Samo adds new P.E. elective

Sophomores and upperclassmen now have the opportunity to play tennis as a physical education (P.E.) elective that focuses more on improving skill and recreation than being on the actual tennis team, which focuses on competitiveness, for their physical education requirement to graduate, according to tennis Coach Irene Ramos.“10^th graders should have classes where they can really develop their interest[s] and skills and things that they can do for a lifetime,” Ramos said. “In 10^th grade there’s yoga, there’s dance and there’s weight training, [but] there isn’t another class that I think would really captivate kids. So, [the P.E. department] introduced tennis and a lot of kids signed up."According to Ramos, tennis is a lifetime sport that is inexpensive and only requires one other person to play with. It is common for parks to have tennis courts, making tennis an easily accessible sport.The students who are taking the new tennis course have different reasons for taking it. Lena Tran ('16) is taking the course so she can improve her skills and make her way up to the tennis team, and Desiree Garcia ('16) is taking it because she enjoyed doing the tennis unit in general education PE.Jimmy Lud ('16) joined the tennis class because he didn't want to be on the tennis team."I just wanted to play and not have the competitive pressure of being on the tennis team, where you really need to win," Lud said. "I just wanted to play casually."Sophomores and upperclassmen, regardless of their tennis skills, are welcome to take the class."You can be a beginner [or] you can be an advanced player," Ramos said. "If you wanted to play during the offseason while you're on the tennis team, you can. The class gives an opportunity for students from beginners all the way to advanced players to practice their skills and enjoy doing it."According to Ramos, the students will be able to improve their skills with the newly donated tennis equipment, donated by the United States Tennis Association (UTSA), with whom the class has a representative and partnership with.“We have a ball machine, so we have a lot of opportunities to practice, and we’re thankful for that,” Ramos said. “We had a donation of tennis rackets, so we have high quality equipment that the kids can play with. They’re not playing with the regular P.E. tennis equipment. They get a good quality experience while they’re here.”According to Arya Mehrian (’16), players learn a variety of tennis skills, including the rules of tennis and the different strokes, which include serving, the forehand and the backhand. Players also compete with each other in singles (one versus one) and doubles (two versus two) matches and tournaments.Mehrian said that the class helped build his confidence.“I’m starting to get more confident [in myself],” Mehrian said. "This is my first time actually trying in a sport. I'm now confident in being able to hit and serve the ball."Many students in the class would recommend the class to the freshmen, who will be able to take elective P.E. next year.“If [the freshmen] are interested in tennis and want to improve their skills through a free class, then they should take it," Gabriel Scier ('16) said. "The [diversity of the class] is really good because you can play against people of your own skill level to improve your skills or you can play with people of lower skill level so you can perfect and refine certain elements [of your skills]. I always liked playing tennis, but I was never able to have a class. Now that Ms. Ramos is offering the class, I can improve [my skills]."