On Wed., Feb. 6, spring tennis players filed into room 233 for the final meeting before the start of the season.

“It’s crazy how fast tennis season came this year, but I feel pretty prepared. I have a lot of expectations for this year and I think we’re all super excited,” said Alex Taylor, 10.

At the meeting, Coach Michael Teets emphasized his high expectations for SHS tennis and the importance of an athlete’s character both on and off of the courts.

“We can talk about winning; of course we want to win. But I want to win the right way,” said Teets.

Other information that was provided included the schedule for this year’s tryouts, which begin on Mon., Mar. 10. Tryouts this year will be held at Western & Southern due to the resurfacing of the school tennis courts.

“Even though our courts won’t be resurfaced in time for tryouts, I think we’re all excited to play on them once they’re ready,” said Nick Hershey, 12.

Furthermore, the final Mile Run will take place on Fri., Mar. 7 at 3:00 on the SHS track. This event is especially significant due to the fact that most tennis athletes have been training for it during the entire off-season, with many practice runs scattered throughout.

“The past year I’ve gotten a million times better at the mile, and I’m pretty confident that all my practice will pay off. I’m not sweating it too much,” said David Muskal, 11.

With only 11 days left in the countdown to tennis season officially begins, the time for last-minute tweaking of strokes is over, and tennis athletes are preparing themselves mentally and physically for the games to begin.

For more information, go to shsleaf.com.