Throughout her time at John Carroll, junior Edison Curtis has been very involved with the girls tennis team.

Edison has been playing tennis since she was seven when she took her first class. She plays in many tournaments outside of school and has trained with many professional and different coaches.

Her earliest memory of tennis is making friends on her first team. After her first few classes, she was not very sure whether she would continue playing or not because she felt as though she may not enjoy it. She felt as if she was not picking up the sport quickly enough like the other kids in her group were.

Despite the struggles that came along through her tennis journey, Edison decided to not let the challenges she faced get the best of her and continued tennis.

Her biggest challenge while playing tennis has been trying to stay motivated while playing and trying to find the thing that makes her enjoy the game.

She said, “There have been many times when I felt that all I did was play and when I wasn’t seeing the outcome I hoped for in my matches. I felt as if there was no point in playing if I wasn’t getting better.”

Edison often felt overwhelmed with pressure from, not only herself, but from family members and having the mindset to play well. “I felt as if I had too always be perfect.”

What finally motivated Edison was her coaches and high school team.  She also learned to relax and have fun to find the enjoyment she had been looking for in the game.

She feels that the JC girls tennis team motivated her in many ways as they wanted her to keep getting better and win matches for herself as well as for her team.

Tennis taught her that “to see results, you must put time and effort into working on the improvement you want, in sports as well as in other situations in the real world. It has taught me that it’s okay to not be the best at everything you do, and comparing yourself or your skill level to someone else would only make you unhappier.”

Edison’s main goal is to win all matches and to play in the tournament at the end of a school season by either the end of this year or by the end of next year, which would be her senior year.

She wants to play in club tennis in college.