The boys varsity tennis team hosted Hagerty at Round Lake Park on Wednesday, March 25, losing 0-7. Sophomore Vance Park won 5 singles.
Having faced several losses throughout the season, the athletes develop a certain mentality before games to recover and come back stronger.
“You gotta just, you gotta have a short mindset like a goldfish, you know? You gotta try to forget about the last point or the last game,” junior Owen Morgan said.
Tuesday, Mar. 24, the team traveled to Seminole and lost 1-6, with Dyson winning 9-8 during a tiebreaker. Morgan got five games but lost 5-8.
Outside of practice, before gameday, methods of preparing differ among athletes on the team.
“I got extra sleep the night before [playing Lake Howell]. I ate a good meal. I had an energy drink before. We had a little meet day, pre-game little McDonald’s meal,” junior John Behanan said.
Recovery tools like proper rest and nutrition are necessary for maximizing performance on game day. With 40 minutes between the end of the school day and the match, though, the team is able to go out for food and ease their nerves.
“I [have] to make sure that my stress level is down because tennis is a very mental game. So if you get in your head at all, you’re just going to lose,” junior Owen Morgan said. “So you [have] to make sure that you’re always thinking positive and play point to point.”
Out of curiosity from his time playing pickleball, Morgan joined the tennis team in November. Since then, he’s learned the value of mental strength in sports.
“It [mindset affecting the game] happened to me …when we played Seminole,” Morgan said. “I lost a couple games in a row and then [my mental state] kind of collapsed.”
Aside from mental obstacles, some of the athletes have faced physical complications.
“I broke my wrist…I’d say I’ve moved past it. I wouldn’t say [it has] improved, though. It’s a little bit of a setback, but it’s okay,” junior Caden Park said.
C. Park took a year break from the sport after the injury, but has “refreshed” his brain and looks forward to having fun with teammates. This is his third year on the team, along with teammates like Behanan who’ve played since freshman year.
“I wanted to play [a] high school sport, and … I played tennis before high school, … [so] that’s like the only sport that I really wanted to try out [for],” Behanan said.
The team will travel to Apopka on Monday, March 30, a day before hosting Lyman for their Senior Night. Besides the pressure from past losses, the athletes also face the pressure of teammates relying on them in doubles.
“[You’re part of a] team and there’s other people that play with us … in doubles you have to, like, have good communication skills with your doubles partner,” Behanan said.
