Senior Tiffany Yu is on the girls tennis team as a captain this year. Yu started playing tennis when she was young, but had not taken much interest in the sport until she joined the tennis team her freshman year.
Yu’s biggest supporter is her dad, who encouraged her to play in the first place. Yu originally planned to tryout for lacrosse but was encouraged to try tennis. Listening to her dad was something she is glad she did because “every year, [she] looks forward to tennis and it’s what drives [her] motivation in school.” Tennis has become one of the most important aspects of her life.
As a captain this year, Yu has more responsibilities on the team. She has to “come up with different drills and games for captains practice.” Her biggest challenge with being captain is
“balancing between schoolwork and sports”. She states that “senior year has been super stressful and there’s just so much to do in so little time.” Her duties as captain can be stressful sometimes but “tennis is [her] escape from the world so playing helps take away some stress.” Playing a sport is also very time consuming, but as captain, Yu feels it is all worth it to be on such a good team playing a sport she likes.
The tennis team has a very strong bond that allows them to work very well together. Over the course of time in which Yu has played she has created many friendships. She is closest to senior Susan Wong and junior Nicole Chen because they “instantly clicked as soon as [they] started playing together.”
Head coach Cheryl Camassa tries her best to help the team improve. Camassa helps Yu improve by “creating challenge matches against other girls on the team and making [the team] do drills to improve [their] footwork and hitting.” Working cohesively with other members is an important step in working together as a united team. Yu enjoys working with the new members because she has the opportunity to “meet new people who share the same interest as [her]”. The new members have adjusted well and “are very easy going”. They always listen to Yu when she speaks and ask questions when needed. Their commitment and dedication for the sport is something she admires and appreciates.
Besides tennis, Yu likes to spend time with friends and family “because spending time with people you’re closest to creates a secure and humble environment.”
Although Yu is very fond of the sport she does not want to pursue it as a career. When she graduates, tennis would be the end of a chapter for her. She would still play during her free time, but wants her main focus to be on school.
