Tennis is not an easy sport. It requires more mental abilities than physical abilities. However, Junior Derek Lam excels at this sport. Lam began playing tennis just when he was in 7th grade.

“I started playing tennis because it is a challenging sport. In order to be successful in tennis, one must be mentally tough and physically fit. Developing a strong mentality is most difficult in tennis because if negative thoughts get into your head during a match, it is most likely that you will break down. This challenge is what keeps my burning passion for tennis going,” said Lam.

When Lam plays tennis he tries to adopt a calm and collected attitude like his role model, Roger Federer. He wants to achieve a demeanor and mindset like Roger Federer to improve how he plays in a tennis match. When playing a match he mentally prepares for the match and gives himself a pep talk.

“I prepare for a game by telling myself to give it everything I’ve got when on the court,” replied Lam.

Lam enjoys playing tennis due to the feeling of freedom and relaxation it gives him and it helps him let loose and clear his mind.

“I feel carefree and content when I play tennis,” mentioned Lam.

An important lesson Lam learned from tennis is that you must keep cool during intense situations. Lam not only learned something from playing tennis but it also changed him mentally and physically.

“Mentally, it has helped me cope with difficult situations I face on a day-to-day basis. Physically, it has improved my overall health and motivated me to maintain this healthy condition,” stated Lam.

Lam joined the Arroyo Boys Varsity Tennis Team during his sophomore year, what inspired him to join the team was teamwork and having experience playing the sport. He thinks that season will go extremely well because this year the team had trained really hard two months before the actual season had started. His goal for this season is to be more proficient in the sport.

“My goal for this season is to be more skilled than previous years because I feel that I have not improved much in my performance ever since I joined the team,” told Lam.