The whack of a tennis ball. The whiz of a racket. The grunt of a player. The sounds of feet moving rapidly. One of those pair of feet on the Albert Lea High School courts are smaller than the rest. Those feet belong to Taylor Herfindahl.
Herfindahl is only in 8th grade, yet he is on varsity tennis. He is currently the only eighth-grade student playing varsity tennis.
“He worked hard to do it,” said Herfindahl’s brother, Trevor, a junior. Trevor is also on varsity tennis.
Tennis isn’t the only sport Taylor plays. He is also involved in hockey and football.
The younger brother puts up some stiff competition for his older counterpart.
“I’m better at long, full-set matches,” Trevor said. “He’s better at shorter games we practice with.”
The younger brother disagreed.
“We’re pretty equal,” Taylor said.
Tennis is a very independent sport. It is done largely individually, while being part of a team.
“I just have to worry about myself and don’t have to be dependent,” Trevor said.
Trevor Herfindahl hopes to see his brother consistently getting better.
Taylor was selected for his skill, and the decreasing numbers on the team, to be on varsity. He potentially has four more years to play varsity tennis.
At the time of the publishing of this story, Taylor’s most recent match, was on April 24. Taylor played #1 singles, and lost his match.
“I didn’t play the best,” Taylor said. “I expected to get more games off him than I did.”
Taylor hopes to keep improving and become the best he can be at tennis. He also hopes to play tennis the rest of his life.
“I hope to play tennis when I’m older,” he said. “It’s a lifetime sport.”