Swings, Serves, and Slide Tackles: A Summer of Sports

My summer this year was highlighted by two sports programs. I’m always active over the summer - participating in soccer camps and clinics and playing tennis with friends and family. However, coming off of (another) undefeated JV Tennis season, I knew I wanted to take tennis as seriously as I take soccer.  After a bit of research, my mother and I stumbled upon a new program that combined serious tennis with fun travel. The program spanned three weeks and three countries, involved tournament play, and instruction by current D1 coaches and recent D1 graduates.

Thinking back to the first few days of the tennis trip reminded me of my first few days at Groton: an unknown setting with a small group of motivated kids who needed recommendations to get in. However, as it was at Groton, I met a diverse and great group of friends almost immediately. We started our trip in Southern Spain, where we were warmly welcomed at a tennis club hosting a youth tournament. We trained there by day with our coaches and then competed with the local players by night. The competition was very social, and win or lose, we often ended up playing soccer, swimming, or just hanging out with our hosts and competitors after the late matches and even later dinners. The small seaside community was the perfect setting for teens on summer break. From Spain, we flew to (thankfully) cooler weather in the Netherlands. Here we trained at another beautiful red clay club and played in the annual Shot Zeist Tournament, where we each competed in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles draws. Sportsmanship prevailed on the court, and win or lose, as per tradition, competitors always sit down for a post-match drink with the winner buying their challenger a drink. Our time in the Netherlands was epitomized by the picturesque towns, friendly citizens, and fun biking and social culture. I now understand why my current (and third form) roommate always talks about how everything is better in the Netherlands! Our final destination on the trip was Switzerland. Training in Verbier, we adapted to the higher altitude, constantly in awe of the Swiss Alps that surrounded us. We didn’t compete here, but instead had the chance to travel to Gstaad for the EFG Swiss Open, where we watched the professionals compete and even had the opportunity to meet Casper Ruud. The pristine village towns and opportunity to practice my French and eat a ton of chocolate made Switzerland a perfect ending to our travels.

Three days after arriving home from Switzerland, I traveled a short distance away, traded my racquet for cleats, and enthusiastically jumped into a Barcelona-based soccer program that I had been looking forward to all year. I had trained with this soccer program last summer, but had not been fully able to participate as I learned that I had a stress fracture of my lower back. This summer, I was good to go and could fully train, compete, and immerse myself in the methodology of the program. What made this experience especially memorable was that I met fellow ISL soccer players from Rivers and Belmont Hill who, although they will be competitors later this season, became great friends. It was an awesome way to connect with soccer players from across the US - from as far as California and as close as the ISL- while training and improving. 

I cannot wait to get back on the pitch and on the court with my Groton teammates this year!