The Power of Panther Pride
Just as the leaves change and fall from the trees, signaling that a new season has arrived, we too have ushered in a new season in Athletics. As we say hello to winter sports, we must say goodbye to the fall ones. Fall 2022 proved to be a fruitful season on and off the fields, courts, and courses as the Panthers earned six outright or co- team championships. But as our JV tennis coach, Debbie LeHardy, writes in a reflection on her team’s journey this fall, it is the power of Panther pride that makes every season special.
by Coach Debbie LeHardy, Girls JV Tennis
The season began in sweltering heat with 38 girls vying for positions on The Potomac School’s varsity and JV tennis teams. As an individual sport that is honed and crafted over years of consistent and ever-evolving experience, tennis shows its true colors early and often, with strokes and strategies swiftly emerging to reveal the top players. For Potomac’s storied girls varsity team – historically having claimed several state championships – the player positions were either known or quickly filled as stellar underclassmen grabbed the few available spots on the varsity team.
The JV team tryouts were a mosh pit of fear and focus: fear that one might not patch together enough games to make the team and a focus so fierce as to make each point gut-wrenching.
The JV try-outs went on for days, in temperatures that could fry eggs in the parking lot. When the sweat and tears were dry, the newly minted JV squad began to establish its culture, with the players raising their right hands and stating, “We promise to play with joy, never disparage a teammate, listen and respond to our coaches, show up on time, avoid forming cliques, and make Panther Pride our guide.” It was a great start to what would be a remarkable season.
So what does “culture” have to do with anything? Well – it is a fact that culture exists in every organization where humans roam. Culture is the foundation on which companies, institutions, teams, and even families are built. We determined that our JV culture would include hard work as play, play as a tapestry, and the tapestry as the fiber of our wills to compete. And yes – winning was a bold thread in the tennis textile – weaving itself through our drills, match play, and post-match analysis. As I heard a wise athletic director saying recently, “Our goal is to win, but we want to win the right way.” The JV squad fulfilled their pledge and came away with a 6-2 season – the best in recent memory.
Most importantly, we beat the teams that we should have, learned from our losses, and fought to take down two teams that we had not beaten before – Sidwell Friends and National Cathedral School (NCS). All the while, the Potomac JV girls tennis team remained steadfast in their sportsmanship, lovely in their disposition, and hilarious in their enthusiasm. A terrific example of the power of Panther Pride.