Grayslake Central’s Boys Tennis team as of May 2, 2023, are 10-3 pushing through the season with a positive record while also being back-to-back conference champs and hoping for a three-peat. 

When asked about the team’s performance so far, head coach Coach Lawson credits his players and captains for the hard work they put in on the tennis court on a daily basis.

   Lawson remains optimistic going into the end of the season, explaining that “The players put their all into the game, giving it their best, and overall just having fun.” The team bonding activities the team does outside of games and practice, from team lunches and dinners they all participate in after matches or tournaments on a saturday, to working hard in practice every chance they get, help build chemistry with the team and give them collectively something to work together towards.

  Lawson’s biggest goals are to win conference, and to send a few players to the state tournament. Lawson also expressed some of his strengths and weaknesses, explaining that “I feel like my strengths would be that I’m a student of the game, I have tennis channels at home on TV, so I’m always watching tennis and learning new strategies and new techniques, and I put my heart and soul into practices to get the most out of the kids.” 

   “As far as weaknesses, I feel as if I’m pretty patient when it comes to the kids, like if the kids are not doing what they’re supposed to be doing I get after them a little bit.”    

   Aashay Patel, a Grayslake Central senior and tennis player, his advice to younger players is “dont be afraid to be bad in the beginning because it is a very hard sport to learn, just trust the process and it’ll get better”.