John Valentine had never played tennis before his freshman year at Mingus. Looking back on his high school career with the Marauders, it’s safe to say that Valentine made the right call to start.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak ending the tennis season prematurely, the Mingus boys were undefeated. As a senior, Valentine was a big part of that, holding down the No. 1 singles spot and being a part of the No. 2 doubles team for the Marauders.
“I just wanted to try something new and challenge myself so I thought I’d try out,” Valentine said of his decision to try tennis four years ago. “I made the varsity team, then learned the fundamentals from Larry [Mingus coach Larry Linberry] and grew a passion for it.”
“Tennis is a sport that you don’t just play in high school, you play it for your whole life,” he added. “I’m competitive but not big in stature. In tennis, I can compete with kids of all sizes.”
In addition to tennis, Valentine is also a four-year athlete on the Mingus cross country team. His top memories in that sport came when the Marauders had a chance to race under the lights at the Desert Twilight Meet.
“It was a really cool experience,” he said. “Schools throughout the country come to that and it’s really inspiring to see runners at the highest level.”
Valentine’s status as No. 1 at Mingus isn’t limited to the tennis team. He’s also the valedictorian for the Class of 2020. In the fall, Valentine plans on attending Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University and majoring in mechanical engineering. He credited Edmund Lisi, the former Career and Technical Education Engineering teacher at Mingus for helping foster his interest in that field.
The COVID-19 crisis has taken things away from the Class of 2020 that other high school graduating classes have taken for granted. But as valedictorian, Valentine believes that this group of seniors is well qualified to handle the challenge that faces them.
“Although this year is different, it isn’t any less important,” he said. “It’s just a challenge that we have to face. We’re a good class for it to happen to — we’re resilient and we’ll make the best of the situation.”
Prior to the tennis season’s premature end, Valentine noted that one of his goals was for the Marauders to qualify for state as a team, something they haven’t done in more than a decade. At 5-0, they were in position to do so, but the COVID-19 shutdown kept that goal from becoming a reality.
While his time on the Mingus tennis team is now complete, Valentine hopes that several years from now, people will look back and see him as someone who helped spark a resurgence in the sport for the Marauders.
“I hope I had a major influence on the tennis team,” Valentine said. “The program really grew. I hope people look back and say, ‘He had a lot to do with that.’ I hope that I was able to inspire other kids to play tennis.”
