9th Graders on the Red Devil High School Tennis Team

At  Springville High School there is a girls tennis team. Four of Springville Junior High School ninth graders that are on the team. The ninth graders are Sarah Skinner, Stephanie Aragon, Maddy Brenchley, and Allyson Smith.

At the beginning of the season, the team competed in ladder competitions. The way it works is that each girl is rated on how well they play or by their skill level. Depending on where they’re at on the ladder, the team member plays against someone who is one place above them. If the lower player wins, she moves up, and if the upper player wins, then they stay in the same place until they have another chance to move up again. This way the players are ranked but they have a chance to move up over the course of the season.

There are 25 girls on the tennis team. Most other teams have 15-20 girls on their team. So when the SHS team play ladder competitions, they really work hard so they can move up to be at the top of the ladder. Michael Flood, coach of Springville High School tennis team, said, “Every one of the girls on the tennis team have definitely improved particularly in their serving, drop shots and net play.”        

Sarah Skinner, a ninth grader on the High School tennis team, said, “I’m happy I made the team. I’m learning a lot and I’m improving my skill.” According to Sarah, it’s a lot more “competition,” and it’s hard, but it’s fun and enjoyable. “I know I’m getting better.”

According to coach Flood, he’s always enjoyed the game of tennis since junior high. “In my later years of life, tennis had become the most frequently coached sport for me. The team responds quite well to me as a coach. I have been able to help advance their tennis skills. The team has come a long way in their development and it was their personal drive to be better that has helped our team become better each week,” he said.

The team has held fundraisers to help make money for the team so they can buy new equipment, or shirts to represent the team. On September eighth and the fifteenth, the team had a clinic to teach eight-fourteen year olds how to play tennis. According to Sarah Skinner, it was a huge success. They raised $250 and  were able to buy tennis shirts for the whole team.