After months of hard work and practice, the boys tennis team has continued to find success as they play throughout their season beginning in February and ending in May.
“[At the beginning of the season] it didn’t look like it was going to be great compared to last year,” junior Tristan Tran said. “Now we’re making a comeback and beating other schools the second time around.”
In early February, when their first matches took place, the team struggled with losses to schools like Eagle Rock High School, Taft Charter High School and Cleveland High School. Two months later, the team played them again and won all three games, leading them holding their current four win streak with their determination and dedication they put in.
“When it comes to practice what we really do is just play,” sophomore Roman Mosavi said. “Playing tennis is one of the best ways to improve in it. I would say that it has benefitted me positively in games because I can try strategies in practice matches and see how it’s best to implement them in actual games.”
The team’s success comes from them practicing hard everyday with guidance from new coach, Jason Grider who has 15 years of tennis experience. As a former high school varsity tennis player himself, Grider works hard with the team to improve their skills in hopes of playing well in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs this year.
“The coaching this year is really good,” Tran said. “[Grider] is really involved with us and he’s strict.”
With Grider’s strong coaching, the team has found lots of benefits from tennis which help motivate them to play hard.
“Tennis is a sport I enjoy and for me it has a lot of positive outcomes,” Mosavi said. “Playing tennis allows me to stay fit, spend time with my teammates, meet new people, advance my mentality, and bring up my competitive spirit.”
Since they spend a lot of time with one another at games and practices, the team has formed a strong dynamic with each other.
“My favorite part [about tennis] is the friends,” junior Anshul Katakwar said. “Everybody there is cool and I think we all have a solid relationship with each other. We’re all also pretty good friends.”
On and off the courts, the players are able to bond with one another. Even though they take practice seriously and put in hours of hard work, they are still able to have enjoyable moments together.
“We’re like brothers,” Tran said. “We all mess around with each other, but everyone’s always respectful. We make a lot of jokes but it’s all good fun in the end.”