This year the boys team has had a whole reset. Everyone is new and is learning how to play.

Alejandro Espinosa (12) is playing tennis for his senior year spring sport. Both teams were
struggling with finding people, but Espinosa was glad to join to help the team grow.

“I heard that there wasn’t a lot of people going into the team and I wanted to join and support.”

He has a lot of friends on both teams and thinks the team has a great relationship. Sometimes after
practice and matches they go out together and get food.

“The boys and girls team sometimes practice together and it makes it a fun time since everyone gets
along,” Espinosa said.

Diego Pardo (12) enjoys playing in his single matches. Pardo uses his skills learned at the practices to
perform his best during the real match. He likes the practices with the team, but he also practices
without them as well.

“I practice outside of school with my friend who is a professional and he is helping me get better with
my skills,” Pardo said.

Emerson Shepherd (12) has played tennis for two years and fell in love with the sport. He did not get a
full experience in his hometown but is happy to continue his journey with tennis here in Florida. He was
able to continue because there were enough boys who joined.

“I wanted to go into a spring sport at Freedom, and not many of the spring sports other than tennis
had a real intrigue to me,” Shepherd said. “Also, I had played tennis with my family before and heard
stories of older family members who had also played previously so that gave me more of a reason to
join.”