He was screaming in agony as he laid on the ground of the tennis courts. He turned to look at his hand, and his heart sank.
“What I felt then and there is something that I wouldn’t ever wish on my worst enemy.” Freshman Grant Williams said.
Williams, a tennis player, faced a setback when he broke his dominant right hand in an accident during practice. While the injury felt like the end of his tennis career, it actually changed him as a player and a teammate. Supported by his coach and teammates, Williams overcame physical and emotional challenges, regaining his place on the varsity team.
“It was a challenge no doubt, but my passion for tennis was too strong for me to stop trying to get back up to varsity.” Williams said.
He got his love of tennis from his family and from watching games on the sports channel. He would practice outside in the yard with his older brother or he would binge watch professional matches to see what he could do to better himself.
“Ever since I was young, tennis was the only thing that would make me happy or calm me down after a bad day.” Williams said.
This accident made him not only better, but it also made him realize how caring and supportive his teammates really are to one another.
“It may sound weird but I’m actually grateful that the accident happened to me,” Williams said. “It really transformed me into a better player and teammate than I was before.”
It was a day just like any other. Williams was playing a game against one of his teammates. But before he knew it, he tripped over someone’s gear causing him to lose his balance. He came crashing down on his hand and that’s when he heard it. CRACK. Williams knew that after this incident, he would never perform the same ever again.
“I knew that after that day, every other day to come was just going to keep getting harder,” Williams said. “I didn’t let that stop me from trying to climb my way back up though.”
Even though at times Williams felt helpless and like there was no way he could ever get back on varsity, he kept on showing up to the practices. Every time he’d lose grip of the racket, his teammates were there to pick it up for him. His coach would always say encouraging words to him whenever she noticed that he wasn’t feeling the best. Williams wasn’t fighting on his own.
“It didn’t matter how many times we had to start over because I couldn’t hold the racket or hit the ball correctly—my teammates and my coach were always so supportive of me.” Williams said.
With all of the love and patience he was shown, he soon made his way back up to varsity! After this experience Williams no longer took for granted his functioning hand and started being twice more careful when practicing. He’s now waiting for the next tennis season to start so he can show everyone what he’s made of!
“If it wasn’t for everyone who helped me along the way, I’m not sure I’d still be here out on the court today,” Williams said. “I will always love and remember those who helped me get back up on my feet whenever I thought I’d reached rock bottom.”
