N! P! H! S! NPHS! Go! Fight! Win! Woo! The team cheer echoes across the tennis courts as players gather around their coach, bringing excitement and intensity to the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team before their matches.
For these athletes, success is derived from bolstering teammates who celebrate one another’s progress and stay positive even when a match is difficult. The shared support built a cohesive team that led to a 4-7-0 record.
To the outside eye, tennis may look like an individual sport; however, no player can succeed without one another. Kase Boring, junior, began playing for Newbury Park High School his freshman year and now understands the teamwork it takes to excel.
“Honestly, having a team that’s super positive is really important, in my opinion, to playing well. Because if you have a team that’s constantly being mean to you or not positive or not cheering you on, then you’re not gonna be motivated to play well versus a team who’s always there for you,” said Boring.
Mila Tolj, sophomore, experienced the importance of partnership firsthand while playing doubles.
“I think it’s my partner and me; we always put our best foot forward. It lets me have more fun when I play and be less focused on scores and more focused on getting better,” Tolj said.
Ananya Mudgal, sophomore, changed the way she approached her sport because her teammates facilitated encouragement and reassurance.
“[The positive team] made my experience a lot better because I used to be super stressed about tennis and about how the team would view me when first coming into tryouts freshman year. But after getting on the team and meeting everyone, everyone was super encouraging, and even when I didn’t think I would be playing my best, everyone still had faith in me, and I would do a lot better than I would have if I didn’t have a team to comfort me,” said Mudgal.
Before the season starts, the team comes together by creating encouraging posters that help develop stronger relationships and confidence. “We take a poster to a court, and we cheer them on for winning points, and we encourage them if they maybe hit a shot that wasn’t the best,” Mudgal said.
“You always have people cheering you on. You always have, like, what I like to call a little watch party of people just cheering you on. It honestly makes me feel so much better and just makes me feel appreciated on the team, and that people are actually there for you and realizing that you put in effort for the team,” Boring said.
As the familiar cheers rumble through the courts, they reflect a team that understands the importance of a dynamic setting, not the number of wins. In a supportive environment, players have reason to keep pushing themselves as athletes. “It allows people to see different perspectives on how to play [as a team],” Boring said.
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