Junior team manager, Mary Kate Short, successfully recruited many new team members for the boys tennis team at Anderson High School.
Short played her first year of tennis as a sophomore, which really sparked her love for the sport. Her interest led her to become the manager of the boys team. “I really like playing tennis and I kind of wanted to practice so I could be better for the girls season.” She began to advocate for the team and created an Instagram account in order to promote them and their future matches. “I think I recruited like four, and they actually came.” Short successfully convinced four loyal players to join the team, “I think I got a good amount.”
Coach David Ellis agrees that the team has expanded drastically compared to many past years, “Overall we have definitely more players this year than last year.” The boys tennis season of 2024-2025 had three varsity players and one junior varsity player. The season of 2025-2026 however has a minimum of seven players. Ellis sees great potential within the many new faces across the team, “Their learning curve is very steep.”
Ellis believes that not many students are interested in playing tennis due to the fact that it has, “lost popularity here at Anderson.” In the past years, Highland Middle School once had a tennis program which served as an interest sparker for future high school students. However the program eventually shut down, and has led many middle school students to forget about the sport overall.
New junior player Isaac Alexander, was one of the students Short successfully persuaded to join the team. He plans on staying the entire season because he believes that “It’s pretty fun and cool.” Alexander felt he needed a fall sport to begin his junior year, and he has Short to thank for this opportunity, “She’s pretty sick as a manager.”
Current foreign exchange student from Spain, Bruno Carretero, is one of the many boys on the team. Carretero has enjoyed playing tennis for several years, “In Spain, I practiced tennis [for like] 7 years.” He enjoys his team and the sport overall, “I like to play tennis because I think it is very interesting and I have fun.”
Thanks to Short for taking the initiative of promoting the team, the boys tennis team has found the recognition that it had been missing at Anderson High School.