Finding his niche
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By HUGH RIST
For the News & Messenger
Published: April 2, 2008
That’s when he picked up a tennis racket for the first time and once he did, he found what he calls his “happy place.” Now that he has reached his senior year, he’s hoping his happy place will carry him to even more joyous places than he reached last season when he advanced to the regional semifinals in doubles and won the Cardinal District doubles title with his partner, Marek Benda.
Unfortunately for Paul and the Panthers, Benda returned to his native Czech Republic for his senior year, leaving his doubles partner and his teammates to get along without him.
“Losing Marek was major for our team,” Paul said. “But we are looking forward. I think with the young tal-ent we have, we are a force to be reckoned with. I have even talked to players on other teams and they even say Potomac is a team to watch. It should be an interesting season.”
Another interesting thing is how Paul has been able to get so good so quickly. Paul said he first got into the game after watching his cousin, Benjamin Sellers, who eventually played tennis at Virginia Union University.
“I knew tennis had been a great deal for him, helping him get an education, so I figured I would try it,” Paul recalled. “Once I did, I realized it would become my life. I practice three to four hours every day, six days a week, and that doesn’t include my workout sessions at the gym.”
For the hard-working Paul tennis is not a chore at all, but a passion and a stress reliever instead. So endur-ing long days consisting of school, practice and workouts and tackling homework as well as a part-time job comes with the territory.
“During the tennis season, there are endless nights I go to sleep around midnight,” Paul said. “But I really enjoy playing. That is my release. I know school is important, so I have to manage everything around school, tennis and then my job.”
Paul, who enrolled at Potomac to take part in the school’s Cambridge Program carries a grade point average of 3.5. Paul’s intelligence, desire, and hard work have yielded another dividend — an increase in confidence. It is his mentality and confidence that Paul says is perhaps the biggest reason he has come so far, so fast.
“I have been working on improving aspects of my game every year and the thing I am looking forward to this year is working more on my defensive mentality,” Paul said. “I really want to show off my confidence and get better in my reactions.”
Paul, who says he has no idea yet where he will attend college or if college tennis is in his future, says the things he likes most about tennis will enable him to give leadership to his teammates this season.
“I like that tennis is pretty much a single-player game. I’m in control and I’m responsible for what happens in a match,” Paul said. “I want to show (my teammates) that I am not the quickest player or the strongest player. I just want to win. That is the attitude I think coach (Laura Whitman) brought with her when she started to coach us and that is what we need to remember at every match.”
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