When the final tennis ball hit the ground, and the last match point was scored, senior Addie Norman knew this moment was very special. The girls tennis team had won their first state title in nine years. For Norman, arriving at this moment has been a long family journey.
“My whole family plays tennis. So my mom played in high school and she grew up playing it and my dad got really into it and [that’s how] I kind of got into it… [in]seventh grade after I quit ballet and I just really loved it ever since, and I’ve stuck with it,” Norman said.
Norman has also formed a strong familial relationship with her teammates and, in her eyes, it speaks to her team’s success.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot closer with all my teammates, especially being… a co-captain this year and having like a leadership role on the team… I grew closer to a lot of the younger… kids on the team,” Norman said.
Norman felt a reaction like no other after winning the state championship.
“It almost felt unreal because it was a close match. The first three singles won and then the second or the last two singles lost and then my doubles court lost, so it went to a number one doubles tiebreaker,” Norman said. ”We were all [just] hoping for the win. And we knew that our number one doubles [looked] really strong. When the final point happened [at state], everyone was really excited, and we all jumped onto the court and celebrated and it was really fun.”
Norman said she believed in her skills, preparation, and work ethic the entire time, but the mindset before the state championships was stressful. The state championship was a big moment first for many players on the team.
“I feel like we all had the skills needed to win.. .playing wise. It was mostly the mental part that we worked on before. We went to lower states and states, and we just got in a really positive mindset and we had… discussions every practice about how we can play better if we like set our minds up to play better. So that positivity really… brought us to the finish line,” Norman said.
Norman had a great relationship with her doubles partner, Madelyn Langheim, which improved their ability to motivate each other to be the best and compete at a very high level.
“My doubles partner is in seventh grade, so it was a really big deal for her to win states as a seventh grader… and I just wanted to push her and she pushed me as well to play my best and I push her to play her best,” Norman said.
Norman used her bond with her longtime teammates to prevail at states.
“The rest of my teammates, I was really close with because I’ve been on the team for three years now. I wasn’t on [the team] my freshman year, but since sophomore year I’ve… known all the same girls and we’ve just connected and bonded as the years have like gone on… and I think that also really helped us to win because the connections we had, we weren’t just playing for ourselves, we were playing for each other,” Norman said.
As she leaves her high school tennis days behind, Norman leaves a message of encouragement for those battling to be on the team next year because she knows as well as anyone it took a lot to get to where she is today.
“Don’t give up on your dreams because I know I was really doubtful that I was even gonna be playing on varsity this year because I sat on the bench last year and I had kind of just cheered our team on, [but] I worked really hard in the off season to be able to get that starting spot so don’t give up. Like, it’s possible I didn’t make the team my freshman year but I worked really hard to get to where I am or was this season… and it was worth it,” Norman said.