Saturday, May 20, 2023

Joel Tennis

Joel had a great varsity tennis season. He played 1st and 2nd doubles all season with Camden as his partner. They had a lot of successes and a couple tough losses that lead to valuable lessons learned.

Districts didn’t go exactly as planned, but we were proud of Joel and Camden and their 4th place finish. During their match on the second day something “popped” in Joel’s shoulder, and he couldn’t lift his serving arm above his shoulder. Miraculously, they still managed to win in 2 sets with Camden running all over the court and Joel serving underhanded and only taking certain shots. That win secured their spot at state. With the help of our friend, Glover, we were able to get him in to a sports therapist to evaluate his shoulder. Thankfully, we learned it was just a shoulder strain and not a tear or something more serious. It was hard to watch Joel and Camden have to sit out the last day of districts. They had a chance at winning the whole thing! I know they were both very disappointed. They had good attitudes, though, in spite of it all and did a great job cheering on their teammates.

Joel's shoulder healed enough for him to be able to play at state. They had a disappointing loss in their first match on day one, which put them into the consolation bracket. Day two they played great and won both matches, and then on day three they played their hearts out and battled a tough team, playing some of their best tennis. It was very close (the other team was also playing some of their best tennis), and we ended up losing,but the boys felt good about how they played. It was nerve-wracking because it was so close. Such an exciting match to watch, though! Proud of both boys. Next year will be fun!























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