The weather played the villain this April Fools, postponing the start of the tennis season for both the boys and girls teams in matches against Harlan and Clarinda respectively. However, this doesn’t change the mindset for either team as they prepare for their first meets.
Sophomore boys tennis player Cooper Schaa has been preparing all offseason to play in high-level tennis matches as he tries to move up the ranks and stay at the top.
“I have been working a lot on improving my serves, and the backhand has gotten better as well,” Schaa said.
Boys coach Myron Wilder has been excited to watch this young team grow and learn, as the vibe seems upbeat for the season. He sees a lot of positive energy and desire to improve.
“I look most forward to seeing our young and new players improve throughout the season as they continue to practice, play matches and get more comfortable with the game,” Wilder said.
Girls coach Bryan Pregon is also integrating a positive mindset into the program for the year, expecting a fun season out of the team.
“Our team vibe is optimistic,” Pregon said. “We’ve put a lot of thought and planning into setting ourselves up to do the best we can. One of our team mottos is ‘Focus on getting 1 percent better every day.’ So no pressure on results, just keep making gains and have fun.”
Freshman girls tennis player Eliot Powers reflects this mindset as she looks to have a great first year as a part of the team.
“This being my first high school tennis season, I am excited to finally play matches for my school,” Powers said. “I am looking forward to going to meets with my teammates and just having fun with it.”
The teams are hoping for the work to pay off as their season’s start is right around the corner.
The boys tennis team will start their season on April 4, at home in an Missouri River Conference Double Dual against Sioux City North, Sioux City West and inner-city rival Thomas Jefferson.
The girls tennis team will start their season today at Clarinda at 4 p.m. after having their opener against them postponed.
Next school year girls tennis will be a fall sport. Pregon says if there are any girls interested in joining the team, contact him and he will help them get information about summer programs.
