Lily Egan has always played soccer. She kicked around the ball starting when she was only 3 years old, and until she was 15. She never stopped. This was all going great, until her sophomore year of high school.  

Lily’s sophomore year soccer team started out great! She made JV with a bunch of her friends and was super excited for the season to start. She was playing midfield, specifically defensive mid, and was doing great. Her team started to get a flow as the season went on, but there was one problem. Their keeper. The keeper that tried out and made the team had some complications with playing, but her attitude made things worse. She would complain almost every time she had to be in goal and would try to make any excuse not to play there. So, Lily being the team player she is, stepped up. She had played a little bit as goalie her freshman season and club team, so she had some experience. She started playing at least 1 half in goal every game, until the keeper on varsity got hurt. It was so many people’s dreams to move up to varsity, but for Lily, this was not the case. She didn’t want to have to play goalie for the rest of the season, especially against varsity players. But she got called up, so she had to go. This was her final straw in soccer. It made her realize that she had lost the previous love she had for the sport. However, she promised herself she would finish out her club season. So once high school games ended, she played until club tryouts came around in the spring. She knew it was the right decision, even if it was hard to leave her teammates and friends. Now she could focus on what she was passionate about, tennis.  

Lily had dabbled in tennis throughout her life; she had taken numerous camps when she was younger and would occasionally play with her mom. She realized, once she left soccer behind, that she could really start to improve her skills.  

Highschool tennis starts up in the spring so with club ending at the same time she realized this would be a perfect opportunity to join a team. She had previously played her freshman year and really enjoyed the community she made on the team. She thought the seniors especially were very welcoming. This broke some of the nerves she had about coming back to the sport. Lily had a great tryout and made JV giving her the ability to really focus on her skills. She competed in matches every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with practices on Tuesdays and Fridays. Once the season was over, she officially decided to start dedicating her time to the sport. She got a personal trainer and would often go play with her mom. This made Lily’s skills start to skyrocket.  

With the improvement Lily was making, this gave her the confidence to start enrolling in local tournaments. She will play her first tournament soon and continue to grow her skills as she keeps playing! The sky is the limit for Lily Egan and her tennis journey.