A forgotten sport: Women's tennis is open to all those who may want to play
Tennis is often a forgotten sport in high school, but the sport is quickly growing and gaining respect in the sports world. Tennis camps and teams are starting to introducing the sport to many new players. The majority of the tennis team here at Northern is brand new to the sport and never played a single set in their life.
People decide to participate in sports for many different reasons. Some students may want to play to stay in shape or to please their parents maybe they enjoy the sport.
“Tennis looked really fun and I wanted to stay in shape for soccer,” sophomore Lillian Baker said.
While for most a sport is easy,many people have to overcome an obstacle to play a sport or to become better at the sport. You may have to learn a new skill or gain better reflexes.Tennis is all about reflexes, you have to react in the small amount of seconds that you have to see if the serve is out of bounds or to return the serve.
“I am a left handed person and [I am] the only one on the team,” sophomore Gisselle Castro said.
“So having to hit from a different side gets confusing and I have to do a lot of back-hands.”
Many people are skeptical about starting a new sport. Some students may think they are not good enough to play or they do not have the right skills needed to play. Some may think they are out of shape and cant get into shape.
“To whoever wants to start tennis I think they should because it brightens up my day and [it is] a fun active sport and is very affordable,” sophomore Baker said.
Tennis looks like a very demanding sport,you have professional players serving up to speeds of 110 Mph, but in reality they serve much slower in high school.
“Tennis is easier to play than any other sport but it is hard to play well,”social studies and tennis coach Mr. Mabie says.
Teams have their weakness or strengths, some maybe that they do not have a lot of experience or good coaching.
“Our team's strength is our community. We all enjoy each other's company and have fun regardless of what we are doing,” senior Lily Lehman says.
The Northern tennis is team is always welcoming for new and upcoming players. They have great team chemistry and hope to see them in the playoffs this year.