The Springs School girls tennis team poured hard work, dedication, spirit, and diligence into its season this year.
This team consists of Addison Luengas, Lindsey Grimes, Maya Scammel, Rafaela DeMartis, Sabrina DaSilva, and Grace Balnis, along with Allison Rade, who is from Montauk. They meet every day after school to practice, usually starting out by running a few laps, followed by stretching, before drills begin.
For the drills, Coach Owen McCormack has the players practice their forehand swing by tossing tennis balls from one side of the court as the team hits them back to him. Then, they practice backhands in a similar fashion.
During an interview, Mr. McCormack said that being a tennis coach was the best part of his day because coaching is just like teaching, except he gets to be outside in nature. He said he loves watching the kids go from not knowing how to hit the ball to becoming great players.
He has also coached different sports, including girls lacrosse, girls soccer, boys basketball, football, and boys lacrosse, but said tennis is his favorite. He tries to help kids feel confident and be the best they can be.
Home matches are played at Sportime in Amagansett, which generously lets the tennis team use their courts. It is owned by Claude Okin, Mr. McCormack’s former tennis coach. Mr. Okin said in an interview that he still loves to play tennis and that he loved coaching Mr. McCormack. Mr. Okin, who used to be a school principal, partnered with others to create a chain of tennis courts that eventually became Sportime. Mr. Okin also said he himself used to work at tennis courts in exchange for lessons.
The girls tennis team, with a record of three wins and four losses as of press time this week, is to play its last match today at Sportime at 4:45 p.m.
— Rafaela DeMartis, Grade 7