QB1. Intramural basketball champion. Stud track athlete. Those are all athletic distinctions held by Lane Kenny, a senior at Ames High School. However to cap off his final year of high school, Lane chose to eschew track in favor of another sport that he is passionate about: Tennis.
Beginning at the conclusion of the track season his junior year, Lane began looking for a new sport to add to his repertoire. Following a search over the summer, and a talk with his close friend Tharun Raju, he decided he would adventure into tennis. Tharun was the star tennis player at Ames High, and if anyone knew the impact being on tennis teams has on someone’s life, it’s him. Tharun introduced Lane to many other new players to tennis who were on the tennis team, one of which is the author of this article.
Throughout the summer, Lane worked with many other new tennis players such as Jones Drury, and both of them began to see the impact that a smaller team sport like tennis could have on their lives. The Ames High Tennis Team had been around for a couple decades, but recently began gaining more and more members in recent years. With daily practices after school, Lane gets to play with new people quite often. “I love how there are so many new young players that can grow alongside me,” Lane said. “It’s truly a fun competitive environment with so many cool people, I can’t imagine my life without it.”
When Lane decided to try out tennis instead of continuing his track career, he never believed that he would enjoy it as much as he has. Lane succinctly added, “joining the Ames High Tennis Team is honestly the best choice I’ve made in my high school life.”