Hi Coach Newman,

I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to send a quick update.

I’m not going to lie, college started off a little rocky for me. Being so far away from home made it hard to adjust, but once school and tennis started time has flown by. I can’t believe it’s already been 7 weeks since I’ve been here. I’ve already made so many new friends and I love my team.

From my time at ATA, and my year having around 12 girls, it has really prepared me for my college team. I’ve learned how to deal with certain situations and in college that have really helped me. My college team brought in some drama from last year, and from being new it was hard to find my place at first. Before our first tournament the team vibe was not positive and I knew I had to stand up for our team. I reached out and made it a point that we are going to have a great year if we endlessly support each other which will then give ourselves the best chance we have. I was nervous to stand up and say something because I’m a Freshman, but ATA taught me how to be a leader and how to make a difference.

For the younger teammates to prepare for college I would say to come in knowing who you are. As you enter in this new place, you get to start all over. No one knows you from high school or your past. So, knowing your morals and values are very important in defining yourself. You have to be strong in who you are because you don’t have that safety net to fall back on like you do at home with your friends.

In high school trying to juggle school, tennis, and friends was complicated, but it taught me how to manage my time. College is all about time management, and thanks to high school and ATA I am able to manage my time very well. Also, ATA’s fitness is way harder than any of my college workouts have been so far. Having dedicated fitness coaches who know what is best for a tennis player is something rare. In saying that, do not take for granted what ATA is providing you with. Thank you Coach Josh and Coach Dio for helping mold us into strong athletes. In college our trainer does not really take our workouts that seriously or know the best things for us to do as tennis players which is unfortunate.

If I could do something different as a Junior to prepare myself better for college tennis I would of not put so much pressure on myself with results or ranking. In college no one cares about your junior results or what tournaments you won when you were 15. What matters is how you fight for your team, not just for yourself. Now you are playing for something much bigger than yourself and you have the responsibility of competing for your school and your team.

GO PATS!!!

Thank you and I hope everyone is doing well!!

Joyfully,
Hannah Harrod