STRIVE TENNIS ACADEMY

Maria’s …Favorite ride…The Roller Coaster

Quick background context…Maria joined the Strive environment at a beginner level almost exactly 2 years ago to the day.  True story…our youngest player Kayleigh, at 9 years old at the time…who had only been with us for 6 months and was at an intermediate level defeated  Maria 6-0, 6-0 in Maria’s Strive tryout session. That was a wake up call for then, 12 year old Maria, about how much work she had ahead of her to reach her lofty tennis goals. Without hesitation Maria willfully jumped on to the roller coaster head first and eagerly began her journey towards self realization.

Fast forward 2 years almost to the day and Maria just achieved the almost unthinkable….last week Maria reached the finals of an 18’s Ga Level 3 tournament as a 14 year old. Out of all of our players accolades we are most proud about this single accomplishment…not because it is the highest in stature, but because of what it took for Maria to achieve this feat. Maria has lost much more than she has won on her journey, cried much more than she expected, learned much more about herself than she ever thought possible, and overcome more adversities than most players would ever consider enduring. You DESERVE it Maria and your perseverance is a joy to be apart of. It is an HONOR to have you as a student. Onward we charge together!

What Does 8 Wins In One Tournament = ?

3rd and 5th Place? You Bet Ya!

Well at least in this one it does. At 14 years old Katey is making nice gains playing up in the 18’s winning 6-0, 6-0 to capture 3rd place in the Ga Level 2 Tournament in Columbus Ga this past week. Katey provided the only loss to 13 year old Strive girl, Kelsey… who then went on a tear, taking 5 match wins total, with the last 3 being in tiebreaks for the 3rd sets winning the back draw and taking 5th place.

It has been a 6 month journey of desensitization, game growth, frustration at times, and a lot of adapting to the 18’s division. Now with a pro tournament under their belt and a healthy and growing win loss ratio, playing up in the 18’s the rest of 2015 is looking very bright. Confidence is very high! Remember… only you yourself can determine your own limitations…we merely choose to turn a blind eye to ours :-).

Well it’s a big moment for these two young girls. Katey and Maria are looking forward to their experience of playing their very first $10,000 ITF Women’s Pro Circuit Event EVER! They luckily made it into the tournament and gratefully get to test their games against professional players.

The only expectation the girls have is to gain valuable insight as to what and how they need to improve in order to reach this level of play one day. At 14 years old both girls have 4 years of opportunity ahead of them in order to learn how to adapt and overcome at this level… they are blessed to have this opportunity so they can see what bar they must reach in pursuit of their dream.

It is difficult for one to remain on path if they are not certain where the destination leads. This weekend the GPS is turned on and the girls will get to finally see an alternate road and a glimpse of what possibly could be if they are willing to work their very hardest :-). Enjoy the experience girls!