By Nima Movassaghi

Yet another year at Weil has passed. When I woke up today, I had a hard time believing that I’m already a senior in high school. I still remember walking in the doors for the first time two years ago; slouching, chin down, biting my nails. It’s been a journey to this point; each year has a full set of highs, with a full set of equally powerful lows. You might beat a high caliber player in a tournament, then lose to a much weaker player the next two tournaments. So it goes.

This year was the best year of my life. When I arrived on campus the first week of August, I had an injury that had me pushing my fingers on an injured foot rather than pushing me to a new level physically and mentally. As the fall progressed, I had a few nice wins to compliment a perfect GPA in the classroom. Second semester came and my level of tennis got a huge boost after years of hard work. I felt myself competing with everyone in the academy and there were no longer insurmountable challenges. I built from the wins, and learned from the emotional losses. I put in extra hours in the gym and on the court, working to close the gap between myself and the top of Southern California tennis. Off the court, the bond between the academy was strong as a rock. I really felt like I had 50 brothers every day when I went back to the dorms.

I spent the last five weeks of summer at Weil, training for my senior year, as did the majority of incoming seniors. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year came three weeks ago as I qualified for Boys 18s Southern California sectionals; the toughest sectional tournament in the United States.

I’m looking forward to competing at home for a few weeks before returning to Weil in August, hungry to be placed into one of my dream schools. New experiences will be ahead; a new roommate, new faces, a new dorm layout, new courts. Most of all though, I’m looking forward to being a leader. On and off the court, I strive to be an example of how student-athletes should carry themselves. I’m proud to say I’ll get to spend another year at Weil as I prepare for college and college tennis.