The Aliso Niguel varsity boys tennis team has been swinging through the season with both wins and losses. The team used to have practice most days of the week, but their schedule shifted to games every Tuesday and Thursday, with practice during the sixth period on Mondays once they got further into the season.
The main goal of the team is to perform well in the California Interscholastic Federation League and the South Coast League. They have been working towards this goal by giving it their all during games, staying consistent during practices and learning from their losses. The team has been working especially hard because qualifications for these leagues have begun, so every game counts.
“During practice, we try to focus the boys on serves because it is the most important part of the game,” comments Coach Dan Vo. “Building stamina and serves are what we make sure they get really good at.”
The league that the team wishes to perform well in is competitive, with varsity teams like Tesoro High School, Beckman High School and Dana Hills High School. Nevertheless, the team feels confident about this year because they have been practicing hard and have taken home many wins so far this season.
The team brought home a huge win on March 26 against Mission Viejo High School. The boys won 17-1 after three long hours. Although it wasn’t the team’s first win of the season, it was a big one because in total, they only lost one match in the entire game. This win was definitely expected, as the boys tennis coaches have been drilling the athletes on almost everything; their volleys, serves and scrimmage drills to get them used to the pace of the games.
Jonathan Duan (12), a member of the team, says, “Practice is really fun. Especially because we have such great coaches and we are always striving to be better.”
In addition to growing stronger in their skills and winning a lot more games, the athletes themselves have grown closer as a team. Tennis may seem like an individual sport, but has a lot more team aspects than meets the eye, especially for the doubles teams. Typically, all the team members who finish their respective matches sit down and watch the last player’s match and cheer them on. This act serves as a boost in morale for not only the players watching their teammate, but it also makes the athlete who is playing feel supported and encouraged to win the match.
“The team morale is really great,” comments Duan (12), “We all [love] each other and even if we don’t win, which is very often, we always leave the court happy because at the end of the day, we have each other.”
The Aliso Niguel boys varsity tennis team still have over a month left of their season, with about five more games left to go, and they are more than ready to power through it even stronger than ever. With the way they have been practicing, there is no doubt that they will perform well for all of their games and finish off the season in a way that makes the athletes and their coaches proud.
