Springtime is here and with it comes Falls Church’s six spring sports, one of which is tennis. A sport that many times is overlooked or underrated, is in all actuality a very interesting and fun-to- watch sport. Last year the boys tennis team finished with a record of four wins and ten losses, while the girls team finished the regular season with a record of four wins and nine losses.
According to Coach Seth Richardson, this year’s team is “young and energetic.” He also states that the team “has a lot of potential for the future and contains lot of raw talent, but has not yet taken the full leap into certain game situations or strategies.” Given this, Coach Richardson believes that the program has a lot of potential for this year, as well as the following years.
Assisting Coach Richardson in a leadership role is Millen Nguyen (12), who is this year’s boys varsity team captain.
When asked about his style as a coach, Richardson states, “I am pretty honest with my team. If they are not doing a drill correctly or getting in the proper position on the court, it is my job to let them know so they do not repeat the same mistakes.”
In addition he states that when he coaches he is “pretty energetic, and strives for perfection.” He recalls that when he was younger that his coach would yell at him from across the court so that he would know when did something wrong, and would not make the same mistake twice.”
Although it is a team sport, there is an individual achievement component that many find appealing. Gavin Binkley (9) says, “Tennis is fun because you are alone and don’t have to rely on anyone but yourself in order to win.” In addition, when asked about what he hopes to achieve this season Gavin states that “my goal is to win at least four matches.”
Coach Richardson has some goals for the team as well. He states, “I would like to see us win at least four matches again this year and continue our upward trend. The other goal I have for this season is to get a bunch of my younger players real match experience so they can use this for years to come.”
It’s safe to say that Coach Richardson is extremely optimistic for the future. The tennis team is looking to improve vastly this year and hopes to surprise some of their conference opponents, with their raw young talent, and hopefully improve for future seasons.