An Interview with Freshman Tennis Prospect Henry Short

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Seeing as the tennis season is beginning to get up and running, I decided to go ahead and interview one of my friends, Henry Short, as he begins his journey in tennis. Henry, better known by his peers as Harry, started his sports journey at a young age. As a young child, Harry’s parents signed him up for soccer. He quickly fell in love with the sport and began to branch out to other activities and extracurriculars such as basketball. Going into Oratory, he quickly demonstrated his potential as one of OPs most athletic freshmen. Tackling the soccer season, he quickly bonded with his teammates and was considered a must have on the team. As the basketball season came and went, his athletic abilities knew no bounds. Seeing as basketball is his favorite sport, it’s no surprise that he performed so well. Now that spring is rolling around (I know–already), Harry chose to partake in tennis in order to widen his repertoire of sports. His dad, who had played tennis in the past, advocated for this decision. Having played no sports like tennis in the past, he was excited to try something new. When asked what he was looking forward to in his tennis career, he told me that he was “really excited to learn a new sport, especially one so complex and competitive”. Harry went on to say how excited he was to play on a new team and to start a career in tennis. Seeing as Harry is a very experienced athlete, I decided to ask him what advice he could give to people who are interested in sports or just starting out. Harry went on to list the number of benefits that come with sports, and made it very prominent that having fun was a huge factor. “If you love the game, the game will love you back”. I then asked him for advice for athletes who are looking to take it to the next level, something Harry is very passionate about. Harry went on to tell me that “practice makes progress, not perfect”. When asked about how to improve on the field, he told me that half of the battle was in your performance, the other half was how you think. “If you can outwit and outperform your opponent, your odds of victory will increase drastically”. Harry’s advice was very valuable and I hope any potential athletes will take it to heart. Harry is currently considering adding more sports to his list next year, but definitely wants to play basketball again. Thank you again Harry for the interview, and I wish you and the tennis team the best in your future endeavors.