The Pahrump Valley High School tennis team is more like a family than just a team. Tennis is a sport that requires teamwork on the teams and plenty of practice. The two players interviewed were James Dela-Rosa and Chloe Sitter-Jones; two amazing players from the PVHS tennis team.
The first question that was asked of these players was what they love about playing tennis for their high school. The response from Dela-Rosa was the feeling he gets from hitting the tennis ball and the freedom he feels from knowing he gets to hit the ball whichever way he wants. Sitter-Jones responded that the team is close just like a family in a way, the coaches are supportive, and the fellow players are just as supportive as the coaches are.
When asked what was most challenging about playing tennis, Dela-Rosa states hitting the ball correctly is the hardest part; “We do a lot of form in tennis and after playing for years myself and hitting like garbage, it shows you that you’re not all that you can be yet“. Sitter-Jones responded there are a lot of mind games when it comes to tennis, especially when it comes to competitions. It gets tough when the other players start throwing the balls at you and getting aggressive with their flow and; “it’s hard to keep your cool because as soon as you lose your cool, it ruins your gameplay“.
When the two players were asked why they chose to join the tennis team, Dela-Rosa answered that his dad being the coach fits in perfectly around his father’s schedule. Though he thought it would be fun to participate in playing tennis with his high school team. Sitter-Jones responded that she always had an interest in tennis but never went through with it, then she heard PVHS had a tennis team and thought it would be a good idea to try it out.
One of the last few questions the players were asked was how they feel the practicing conditions are like when they do have to practice. Dela-Rosa answered it’s not too bad compared to other sports; “It’s awfully easy since I did track and that kind of killed me, but I’m still walking“. Sitter-Jones when she was asked answered that the practicing conditions are pretty good and stated; “it’s just like other teams. We practice hard and we have super strict conditioning.“
The very last questions these players were asked were what is one positive reason you chose to join the PVHS tennis team and was there anything challenging about getting into the tennis team? If yes, what was challenging? For Dela-Rosa not much was challenging for him but for others, the most challenging part might be just coming to practice and doing their best; “Most people get nervous when they play their matches and that ruins their skills making them like a dull knife”. Dela-Rosa’s positive reason for joining our team was the closeness of the team; “The team is like a family. Sometimes we make messes together but at least to me the team is like family“. Sitter-Jones had issues getting down the skills to be able to compete, forehands, serves and backhands were especially hard for her to learn. Sitter-Jones’ positive reason, much like Dela-Rosa’s, was also the closeness of the team, she wanted to make new friends and she thought it would also be fun to join her high school tennis team.
This tennis team is more than just friends, they are one big family to one another. If you see anyone from this team in the hallways at school don’t be afraid to say hi, they are kind and don’t mind having a conversation with new people just make sure to get to class on time!
