Cumberland County Lady Jets tennis head coach David Walker said the team’s success this season cannot be measured by wins and losses alone.
Instead, Walker said he emphasized growth, effort, and mindset as the true benchmarks for his team.
“Our goal going into a match is for each individual to do the best that they can and to teach double attention the best they can and to see improvement over the last match,” Walker said. “And by that metric, I think we did amazingly.”
That perspective has shaped the Lady Jets’ approach throughout the season, particularly as the team navigated adjustments and adversity. Despite those challenges, Walker said he remained consistent in how he coached and evaluated his players.
“Putting the win-loss record aside, I was really happy with the way all the girls played this year,” Walker said.
Rather than focusing on overall match outcomes, especially in situations where depth or numbers created difficult matchups, Walker said the team zeroed in on competing within each individual contest.
“Knowing the overall match can’t be won, we count it as the matches that we play, are we going to beat the players that we meet,” Walker said. “It’s a mental outlook of going to compete with what we have, and winning the mental game as well as the physical game.”
The Lady Jets wrapped up their regular season Tuesday against White County, closing a campaign that Walker said showcased resilience, improvement, and a commitment to competing at every level.
