Beyond the loud stands at football games and the whistles blown during volleyball matches lies a growing team of tennis players who deserve more appreciation.
Since Mr. Farmer became the Enloe women’s tennis coach two years ago after a coachless period, effort, attendance, and team connection have greatly improved. Evelyn Ball, junior captain, has been on the team since her freshman year and has noticed that the team is much more organized and connected than in previous years. Players are willing to hang out outside of practice and cheer each other on during matches, which Ball believes has helped the performance during games.
Halley Zhong, senior captain, has also been on the team since her freshman year and has seen improvement since Coach Farmer arrived. Zhong comments on the change in relationships within the team, saying, “These past two years have been really fun, and the dynamic changed a lot from being stagnant and sad to energetic. We actually feel like a team.” Coach Farmer hopes that after the season, the relationships built during practices and games will last.
The team dynamic is apparent in the growing number of people trying out, an increase in wins, and more players who went to regionals this year. With all this success, Coach Farmer emphasizes one of his favorite inspirational quotes that he’ll say mid-game: “Complacency breeds failure.” He finds that some matches are won fairly easily, but he doesn’t want his players to get overconfident and always stay ready for whatever happens.
Coach Farmer was able to come and create cohesion with the group, building a team where people actually wanted to show up, practice, and put forth the effort. That being said, Coach Farmer can’t say there’s “a single match where [the women’s tennis team] hasn’t put forth 100% [effort] or even more, whether it’s against really strong teams or against weaker teams.” There has never been a lack of wanting to play, which he really appreciates.
During practices, Coach Farmer describes the environment as “chill”; players identify what they need to work on and divide into groups based on that. During games, he describes himself as more serious, but finds a good balance between the two. Throughout practice, Ball mentions working on her mental game, a significant but often overlooked part of tennis. During matches, Ball doesn’t want the team to see her upset about losing a match and wants her teammates to know that it’s okay to lose. With the team consisting of a lot of underclassmen, Ball finds that mental confidence is a major area she wants to work on. For Zhong, encouragement is key. She tries to talk to everyone and get a few conversations in before everyone separates during practice. She explains, “You just have to try and lighten the mood before practice starts, and laugh a little bit.”
Although tennis isn’t a commonly followed sport, the Enloe women’s tennis team is sure to make a racket thanks to Coach Farmer’s leadership! Coach Farmer’s goal is that the Enloe women’s tennis team will win a state championship one year and build a winning culture, and at this rate, it’s sure to happen.
