High school tennis teams may be overshadowed by other sports such as baseball, softball and lacrosse when it comes to finding a place in a school's athletic budget. Because of this, things like tennis nets, wind screens and tennis ports may be in need of replacement, but get ignored. Teams can work together to raise money for under-funded sports like tennis so that they have adequate equipment and an up-to-date court to play on.
Sometimes fundraising can require a lot of hard work, but it's important that players remember that without that help, they wouldn't be able to play at all. While insufficient funding might seem like an insurmountable speed bump to overcome, one tennis player makes it sound like a bad excuse.
Valeria Reyes-Chian was born with a developmental disorder called spina bifida, which prevents her from being able to hold herself up and limits her to a wheelchair, according to the Washington Post. While Reyes-Chian can barely stand up, she's overcome her disability and found a spot on Chantilly High School's varsity tennis squad.
"Before I started tennis, I thought I would never do anything in life and I would just be there sitting doing nothing," she told the news source. "But when I started tennis, I was like, I'm going to get good at this. I'm going to keep on doing it and getting better."
The 14-year-old plays her matches while in her wheelchair, and is allowed two bounces to reach the ball and return it, while the rules typically permit only one.
Reyes-Chian isn't simply allowed to play out of pity, however. In order to earn a spot on the 16-player roster, she had to beat out 10 other girls.
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