Tennis Girl

This girl has come so far in her few short years playing tennis.  She and her friend were bored in middle school and were looking for something new.  They signed up for tennis lessons and Madeline was hooked.  Starting in 7th grade is late if you intend to play competitively, which we learned as we got further into this whole experience.  After losing her coach at Woods Mill Tennis Club he suggested we try Miller Tennis Academy.  Well, we tried to get her in there, but she wasn't quite good enough yet.  After 3 or 4 months of hitting with pros, they agreed to let her into their "inner circle".  This was a lot of pressure for Madeline.  She was playing with mostly younger kids who knew the game well.  But she has fought, fought and fought.  She's had her ups and her downs, days she's wanted to give up, countless weekends out of town at USTA tournaments all over the midwest in the dead of winter (thank goodness Todd loves being a tennis dad).  

Then last year she transferred to St. Joseph's Academy, the tennis powerhouse not only in St. Louis, but in the state of Missouri.  She made the Varsity team, made it to the state tourney to play in the team event where St Joe took first place for the 4th year in a row.  This year, not only did they make it 5 in a row, but Madeline qualified for the state singles competition where she took home the 4th place medal.  

We are so, so proud of her and all her hard work!