With the final sound of the ball hitting the racket with a resonating smack, junior Blake Anderson has finished out the tennis fall season winning every match he played. Full of motivation and drive Anderson is ready to take on his next challenge, the individual season. Anderson says that “My uncle used to play tennis in college. Then one summer vacation we had with my cousins and my uncle, he put me on a tennis court. Ever since then my brother and I have started to play.”
Blake Anderson has never lost a match this season. He has received numerous scholarship offers, specifically to Baylor University and Texas A&M. He is part of the top 30 in the Nation. He also has been to state each year he has been in high school, and has won the state title.
Anderson has been playing tennis since he was a kid and has made many connections throughout school, other outside of school activities. “The first time I met Blake was at a tournament whenever we were 12 years old. We got randomly paired up to play doubles, and we were up 6-0. We then lost that match 8-6. We were mad, but it still was a good experience,” said teammate, Matteo Mejia.
As Anderson has chosen to pursue tennis, he has made friends, memories, and learned from his experiences. “Some memorable moments I have would be traveling around nationally because you get to see so many different places and play on so many different courts. I feel like that’s pretty cool.” said Anderson.
He is not only making relationships and memories, but also thinking strategically about how he can overcome tougher opponents. “It’s important to be thinking about the next point, and then not think about what happened before, because that can only impact you negatively. Looking at the positives of everything can help you with the pressure and not thinking about everybody who’s watching,”said Anderson.
His positive view on the court helps to motivate those around him. “I think he makes tennis look fun. A lot of times when you hear about people who are very motivated and very driven like that, they’re the people who say they want to wake up at 4 AM and run 50,000 miles and none of it sounds fun. But he makes how hard he works look fun. It makes people want to do the same thing and have as much fun as he’s having.” said Coach Coby Velez.
Anderson’s ability to have fun with something he is constantly doing shows his passion for the sport. “I love the sport so much. So, when you love something that much, you really want to keep moving forward with it.” said Anderson.
Anderson’s love for the sport helps him to use things others may find hard to his advantage. He also is constantly thinking and coming up with strategies. “Tennis is a mental sport. It’s 80% mental, I would say. I mean, it’s just kind of about strategizing your opponent at all times. Because you have to constantly be thinking about what you can do better and what are his weaknesses and strengths. So if you can think about that throughout the match, you’ll be able to see ways to come out on top,”said Anderson.
Anderson uses every possible resource given to him and applies it to his playing style. He is not only focusing on the big picture, but the smaller things as well. “I think a lot of us want to do good things and a lot of us want to get better at our hobbies and our skills, but he’s very good about devoting himself to doing the small things right and taking care of all the things he needs to take care of in order to chase those goals,” said Velez.
There is another thing that Anderson finds important. “I feel as if pressure is a privilege because not everyone has that feeling. I think it is a good thing to be pressured sometimes because if there is none you’re obviously not succeeding.”
