A mix of nerves and adrenaline is what she feels as she steps onto the court ready to play her first match. All those thoughts and questions that fill her mind are wiped the second her racket is up. Now it’s all eyes on the ball. Catalina McCarthy-Galvan, a fellow tennis player at Conway Jr. High, is no one to mess with on the court. 

It’s safe to say that Catalina has a talent for tennis. Starting from the age of eight, she’s no stranger to the game. But no matter who her opponent may be, it’s giving it to her all that matters to her. Whether if it’s winning or losing, pushing through and getting better is what she strives for. But in Catalina’s eyes having a bad play is just a learning experience for her to help her improve for future matches. She states that while she does try to look at it through this positive light sometimes it just takes being her own “Personal cheerleader” to help her through the tough ones. 

 Apart from herself, it does take some inspiration to help her improve. And in this case, the inspiration for Catalina is in the form of her mom. Catalina’s mom is a reason as to why she and her sister are playing right now. She was a former D1 college tennis player who introduced the sport to both of them. She says that her mom helps her out by giving her lessons on what to improve on and teaching her new things. She looks up to her as a form of inspiration for, she was a great tennis player at her age and hopes to be as good as her. But although Catalina is an amazing athlete as it is, her plans for the future regarding tennis are quite different from expected.

Even though going pro in tennis surely wouldn’t be a problem for McCarthy it isn’t something she quite has in mind. When asked if she would like to play tennis professionally someday, she responded with  “I just couldn’t see myself playing professionally.” However, she followed up by saying that even though she may not be playing professionally she would still like to keep playing in leagues of some sort throughout her lifetime.