My Experience Being On A Varsity Team

By RIYA SINGH ‘22

Last year I was able to play on the Girl’s Varsity Tennis Team here at Milton. Not only was this a super fun experience, but it also taught me a lot about being on a team. Tennis itself is an individual sport that comes with a lot of pros and cons. Some of the pros include the independence and problem solving skills you gain out of matches and practices. A few of the cons are feelings of loneliness and harsh self critique. It can be difficult in a solo sport like tennis, because at the end of the day, you are alone on the court and ultimately it is only you who takes all the credit and blame for every win or loss. Few times in a young player’s career are they able to be on a “team” for tennis, as there are only doubles and singles tournaments, and playing with one other person isn’t exactly the same as being on a team of 7 or 8 girls.

The beginning of the season was really nerve wracking, but these nerves were mostly due to the fact I did not know anybody previously. As the season progressed, the social anxiety slowly faded, and I was able to meet and get to know most of the people on the team. Everyone was so welcoming and kind that practice became the best part of everyday. There was no doubt it was also pretty cool to be on an upper school team when I was an eighth grader, but the experience would have been just as enjoyable, if not more, had I been in the upper school. The practices consisted of talking, laughing, and playing tennis—all of my favorite things—so there was nothing to dislike about spending 2-3 hours there, everyday.

The matches themselves were probably the best part of the season. It was a little tough near the beginning, trying to learn all the team traditions, but after finally understanding the 4 different things we did in the 20 minutes before the match, I finally understood why the traditions have standed for so long. Something as small as putting your left hand into the hundle instead of your right made the whole team feel synced together and like you were about to all go play the same match. These moments are also when I really feel the difference of playing a match “alone” as opposed to with a team. Playing next to some of the best people I know was so fun that the outcome of the match didn’t even matter at the end of the day. Celebrating our wins and comforting each other in losses brought us together the most. Hearing that other people got nervous during their matches and stressed out before them gave me comfort that I was not the only nervous one. At most of my previous tournaments, everybody was so focused on themselves and winning that you end up getting inside your own head and making the whole experience miserable. Having girls and friends you can talk to, even if it is about how nervous you are about your match, helped tremendously and was an entirely different experience for me.

My highlight of the season was definitely when we traveled to Andover for the ISL tournament and played Groton. It was probably one of the most stressful matches I’ve played despite playing in many National tournaments. There’s just something different about seeing your team on the bleachers, knowing you all woke up too early for this on a Saturday and already put in too much effort for you not to give 100 percent. It definitely was not my best day, but because of my team’s support and cheering I was able to win, and I could not imagine what would have happened had they not been there.

My whole experience was full of highlights and it was great to be able to go into highschool already having a few upperclassmen friends to whom I can ask questions or voice concerns. Spring is truly my favorite season because I get to share it with an amazing team full of amazing people for the next four years.