for over four years. We spent the next year preparing for our moment by training 2-3 times a week together regardless of the weather conditions - if it was raining, we wouldn't even touch a racket. Instead, we’d do conditioning for the entire 1 hour and a half session which involved agility exercises on a ladder, medicine ball throws, and lots of sprints. Although we didn’t end up making state in the end, I don’t regret the grind at all as I learned valuable lessons on the importance of discipline and persistence, which are lessons that still apply to my life today.
Friendships
One aspect of my high school tennis experience that I’ll always cherish is the friendships that were made and strengthened throughout my years on the team. A lot of the people on my tennis team were slightly familiar with each other as we had classes with each other, had seen each other at our local gym, etc. However, most of us had never spoken, which quickly changed once we were on the team as we spent loads of time together in practice and at matches. I was fortunate enough to join the team with a friend of mine, Rutwik, who’s still one of my good friends to this day. Spending time on the tennis team together strengthened our friendship tremendously as we got to see each other in different situations both on and off the court that we hadn’t seen each other in before. We also befriended many others on the team, most notably Aryan, Michael, and Fran.
From the left: Fran, Rutwik, Nima (me), Michael, and Aryan
While many others on the team were befriended as the years went on, this was our initial group. By our second year, we decided to pool some money together and purchase a portable bluetooth speaker which we blasted at practice and on the bus, which enhanced our experience together as we all had very similar music tastes and enjoyed hearing each other’s current favorite songs.
Our first day with the new speaker
While I can’t guarantee you’re going to completely mesh with everyone on your high school tennis team, I firmly believe that you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see the friendships that can be cultivated through the shared love of tennis. Through team dinners, practices, bus rides, and more, it’s hard not to unite as a team and form genuine, long-lasting, bonds with your teammates.
Personal Growth
Being on the tennis team allowed me to explore my interests beyond tennis. During my senior year, I was lucky enough to be named the captain of the tennis team. Coach Salness, who was my coach for all four years and I respect greatly, allowed me to select and design our tennis apparel which consisted of a polo shirt, a “dri-fit” tee, and a sweatshirt. I had to stick to some parameters when it came to the polo and tee, as those would be our official tops during matches, but I had completely free rein over the sweatshirts. This excited me beyond belief as I always loved men’s fashion, specifically streetwear, but never decided to pursue making my own clothes in any way before.
For the sweatshirt, I decided to make a heather gray crew neck since we’ve typically done hooded sweatshirts in the past. I stuck with our signature school color of purple for the text and logo of the garment which would be featured on both the front and backside of the crewneck. Back in high school, I was heavily influenced by the “ASAP Mob,” a music/fashion collective from Harlem, NY. One of their members had a brand called “VLONE” which inspired the back “S” logo of the crewneck. Since I had no previous graphic design skills, I used Microsoft Word to choose the font for the front of the sweatshirt and a free online text/logo generator to make the back “S” logo.
Original mockup of the “S” logo crewneck
Aryan modeling the “S” logo crewneck
As I continue building Court Dry with my brother, I can’t help but think that this experience started my love for tennis textiles. You never know where certain decisions can take you.
On top of exploring personal interests, I can’t stress enough how much I grew during my years on the tennis team; I not only sharpened my tennis skills but also matured as a young adult. Like I previously mentioned, I started off my high school tennis career on junior varsity. I had to work my way up to varsity which I did by practicing tennis multiple times a week year-round and participating in tournaments to replicate the pressure I would be feeling during varsity matches, as some matches drew large crowds. This taught me a lot about patience - even though my varsity spot was never guaranteed, I knew that if I put in the work and pushed myself to improve I would be ready if a spot ever opened up. It eventually did!
As the captain of my high school tennis team during my senior year, I knew that it was my job to instill confidence in my team which comes through remaining positive regardless of the situation. I did my best to make sure that everyone had unequivocal support from the rest of the team. When you weren’t playing, we made it an expectation that you stay and support your teammates until everyone’s played their match. No matter how ahead or behind the person you’re watching was in their match. It’s the little things like this that brought us together and made the team what it was. We always had each other's backs and supported each other regardless of the results. This was an experience that taught me the importance of having a strong culture.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide how you want to spend your time in high school. While I strongly believe that joining your high school’s tennis team has tremendous benefits, the experience is really just what you make of it. No matter the path you decide to take, remember to embrace the ups and downs and stay present. Time flies!
Will you be joining your high school tennis team? Let me know below!
Comentarios