LIBERTY HILL, Texas — Shane Pryor didn’t know he would make it as far as he has in his tennis journey.
“I joined and never thought I would be here,” Pryor said. “I always had, in the back of my mind, that I wasn’t going to be able to be on varsity my senior year because I started junior year.”
While he may be new to tennis, he’s already made team captain. Pryor has advice for anyone taking up a new sport, saying, “You have to practice as much as you can because you’re behind so much, so you need to catch up somehow.”
The Liberty High School senior says his love for competition helped fuel his drive. Pryor has learned that playing a team sport is all about building trust. He says that getting to know your teammates builds a relationship so that you can learn their weaknesses and strengths.
Off the court, he balances his school work and maintains a 4.0 GPA. Pryor says he’s managed a system for keeping up with the workload.
“I just stay focused,” he explained. “I have a list of things that I have to do, and just stay after that.”
After high school, Pryor plans to attend Texas State, where he’s been accepted into the Honors College.
The Spectrum News 1 Scholar Athlete Program recognizes exceptional public high school student athletes with academic scholarship awards of $1,000 each for use towards college expenses. If you know a teen you’d like to nominate, click here to learn more.
