AOTM: Nicholas Wong
Senior tennis captain Nicholas Wong has spent a large portion of his high school career balancing two varsity sports.
May 22, 2018
When senior Nicholas Wong wasn’t on the soccer field, he was serving up success on the tennis court.
Having played four years on the varsity tennis team, Wong led his teammates through his last season at Diamond Bar High School as a captain.
Finishing off his senior year as a three-year varsity soccer player on top of his role as tennis captain, Wong has been kept active throughout most of his time at DBHS. However, dedicating time to two sports on top of academics has not always been an easy task.
“My schedule throughout the year is going to school, practicing for like two or three hours…go home, shower, eat and then just do my homework for the rest of my night,” Wong said. “That’s what I’ve had to do for four years, it’s hard grinding it out.”
Wong first discovered a passion for tennis when he attended a training clinic at age 12.
“My dad, who used to play tennis, asked me if I wanted to play. So he took me out and coached me,” Wong said.
His said his love for the sport stems from the notion that it’s not only a physically challenging activity, but mentally taxing as well. Every game requires a player’s head to be fully in the moment, ready to strategize and react with speed.
“The game is not necessarily beating your opponent but making sure you don’t beat yourself, just making sure that you stay in it and you never give up,” Wong said. “It’s a really big thinking game; that’s always fun.”
He also appreciates the contrast between his two sports, enjoying tennis partially for its differences from soccer. When the racket’s in hand, Wong plays individually and on a smaller court.
“His mature demeanor, progressive attitude, and work ethic have been key factors at the core of our team. Not to mention his results: MVP doubles with Royce as a junior, all league as a senior, and Ojai CIF tournament entrant two years in a row,” head tennis coach Carl Flint said. “For good reasons he is well liked among team members, so he has become a natural leader when it mattered most.”
According to Wong, his teammates played a major role in motivating him to keep training throughout the seasons.
“As a captain I want to lead them, I want to set an example and I want to motivate them and motivating them is a motivator for myself,” Wong said.
One of his most memorable moments playing tennis for the Brahmas takes him back to freshman year.
“My first year on varsity, I played doubles with another freshman at the time, Michael Tran, and we were having a very close match against Claremont. I remember we were at a tiebreaker and if we won the tiebreaker we won the whole match,” Wong said. “Michael and I were down, but we came back and won the whole thing. That was my favorite memory, just knowing that we came back from behind, and because we won our whole team won.”
Aside from his athletic undertakings at school, Wong coaches for an annual tennis clinic during the summer as well. He also tutors and coaches on the side.
Attending UC Irvine in the fall, Wong does plan to keep up his favorite physical pastimes after graduation. However, he does not intend to join a college team, preferring to seek intramurals or clubs instead.
“In college I definitely want to keep these pursuits alive and have fun, stay in shape, not get freshman 15,” Wong said.
