On August 11, the sounds of bouncing balls and powerful serves echoed through Waveland tennis courts as the girls tennis team began their first preseason practice of the season. However, the preparation for the season didn’t start then: captains and coaches were brainstorming before they stepped onto the court. “The other captains and I held an interest meeting for all players wanting to join the tennis team this season back in the spring. We also spoke to the eighth grade about joining the team and playing over the summer to prepare,” girls tennis Captain Malea Caplan said.
“We want to go into every game as positively as we can. With the right mindset, we can beat anyone, and we want to make each and every player believe that,” Caplan said. “I also believe that one person’s energy can fuel a team, so the least I can do as a captain is to show up to games and practices every day––even if the sun’s not up yet––with a smile and a loud voice. If you are in the game mentally, you will be able to pull through physically, so I think as long as we bring the energy we will be able to play our best.”
To Caplan, the season isn’t all about match points and serves, it’s also about creating a strong team bond and sense of community within the team. “This year we are really trying to focus on having one team, even after we split up the Varsity and JV. Because our team is somewhat small with only 25 players, it is important that we stick together and cheer everyone on no matter what line they are playing. We also gather at the end of each practice as a full group and go over what we did that day and things we need to improve on, which keeps the team connected through the actual game. Of course, we will have our team bonding night and hopefully some other fun events to come, but as of right now, our team bonding has been mainly on the courts.”
For freshman Eva Mack, tennis is the first high school sport to which she’s been exposed. “High school sports and middle school sports are really different,” Mack said. “In Middle School, sports felt more like a place to just socialize with friends and maybe hang out with a lot of people in your grade. People really only took sports seriously on occasion. In sixth and seventh grade especially, sports always felt really unserious. Even when coaches tried to heighten the intensity in eighth grade, a lot of the times players wanted to keep the sport as a social experience. In high school, sports seem to be taken more seriously––not just the physical part––but building the team bond and making sure everyone feels included.”
While the switch from middle school to high school can be daunting, returning members of the tennis team are committed to helping younger members with this transition. “Going into the season, I was the only freshman on the team’s portal page. This was kind of intimidating because talking to upperclassmen or just any other older people on the team seemed scarier than talking to freshmen. However, everyone was really nice and welcoming and made sure that I felt a sense of community on the team. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season and future seasons because of the bond I feel I’ve already created with my team mates even just in the early days of preseason,” Mack said.
Beyond preseason, coaches and players alike have high hopes for the upcoming fall season. “So far, the season’s been going really well, and there’s been really good energy on the team. Everyone is there for the right reasons: they aren’t trying to get out of gym and they aren’t just there to put it on their resumes. The team is small, but everyone is there to play tennis and grow as a player and as a team,” varsity tennis coach Jim Taylor said.
Taylor believes that many players have developed their skills over the past year, making for a promising team. “Overall, almost everyone developed their skill both physically and mentally. One of our captains, Malea [Caplan], stepped into her leadership role really well, and even though she wasn’t a captain last year, she still was a leader on the court and organized a lot over the summer and before the season started,” Taylor said. “We also have a lot of sophomores that really upped their game and played over the summer like Harper [Adler], Mia [Scala], and Samantha [Kovler]. Even though they might not be the oldest or have the most Varsity experience, they’re proving to be very coachable and easy to improve.”
However, the road to a great season isn’t always a smooth one. The tennis team has experienced their fair share of long matches, losses, and struggles. “Tennis is almost all about mental toughness. That’s at least 50 percent of the game. For a lot of the players on our team, winning a match won’t be about their physical ability to play or how hard they can hit the ball, but instead about not getting in their heads when they lose a point. So this year, we are trying to work more on our mental toughness, and really make that an area of growth,” Taylor said.
The tennis team has plans for growth and improvement beyond the two weeks of preseason in August and into the school year. “This year we have a new coach, Sloane, and she played on the high school and collegiate level recently,” Taylor said. “For the first time, we have some that’s more relatable for the girls and can mentor them more easily––for me it’s easier to do that with the boys team. We also are having a relay race at the end of every practice, which is much more well received than plain sprints and has given everyone on the team a competitive edge. My plan is to continue that into the season so the team can continue to become even more competitive and energetic.”
As the players look ahead on the season, senior captains think about the legacy they want to leave on the team. Caplan is balancing creating memories with their team and improving tennis members this year and beyond. “I want everyone on the team to see me as captain and hope that one day they can be captain too. It’s important to recognize that a captain does not have to be the best one on the court, but an inclusive, positive, and energetic light for all the players,” Caplan said.
Taylor agrees, stating that he sees the future of the team as “no matter who we play, we’re playing to the best of our abilities. I want our legacy and reputation to be one of ‘those guys never give up.’”
