SHS tennis takes second at Valley

The Shafter High School girls varsity tennis team claimed second place at the Division IV Valley Championship Central Section last Tuesday at Cesar Chavez High School in Delano.

Coach Jorge Maldonado, a 32-year Shafter High School soccer coach, social studies teacher for 27 years, MEChA club advisor and LISTOS program advisor, brought a fresh approach to the team in his first season as their coach.

"It was an outstanding season starting in the summer when we did conditioning. I'm a new coach, so I brought in soccer conditioning, something the girls had never done before. We did a lot of running and conditioning exercises. They were a little hesitant at first to start with a soccer coach, and I wasn't a tennis coach, but they came in ready to work. They grew together and worked hard to get in shape and prepare for a new season. We ended up second place in SSL, with a record of 10 wins and two losses."

The road to the Valley Championship was remarkable. "To get to the Valley Championship, we had an amazing run in the playoffs, coming from behind and winning the first two rounds with a score of five to four. In the semifinals, they had an outstanding team performance, winning the semifinal match six to three. In the championship match, we were close, a little short, but we lost four to five against the number one ranked team, Chavez, while we were ranked number three in the section."

Reflecting on the championship loss, Maldonado said, "Of course, we wanted to come back with the win, but not a lot of people expected us to get that far. The girls did an amazing job stepping up and playing hard, so in the end, as their coach, I am very happy with their performance and proud that they had an amazing winning year. Even though we did not win the championship, it was an outstanding year for the girls."

Maldonado hopes the team takes valuable lessons from this season. "Number one, to have the confidence and self-belief that they can compete with anybody, and hopefully, this carries on not just to next year but to the coming seasons. Not just for one year, but so it becomes a winning tradition."

He also expressed gratitude to his players. "Especially the senior players for allowing me to be their coach and taking a risk with a brand-new coach with no tennis experience." Maldonado added, "I hope the community is proud of how this group of girls represented what Shafter High is all about and how we represented not only our school but the Shafter community as a whole."