As the cold winter slowly melts away, spring sports are starting up at Aliso Niguel High School. The Boys Tennis team is pursuing the goal of performing well in the South Coast League and the California Interscholastic Federation League (CIF).
The league they are currently in has many tough opponents that they must face against, including teams like Tesoro High School, Dana Hills High School and Trabuco Hills High School. However, those matches do not start until March, with most of the athletes’ schedules being filled with practice time at the high school.
One of the other goals this team strives to achieve is winning League and making it to the post season. Due to it being one of the most prestigious achievements a sports team can compete for, and it opens up many opportunities for the program to advance in ranking and for the athletes to be of interest for college recruitment.
To prepare for this upcoming spring season, the head coach, Coach Vitali, has been having the boys do specific drills, including warming up their volley shooting, down the line, cross-court hitting and finishing with light scrimmaging to strengthen their skills as players and have them get used to the pace of the matches they soon will be playing.
The Boys Tennis team still has many challenges to overcome this season, with them having to avoid sickness, as well as certain injuries that accompany this sport, including ankle sprains and muscle tears that can hinder and even end an athlete’s season. The team also needs to learn how to work together while playing this sport due to it being an essential part of their future lives.
Coach Vitali, when asked about his opinions about this season, said, “All the teams are very good, and I feel not just confident with my varsity, but also my junior varsity and frosh-soph teams, and I have a feeling that we will go far this season.”
Tennis, while seeming like an individual sport, develops close bonds between teammates that slowly build the strongest, long-lasting bonds that are essential in the growth of these athletes in order for them to hone their skills and challenge themselves to compete and play well this season and beyond.
Coach Vitali is very passionate about coaching the younger generation in the sport of tennis with him saying, “ I encourage everybody to play tennis because I really believe it is the sport that gives you and teaches you about opportunities in life and it is the sport you can play until you are very, very old with it being a good sport to know how to play.”
Hopefully, this team obtains a lot of success this season due to the fact that they have a lot of potential as a team and will go far as they navigate their lives as student athletes for Aliso Niguel High School.
