Players build chemistry, encourage each other

Juniors Nick LeBlanc and Damien Boyce are multi-sport athletes at FC. Basketball has been a part of both of their lives since they were young, but last year, they chose a new endeavor, tennis. High school tennis consists of a relatively small team and LeBlanc and Boyce have managed to secure varsity placement.

Joining tennis sophomore year for both of these players as beginners, they have been on the varsity tennis team for two years and have been teammates on the basketball court for several years. With this in mind, tennis coach Robert Foshee immediately put LeBlanc and Boyce together to begin their tennis careers.

“Damien and Nick are both really good athletes and we saw that from the beginning of last year,” Foshee said. “They still had to learn some skills in tennis but they could get to balls that other players couldn’t get to with their athleticism.”

Leblanc has enjoyed competing alongside Boyce for many years. Now as they also play tennis together, he knows Damien is someone he can trust.

“I’ve worked with Damien and I’ve played basketball with him,” LeBlanc said. “And throughout the years I’ve learned to trust him so it’s kind of the same on the tennis courts because I know where he will be and when he will come through and score the pointS for us.”

They started out playing junior varsity games, but with their athleticism and driven spirit they were ready to take on higher levels. They went undefeated in all their JV games and won most of those matches 8-0 or 8-1. Foshee knew that this group was destined for much more so he gave them a shot at a varsity game their first year, pushing them stepped up to the challenge.

“The pressure was hard to deal with but the Bible really helped me get through it,” Boyce said. “I was able to calm my nerves by reading it and then perform really good to win the game.”

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Before they were winning matches together, LeBlanc and Boyce were little league players on different sports teams. All their lives they have been involved with sports teams whether it be basketball, football, baseball or soccer. Joining the tennis team for both proved to be a way for their team mate chemistry to grow as well as their love for sports.

LeBlanc was ready for more activity after basketball season ended and thrived for more sports, so with that mindset he went out for tennis.

“Last year after basketball season was done, I didn’t really have anything to do, so I thought I’d go out and give tennis a try,” said LeBlanc. “I found that I actually really love it and that’s why I continue to play today.”

Together, LeBlanc and Boyce have won a majority of their games together and continue to impress the coaches. This year they have both moved up in the ladder, putting LeBlanc at no. 5 singles. This year the duo proved their skills, winning important match deciding games.

For more information on the boys tennis team, check out: Tennis team seeks consecutive league title

This author can be reached via twitter: @Julian_Castro09 and via email [email protected].