The GCHS girls tennis team is young this year, but that won’t stop them
The Grand County High School girls tennis team this year is off to a 4-1 start: an impressive lead, considering the 12-person team lost nine seniors last year. But that hasn’t at all stopped them, nor has the fact that tennis is one of the least popular sports at the school, according to the team.
They’ve so far faced off against Millard (Aug. 14; 3-2 victory), Gunnison Valley (Aug. 25, a 4-1 win), South Sevier (Aug. 31, a 1-4 loss), Wasatch Academy (Sept. 5, 3-2 win), and San Juan (Sept. 7, 3-2 win). Clark Maughan, one of the team’s coaches, said this year’s team has heart and they’ve been working hard all season.
What are they looking forward to the most?
“Winning,” said Paya Maughan, Clark’s daughter and one of the team’s senior captains. “We’re going to win state.”
Tennis is equally mental and physical: team members have to be in good shape to run around the courts and hit their shots, but also be able to bounce back mentally if they miss a serve. It’s easy to get in your head, Paya said.
“If you don’t have a good mental state when you’re playing, you’re just gonna get destroyed,” she said.
But so far, the GCHS team prides themselves on their mental game. The captains—Paya and Rosee Thomas—emphasize positive attitudes. Tennis at GCHS is about having fun, about thinking of the winning shots instead of the losing ones. Even during practices, the team puts on music to play to: songs by Taylor Swift, One Direction, and Flo Rida provide a background soundtrack. Plus, they have supportive coaches—Brian Ballard (head coach), Clark Maughan, Warren Scott, and Lisa Scott.
“We really just try to encourage everybody to make the best of the games,” Rosee said. “Sometimes your opponents won’t be friendly—they’re straight-up mean sometimes—but if you’re having fun playing, it’s a good game no matter what.”
It’s a team sport, Paya said, even if you’re playing one-on-one against an opponent. If you’re on the tennis team, you’re supporting everyone.
“The biggest compliment that we get from other teams—from coaches and from players—is that Moab has the most kind and loving team,” Ballard said.
Some of the girls on Moab’s team have never played tennis before, but the coaches won’t let that stop anyone from joining. They’re willing to teach anyone how to play, Maughan said, and that’s often the most motivating aspect of the GCHS team—by the end of every week, each player is better than they were at the beginning.
The team will play Millard on Sept. 12, Emery on Sept. 13, and go to Regionals on Sept. 22.
