Teamwork and tennis
Cedar’s tennis team has hit off the season after playing their first match on Feb. 22. With the team’s first seven matches of the season accomplished, junior Delysia Griffith is proud of the team’s drive and commitment to grow.
“With a lot of the juniors and seniors, you can see they’re more open to helping others improve and getting them to the point where they can play games and be successful in the matches,” Griffth said. “They’re also more willing to take pointers from others and improve all around.”
With last season bringing in an influx of new players, the tennis team is starting to get more competitive. Griffith says that they are more motivated than previous years from watching their teammates.
“I know a lot of people have been working on the things they lacked at and they’ve gotten better. As a team we probably don’t say it a lot out loud, but we boost each other by just playing and practicing next to each other,” Griffith said. “We see how one is better than the other and that pushes us to do better.”
Sophomore Spencer Waldroup agrees, saying that his primary motivation when playing is earning his spot of number one boys player back from his teammate, junior Sam Michael.
“I think he’s better at staying focused and has better strategy,” Waldroup said. “I’m going to go out there, practice hard and actually focus and not get distracted because I know I am better than that.”
The team’s two new coaches, head coach Sydney Johnson and assistant coach Stephanie Lewis, have also brought new encouragement to the team.
“Coach Lewis helps us improve our strokes and grips. Coach Johnson advises us to drink water during the day, and to ice our legs and arms because you don’t want cramps,” freshman Caroline Michael said.
“I like this new style of coaching, it’s more working as a team and connecting with each other,” Waldroup said. “Coach Johnson really gives us team spirit to go out there and play, and makes us feel better about ourselves if we were having a crappy day.”
The coaches have been instrumental in promoting good teamwork, with Johnson pushing the players to encourage each other when they are tired and maintain high standards. Both coaches have been improving how the team boosts each other.
“I think the coaches are great. They’re really supportive of the team and they’re trying to get us to put our all into the game. Even if we aren’t the best of the best, they still want us to try and push ourselves and our teammates to win matches,” Griffith said. “But they don’t want us to forget that we should still have fun and just enjoy the experience of playing tennis.”
