By Kevin Tran
Before being captain of the boys’ tennis team at Fountain Valley High School, senior Eric Tran lacked self-confidence. Now, he’s a confident leader who plays a major role for the team.
Tran started playing tennis when he was eight, though at first he didn’t play it too seriously. However, as he started high school, he realized that beginning so young helped build discipline, allowing him to enter freshman year with experience in tennis. This early training laid the foundation for him, which continues to influence him as a leader today.
One coach who stood out to Tran in his early years of tennis was the coach of his Junior Team Tennis (JTT) team, who saw his potential for the sport.
“My coaches from my JTT team had helped me improve the most. They helped me recognize that I have somewhat of a talent in the sport and that I should go for every shot, no matter how difficult it is to get,” Tran said.
Additionally, Tran had a lot of inspiration from his older sister, a former captain of the girls’ tennis team. Seeing her succeed in tennis, he wanted to play even more, which later motivated him to become captain as well.
Throughout high school, as Tran played match after match, he has grown not only as a tennis player but also as a person. He learned an important life lesson — it’s okay to lose, but you must always remember what you learned from that defeat and how you can improve.
“Over the years, I’ve grown to become the [most] confident version of myself,” Tran said. “Rather than thinking about the result of the match, I think about what I should improve and focus on one point at a time.”
Being captain to Tran means one thing above all: setting a good example for other players. While being a huge responsibility, it’s also a great opportunity for him to get out of his comfort zone and meet new people.
“I used to have lots of nerves talking in front of crowds and even playing in front of people,” Tran said. “But being captain teaches me to let go of those nerves and be myself to not only become a better player, but also a better person.”
The team has faced many rough matches where the game wasn’t going their way. To keep his team determined, Tran advises them to just have fun, as tennis is considered a mental game, and you must always be in your best mindset.
Motivating each player is crucial to winning a match.
To him, a strong team is one that has a positive mindset and believes in itself and each other — to build wins by building themselves up.
“I always tell my teammates to always have fun,” Tran said. “Tennis takes a lot of your mental fatigue and people always tend to mess up when they’re at their low[est].”
Throughout his four years of high school, the moment that stood out for Tran the most was winning league finals during his sophomore year. He believes it’s the best thing he’s achieved while being on the team.
If he could go back, Tran wishes he had trusted himself during his lows, when he wasn’t performing well because he lacked confidence. As the team gets closer to league finals, Tran has seen how much the team has improved over the years, winning more games than in all his previous years.
“We have won four league games so far, which is far more wins than [in] previous years,” Tran said.
Although he doesn’t plan to play tennis in college, his four-year journey through high school tennis was one of growth and learning what it means to be a leader.
