Submitted by FHS Tennis Coach Lolita Bowman

Fillmore high school girls tennis traveled to Nordoff high school on September 25. The final score was Fillmore 1, Nordoff 17. Two days later, we traveled to Santa Paula high school where the final score was Fillmore 3, Santa Paula 15. With my humble and young tennis team of three years, I have learned that it is not about the end result, but the times in between. The smiles that I see when new tennis players like Valerie Esparza and Stephanie Garcia hit a great shot, or when they ace their opponent is fulfilling for me as a coach. Frustration is also great to witness as they care about playing better against their opponents. Playing well is what I witness on the courts, and I am happy to teach them a lifelong sport as my friends and I enjoy to this day. This week we play Hueneme high school, ending our first round of play with schools in our league. We will be playing against the same schools for the second time in the weeks to come. I share this famous quote by the late Arthur Ashe as I shared with my players, “You are never really playing an opponent, you are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits that are real joy.”