Boys tennis meeting marks official start of season

Joseph Ahn • February 10, 2014

Rohan Dsouza, 10, sets his feet to meet a ball with a forehand. Dsouza plays year-round tennis at Camargo Racquet Club, and feels excited and determined for this year’s tryouts. “Well obviously I have personal goals that I want to meet regarding how I perform, but as always I know that no matter what it’s about to be an awesome experience. It’s really a cool opportunity to play for Sycamore. Even if it is a little harder to make the teams,” said Dsouza. Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography. — **Rohan Dsouza**, 10, sets his feet to meet a ball with a forehand. Dsouza plays year-round tennis at Camargo Racquet Club, and feels excited and determined for this year’s tryouts. “Well obviously I have personal goals that I want to meet regarding how I perform, but as always I know that no matter what it’s about to be an awesome experience. It’s really a cool opportunity to play for Sycamore. Even if it is a little harder to make the teams,” said Dsouza. Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography.

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.

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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.

About the Contributor

Joseph Ahn, Creative Projects Editor

My name is Joseph Ahn and this is my fourth and final year at SHS. I have worked for The Leaf for four years and I am currently acting as an associate editor and a creative projects editor for The Leaf and The Leaflet. Journalism and design has grown to become one of my passions and I am extremely grateful to the program and to Mrs. Jardine, who is one of the most dedicated teachers I have ever seen in my high school career. The Leaf has given my peers and myself an amazing opportunity to become the voices of over 1200 students. Away from journalism, I dedicate a significant amount of time to my church’s youth group, where I enjoy planning activities as a member of our Youth Leadership Team and leading praise for our English Ministry services. Through my church, I have been able to travel to Hispaniola each summer and build powerful relationships and experiences, which I often write about upon returning to room 115 in July. My most recent focal point in room 115 is “Walk the Wok,” a collaborative and slightly comedic blog in which Brenda Shen and I think about and discuss what it is like for Asian Americans to grow up in Cincinnati, Ohio.