As spring approaches, the winter sports season comes to an end. Student-athletes have to get ready to try out for spring sports such as baseball, boys’ golf, boys’ tennis, girls’ soccer, track & field, boy’s volleyball and girls lacrosse. For junior Ben Ell, he is getting ready to try out for boys’ tennis.

“The best part of playing a spring sport,” said Ell.”Well, any sport, really, you’re on a team in and in tennis that’s kind of unique because you’re typically alone and independent, but you’re kind of put on a team where you’re actually able to work together.”

Tryouts began on March 2, 2020. The first week consists of basic conditioning and basic skills for those who haven’t picked up a racquet for a while or as a refresher for previous players. The second week consists of challenge matches. Challenge matches are when players will play against each other to determine where they are on a team rank order.

“So the skills that I look for when I’m looking at say a new player is that they had an understanding of the game of tennis, and I’m not spending the time going over just the game rules,” said Coach Samantha Soltysiak

Excitement arises for this upcoming season. Soltysiak is excited to see her boys back and to see how far they’ll push themselves for the season. Ell is thrilled too because last year everybody on the varsity team was able to qualify for state, and he wants the team to be more successful than last year. Overall, they both can’t wait for the season to begin and to be greater than last year.

“I want to center around teamwork because tennis can feel like an individual sport because they are playing themselves,” Soltysiak said. “I just want to do a lot more team building this season as opposed to last, and I think it’ll benefit us in the long run.”