Final Post

Our season came to a halt during our first round in the playoffs. We lost 2-3 to Concord Carlisle in a very close match. It was a great season with great teammates. Overall we won the league for the 4th year in a row. Its too bad that we didn't win states, but I think next year's team will have a good shot, as there are many talented juniors who will still be playing. I had a fun senior year on the team, and now all we have left is the banquet. Since this is my last post for this blog, I will include some of my favorite moments from the season. These include beating Reading twice, both very close matches coming down to only one game. Another one is working with our coach Scott Hayes because he is fun to mess around with. Also, we had some great tennis get-togethers thanks to Nick Fahey and Scott Barrett. Thank you for following this blog. I hope I will be able to keep up with the team next year.



Seniors and Coaches

Update on the Season

It has been a while since my last blog post, so I am giving an update on the season. In our league, we are undefeated except for one loss. We unfortunately lost to melrose. Just recently we qualified for states, which will start in about a week. We only have 3 matches left, including a night match against Reading. Last time against Reading, we won by only one match, which was very close. Hopefully we can battle out a win again. This has been a great season so far with a fun team. Hopefully I can blog again before I am done with school.

Matches So Far...

We got destroyed by Lexington on Wednesday, not taking a single match off of them. This is ok because they're one of the best teams in the state, but it still doesn't feel good to get shut out. While I'm talking about matches, I'll discuss how each match is set up. There are 5 matches that count towards the overall winner. Best 3 out of 5 wins the overall match. There are 3 singles matches, and 2 doubles matches that count. So out of the 5 matches against Lexington, they won all of them. The only match that came close to winning was our 2nd doubles team, Billy Parrot and Nikhil Thakkar. Hopefully today's match against Reading will be a different story. We are probably equal with Reading in skill, and maybe better this year because they lost a lot of seniors last year. We are playing at Reading High School, and I think we can get our first win for the season. Stay tuned next week for the result of the match.

The Tradition Lives On

Yesterday after practice, the tennis team carried out a tradition that we have honored for years. That is, going to Chuck e Cheese before the first match. This is a ridiculous tradition because the whole team is 15 or older, but it always turns out to be a lot of fun. The best part is undoubtedly the pizza. I look forward to this the most, and yesterday it did not disappoint. I then turned my attention to the racing game and destroyed my brother in a head on race. This tradition always gets the morale up, and we will need it for our match today against Lexington. Lexington is arguably the best team in the state, so it will be a tough match. Stay tuned for the result next week.

Chuck E. Cheese's: Where Awesome Parents Go.™

First Week of Practice

The season started up this week, and we have been inside for conditioning due to the weather. I've found that working out between the seasons paid off, the running and pushups aren't as difficult as they were before. The team looks good for this year, our varsity lineup consists of mostly seniors with a couple of juniors. There should be good weather coming up soon, so hopefully we can go to the courts to actually hit around. Overall the first week of practice was good, the team is getting in better shape for the season so that we can hopefully win a state title.

Interview With Mike Saliba

I recently had an interview with a player on the BHS tennis team, Mike Saliba. This is Mike's second year playing for the high school. Below are the questions:

1. Do you like tennis? Why or why not?

Yes I do. It's fun and allows me to let loose.

2. What is your opinion on the assistant coach of the team, Brother Hayes?

He brings a positive vibe to the team, and a powerful insight on tennis.

3. Who is a better player/ overall person, Kiran Churchill or Ansh Bhammar?

Kiran, he's a feisty little fellow.

4. How are you feeling about the season?

I'm feeling good about it, we have a strong lineup and great coaching.

5. If you could compare yourself to a tennis great, who would it be?

I would compare myself to Roger Federer because he's the man.

Thanks Mike for your insightful comments.

New Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee

On March 5th, a new tennis great was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. His name is Nick Bollettieri, inducted at age 82. Nick made not only an influence on the sport of tennis, but how people bring up their children as athletes. Instead of trying to make kids great all around athletes, he proposed that if a child focused on only one sport, that they would be much better athletes and more successful overall. He implemented this idea by establishing the Bollettieri Academy in Florida in 1978. This academy taught students academics and tennis; just tennis. This influenced other people to do the same thing. Soon people opened up academies for sports such as basketball and baseball. Click here to read an article on the newest inductee.

Animoto

Check out this Animoto I made about tennis.

Trying to get Practice In

The season for tennis is approaching rapidly, so I want to get some hitting time in before the season starts. Last year, I didn't get much hitting time in at all, and I had a rough start to the season. Next week's weather will be decent with temperatures in the 40s, so I might be able to go to an outside court. If not, I can go to the captain's practices or just schedule time at the Woburn Racquet Club and hit around with my brother, who is also on the team. Other than getting hitting time in, I am continuing to work out to be in better shape for the season. Hopefully my next post will be about some practice that I have gotten.

Pre Season

The indoor track season just ended, and now I am getting ready for the tennis season. I did track starting my sophomore year in order to get in better shape for tennis, and it has helped me every year. I feel like I am physically ready for the season, however I am continuing to work out at the gym. There have been some captains' practices at the indoor courts in Woburn, but I haven't made any of them because of work on the weekends. My goal is to hit around at least 3 times before the season starts to get back into the swing of things because I haven't played since the end of last season. The season starts mid to late march so I have a good amount of time to prepare. Hopefully I will be able to blog about actual practices and matches soon.

First Blog Post

I just created this new blog and I'm excited to start sharing my experiences. This particular blog will be about my final year of tennis at Burlington High School. I have been on the tennis team all 3 years so far, and I hope my senior year will be the most fun out of the 4. I will be blogging about my practices, matches, and overall experience with the sport. I began playing since 7th grade, and it has been my favorite sport ever since. I made the team my freshman year and we had a huge team. In total, we had over 40 kids. The size of the team has decreased since then, and we are at about 25 now. I like having a smaller team because the courts at Rahanis Park were overflowing with players my freshman year to the point where we couldn't get much hitting time in during the 3 hour practice. Now that the team is smaller, getting good practice in is much easier. Hopefully I will be able to hit even more this year because I am a senior. I look forward to new additions to the team and a great 2014 season.