Though relatively small in numbers among spring sports teams, DC boys tennis has no small reputation. Last year, the team went undefeated in the BAL, winning a tight match against Holy Ghost Preparatory School in the district semifinals. Only after it had advanced to the finals was the team defeated by Lower Moreland, concluding the season at an impressive 12-4 record. 

This year, boys tennis has once again gone undefeated thus far, with a current record of 9-0. Recently, the team won 3-0 against Bishop Shanahan High School, which was expected to be one of the team’s greatest opponents. Unsurprisingly, the team has set its sights on winning the district finals and advancing to states. 

As many may be wondering, just what exactly is the key to this small team’s success? The answer lies in several areas; one is coaching. This band of boys has been blessed with three enthusiastic coaches, all of whom are fathers of current DC tennis players: Mr. Jim Pitofsky, Mr. Wayne Ho, and Mr. John Levis. “I've loved the game of tennis since I started playing when I was five,” Coach Pitofsky exclaims, “initially because I got to play with my parents and my older brothers, and they pretended I was better than I was.” Now, having gained a life’s worth of experience at the game, Coach Pitofsky adds, “What I really love is coaching the strategy and the mental aspects of the game.”

Another key reason for the team’s success is the relationships that have formed it. In fact, the team began as a result of a shared vision between current seniors Matthew Levis and Daniel Ho during their freshman year. Before this time, a boys tennis team had not existed at DC for several years, but, as Daniel explains, “Matthew and I worked together with Mr. Sax and Mr. Levis to start the team.”

 “[At] our first interest meeting, we had just three people,” Daniel admits. However, by reaching out to students needing sports credits as well as soccer players in their off-season, they were able to grow the team. This year, the team experienced what Daniel calls “almost the opposite problem,” in which some players had to be cut from the team. Now, Daniel and Matthew serve as team captains and also represent the team’s top players, playing first and second singles, respectively. Both hope to advance to states as a first doubles pair. 

 “That first year, a lot of us didn’t really know what we were doing,” Daniel recounts. “We were playing at some random elementary school’s tennis courts.” However, Daniel explains that this informal environment led to fun times and strengthened bonds between players. Moreover, the team continued, as Daniel puts it, “that informal sense of just a bunch of friends having fun,” even as matches became more critical. 

This relaxed attitude has likely contributed greatly to the team’s success because, as Daniel observes, “The more you play with a freedom and joy, the better you end up playing.” Coach Pitofsky affirms this viewpoint as he explains that his chief method of improving the team is “to help them play loose, with free hearts, rather than play with fear.” Furthermore, he continues, “Some have already seen the difference… playing tentatively and playing ‘not to lose,’ they have fallen behind.” On the other hand, when these same athletes “played loose and not with fear, they won almost every game.”

“I think it’s cliché,” Daniel admits, but he advises future tennis players to “just have fun.” “It’s so easy to get in your own head when you play tennis,” he adds. Coach Pitofsky voices a similar desire for personal growth among the team’s rising players. “What really matters to me,” he explains, “is that they grow as players and young men, and that they enjoy the game of tennis.”