During her elementary and middle school years, sophomore Violet Sheehan had hardly picked up a tennis racket. Now, as a high school sophomore, she’s on the JV team for La Salle.

Previously, Sheehan never considered herself a “sporty person,” she said. She attempted activities like basketball, volleyball, dance, swim, and soccer at her local community center in the past, yet they didn’t stick for her.  

“None of them really ever had me excited or anxious to learn more,” she said.

When the decision of where to attend high school arose, Sheehan decided she wanted to try something different than the public high school she normally would have been filtered into. She first came to La Salle because of a childhood friend, who is a year above her, who recommended the school. 

“I was realizing that, ‘Oh, this place seems cool, and it seems like it’s a lot of opportunities,’” she said. “That wouldn’t happen at my local high school.”

Sheehan did not take tennis during her freshman year because she was adjusting to a new school during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, she did not know that La Salle had a tennis team, as many sports seasons were canceled or delayed that year.

Then, after discovering tennis and going to a few practice matches over the course of the summer, she was ready to join the team.

“My mom played it all through high school,” she said. “So I know that if I ever needed a coach, she could teach me.” In addition to her mother, Sheehan’s grandmother has also been a fan of tennis for a long time. She has played since she was a teenager and continues now in her 70s.

Now that Sheehan is a part of La Salle’s tennis team, she’s begun to really enjoy the sport. 

“I also really love the team, people are really nice and supportive and friendly,” she said. “The coaches are also really great at coaching us even though we’re brand new, and at first I could barely hit the ball.”

If there’s one thing that Sheehan wants to remember from the experience on the tennis team, it’s the fun she had with her teammates.