Seth Green

Smashing it on the court! Adam Ashby serves a ball to his opponent at one of his many tennis matches. Adam has won several tennis matches this year, but has taken his losses well. “When I win, it feels great, because I know all of the hard work I put in to get there.” Adam states.

There are several sports here at McAnally. From track to volleyball, and football to soccer. One of these sports, however, is different than some. Even kids who aren’t in athletics can participate.

8th grader Adam Ashby has been playing tennis since 7th grade, and he is a skilled player. The sport can be challenging sometimes, but there are a lot of things he enjoys about it. 

“I like that it is very team-based, but you are also held accountable for your own actions,” Ashby said. 

Tennis practices are almost every morning on the school tennis courts, even during the colder months. While it might get miserable to play while it’s chilly, the team is ready for the challenges and puts forth their best. 

Some practices are tough, as expected. 

“Somedays you can just feel off, and you don’t know what’s wrong, and you don’t know how to fix it. It can get mentally exhausting,” Ashby said.

This is expected of any sport, but tennis can of course get hard when you’re running around and swinging a racquet for an extended period. 

It feels obvious that tennis is one of the more athletically demanding sports out there compared to others. Some studies show that tennis is healthier than hitting weights at the gym, and a lot of combat sports. Tennis requires endurance and physical strength from all parts of the body to constantly be ready or in motion.  That doesn’t even account for the hand-eye coordination you would need to be able to accurately hit the tennis ball and see where it is traveling back to you. 

Even though it’s not a very common sport in Aledo, if you want to stay active and healthy, our tennis program is worth a try. Believe in your swing!