AOTW: Alex Darner wants to keep magic going into junior tennis season

Ed. Note: Alex Darner is this week’s Gazette Feature Athlete of the Week as the junior tennis player is ready for an even better year this coming season.

Alex Darner had to make a tough decision between two sports he truly enjoyed. The longtime soccer player started to move to the tennis court, and his move has paid off. The Tipp junior had a very productive year at third-singles last season and looks forward to a bigger year this coming spring.

“Going into my freshman year, I was still dedicated to mainly soccer and only had about a year of tennis experience under my belt,” Darner said. I made Tipp’s Varsity B team as a doubles player. I had such a positive experience on the team and with my partner, Deacon. After the season, I realized that what I wanted to achieve was not only a Varsity A spot but also making a difference for the team.”

“When summer hit, I had to make a tough decision to either stay with soccer and be average at both sports, or really work to be talented at tennis. I chose to leave soccer and dedicate myself fully to tennis. Throughout the course of last year, I spent around five days a week playing tennis through lessons, matches, and tournaments, and that is how I improved my game so much.”

Darner’s hard work and dedication paid off, and he earned Tipp’s third-singles position for Varsity A.

“My season had its ups and downs, but overall, the entire season was amazing,” he said. “I won many long and tough matches and even made it to Division 1 Districts, which a year ago did not seem achievable. Last year, our team was kind, motivating, and extremely talented at tennis. I was always able to look over to another court or behind the fence and see one of my teammates cheering me on.”

While next season is one where Darner looks to continue his success in Tipp singles, he has worked this summer to make the move up in the singles ranks and compete at a higher level.

“This summer I have been playing as much tennis as possible,” Darner said. “I do group lessons three times a week, as well as match play at Schroeder Tennis Center. I also do private lessons every other week with Mindy Yoder. In addition, I do tournaments around every other weekend.”

“Since I am still new to tennis, I have so many things that I can continue to learn. That is why I take private lessons so that Mindy can teach me new skills and techniques to improve my game. I can then apply these abilities at group lessons to strengthen them.”

One of the biggest positives Darner takes away from the team’s success they have achieved is the bond this group has put together, keeping the solid winning success they have enjoyed.

“Every single person on the team last year made me want to keep playing,” he said. “The main reason for this was because of the amount of team bonding days coach held throughout the year. We had team lifting during the winter where we all motivate each other and some days we even got to play some basketball in the gym, where we all had such a fun experience.”

“Some days, we would have team dinners where we could strengthen the bond. We had days where we would play fun games, and we even had a March Madness Bracket competition. The highlight of team bonding days, however, is the annual table tennis tournament. We always dedicate one day before the season where we all bring food to someone’s home and play a ping pong tournament.”

Heading into his junior season, Darner is aiming for the top singles spot on the roster and has been training to get that chance.

“I just want to have a shot to get the spot,” he said. “Even if I can’t make that happen, second singles is another opportunity for me to get the best tennis experience I can have. As a team, there is not much I want to change. Being one of the youngest on the team last year, I was able to chill and experience so many great memories with the boys.”

“With this season being my second varsity year, I want to give great memories to the people moving up so they can have the same positive exposure. I believe that next year can be even better than last year, and I hope everyone on the team is able to achieve so much with the leadership of Nick and me.”