As a byproduct of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many high school sports programs during the 2020-21 school year have struggled with numbers. But for the Mingus girls tennis team, it’s been the opposite.
Coach Andrea Meyer did note that some of the players from last season’s team did not return to the courts this spring. But between those who did return and other newcomers, the Marauders have 15 players on the team, more than Meyer was expecting. And more than just the raw numbers, Meyer is pleased with the attitudes of the girls on the team.
“I’ve got about half veterans and half newbies,” Meyer said. “They’re highly coachable and eager. Quite a few have previous sports experience if not tennis experience. But we’re starting to see the school tennis that the [U.S. Tennis Association] has pay off.”
Meyer said that the team’s guiding principle this year has been B.E.A.S.T., an acronym which stands for Body Language, Energy, Attitude, Self-Talk and Team. The overarching theme of that is for the players to maintain a positive attitude for themselves and their teammates, regardless of what’s going on in a given match.
The early dividends have been noticed by the more experienced players on the team.
“It’s been fun — the team is really supportive,” senior Destiny Swapp said. “No matter what you do, they’ll constantly tell you it’s OK if you mess up and to try again. Nobody judges because they all mess up sometimes.”
“All the girls on the team are very friendly,” added Angel Franco, the other senior on the Mingus team. “They make sure that not only they themselves are doing their best but also that everyone around them is doing their best. And that everyone feels comfortable in the sport itself. And the atmosphere is good, too. Everyone is really welcoming and really nice.”
Of course, it’s easy to be upbeat this year, given how abbreviated the tennis season was in 2020.
Meyer called it “magnificent” to have a team back on the courts practicing. It’s a sentiment shared by the players on the team.
“I’m very excited,” said junior Aine Khin, the Marauders’ No. 1 player. “We didn’t get a real season last year. We only got like three matches in. We didn’t really bloom as a team and a lot of the freshmen didn’t get to experience what it’s like to be on the team. So it’s nice to be back and to have a lot of returning teammates, especially a lot from last year who just started.”
Mingus will open its season on Friday, March 12, with a home match against Cactus High School in Glendale, a team that, like the Marauders, has a lot of inexperienced players.
Khin hopes to see people in the community out supporting the team throughout the entirety of the season.
“It really makes everyone on the team happy when we see people come out specifically to support us,” Khin said. “We’ll go to other schools in Phoenix and they have a lot of people supporting them.
“Sometimes it brings people down because we don’t really get that,” she added. “It would really brighten everyone up. It really helps us keep our morale and keep our energy up, knowing that there are people who care and genuinely support us.”
