// discipline, one match at a time

The Athlete

I never made varsity. That's part of the point. Three years on Milton's JV tennis team taught me more about discipline and resilience than a varsity jacket would have — and by junior year, I'd fought my way to the #1 seed on a deep, competitive ladder.

3years, JV tennis
#1seed, junior year
4–6hrs/week, year-round
Freshman year

The 3rds ladder

I tried out for varsity — didn't make it — and landed on the 3rds team, alternating with a friend for the #1 spot on that ladder all season.

Sophomore year

Top of the ladder, then a slide

Playing JV singles in the spring, I held one of the top two ladder positions early on — but by the end of the season, I'd fallen to 6th singles. Competition for spots was real, and so was the setback.

Junior year

#1 seed

Back on JV in the spring, I played #1 seed for almost the entire season. Several strong players were competing for the same ladder spots that year, and I won the challenge matches I needed to hold my place. Discipline and resilience, mostly — and showing up every single week for three straight years.

Grade 11 · Paid work

Coach, Needham Pool & Racquet Club

Junior clinics in the mornings for newer players, team practices in the afternoons for the more experienced ones — mostly running drills and keeping kids engaged, occasionally getting to play alongside the other coaches.

Me on the tennis court, sophomore year
Me mid-swing, junior year
Playing a match, holding a scoreboard
Coaching at Needham Pool and Racquet Club
// still moving

Running

Running found me almost by accident — my family started running together during COVID just to stay sane, physically and mentally, when everything else had shut down. It turned into something I actually looked forward to: a way to center myself and push my body when I needed to. I've run a handful of local Turkey Trot 5Ks with my family, which turned out to be a great way to feel connected to a much bigger community, all chasing the same simple goal for one morning. It's also quietly made me a better tennis player — the extra endurance shows up as stamina late in a match, right when everyone else is running out of gas. Senior year, I joined Milton's cross country team, partly to keep bonding with my fellow seniors, and partly for a once-in-a-lifetime chance: being on a school sports team alongside my freshman brother.

Me and my family at the finish of a Turkey Trot race
Running with family — Turkey Trot morning
// where it all started

Early Interests

Soccer was my first sport — I played on school teams from pre-K all the way through 10th grade. What stuck with me wasn't the scoring, it was the team side of it: learning how to collaborate and build something with a group of teammates, an instinct that showed up again later in robotics and in teaching, whenever I had to lead a team rather than just contribute to one.

In middle school I picked up squash, mostly as an extension of my love for tennis — same instincts, different box. It turned into another lesson in camaraderie: supporting my teammates, and getting comfortable trying something new even when I wasn't especially good at it yet.

I also swam competitively for a short stretch in late elementary and early middle school. It never became a long-term sport for me, but it taught me real endurance, and something just as important: the discipline of showing up on time, every time, for your team.

Me playing an early sport Me as a young kid playing soccer Me at a swim meet as a kid Me playing an early sport, elementary school Me playing squash or soccer in middle school Me playing soccer in middle school Me as a young kid at a youth soccer clinic

All my sports have helped me grow in some unique way — whether it's pushing yourself, supporting your team, dealing with failures and setbacks, or celebrating a well-deserved win.