The recent weather in the Bay Area has canceled practice and games for both boys’ junior varsity and varsity tennis. Rain and water make the courts slick, slippery, and overall unsafe to play on. 

“The rain is a killer for us. The lines get really slick. The boys can easily slip. Even a light sprinkle stops tennis. Sometimes if you don’t have sun and you don’t get here early enough the rain can kill,” said Head Coach Mark Stephenson. 

No lights and a limited number of courts put restraints on playtime. Singles have two players against each other on one court, but with only eight courts and 17 kids on both junior varsity and varsity players will end up sitting out waiting for an open spot. 

Players are often left filling up the courts with 4 players on each. Coach Stephenson has his players do alternative exercises in order to keep up with training. For over two hours, students play until dark and completely devote themselves to the weekly practices.

“Recently there’s been less time of actually hit with each other and improve, but we compensate for that by doing cross-training and fitness,” said Nigel Purvis (‘24). 

Players have had one match and one official Ebal match with junior varsity losing a close game of 4-5 and varsity winning 5-3 against Dougherty Valley. During the California Boys Tennis Classic, a tournament with the top 16 teams in the state, Amador’s Boys Varsity Tennis team placed 9th. 

“Our season has started off well. Singles is a little surprising this year and doubles have been stronger than we’ve expected,” said Coach Stephenson.