April snow has kept spring sports inside for their first practices, but the season must continue with competitions against other schools. The Boys Tennis Varsity team participated in a tournament with Becker, Brainerd, and Delano on Saturday, April 7th in Becker, and the Junior Varsity team hosted Delano in the Bison Activity Center.
This tournament was not really about winning for the team, but more for the practice gained from the experience. Luke Dahl, dubbed “sweater boy” by Varsity Head Coach, Ben Watkins, for his effort and improvement throughout the tournament, said his matches went “pretty crappy, but it was good to get the rust off at the start of the season and to get those first match jitters out of the way.” Luke has to wear a tennis-themed sweater Coach Watkins found at a thrift store for introductions during the next match, and for the whole day before that. After each match, a new “sweater boy” is crowned to keep the sweater until the next match.
The tournament was also a good way for the team to come together and encourage each other. You could hear the players calling out to other courts to encourage their teammates using their custom nicknames. A chorus of “Let’s go bus stop!” and “You got this kaleidoscope!” echoed through the Becker Field House. Once the snow clears up, the tennis team is ready to get their season on the road.
