There was a slight chill in the air in Springfield, Mo. as freshman Ashley Hayes prepared for her final four match at the tennis state championship, the first to do so in FHC history.

As she stepped up to serve, she felt the pressure of the momentous match, but also the support of her friends, family, and coaches cheering from the stands.

In her first year at Francis Howell Central, Hayes broke records left and right. Her nearly perfect record (22-2) gave her the most matches won by an individual in school history. Adding in her record-breaking doubles wins, she set a third record in combined wins in a single season. Head coach Jeremy Rohrbach explained that Hayes’ unprecedented skill set her apart quickly.

“Honestly, we’ve never had a player like her with her skill, someone who’s been playing their whole life at a very high level. So it’s not only uncommon as a freshman, but just uncommon in general here at Central,” Rohrbach said. ”She stepped on the court, [and] from day one she led the team by example.”

Hayes didn’t feel like a leader from day one, but she found herself among welcoming teammates.

“When I first came, I didn’t really know anybody, so I was pretty nervous, but they just welcomed me,” Hayes said. ”The coach told a couple of them that I was coming, and that I was pretty good, but [then] I started serving. And they were hard. The [team] was like, ‘Wait, what?’”

Hayes’ top spot on the team gave her the opportunity to help her team through her individual success. Sophomore Chloe Horton, Hayes’ teammate and doubles partner, detailed how Hayes’ teammates looked to her to set the tone for the rest of the team.

”We could rely on her to have an extra win or to bring back the energy,” Horton said. “When our other teammates didn’t do as well, Ashley could bring [them] up.”

This ability to rely on Hayes’ success was exciting, but Rohrbach explained how the number one spot put a lot of pressure on Hayes.

“She gets everyone’s best every single match. Around this area, even if the team isn’t strong, the number one has been playing most of their life,” Rohrbach said. “Coming in as a freshman, taking on that responsibility, playing number one singles and number one doubles, there was a lot of pressure on her.”

Hayes said she frequently got nervous before matches, usually making her quiet or giving her a stomach ache.

“I feel like a lot of the time I’m just expected to win, so that’s a little scary,” Hayes said.

Even with this additional pressure, Hayes never lost her love for tennis. She started playing nearly ten years ago, and says she has always wanted to stick with it. The new pressure added this year didn’t deter her in the slightest.

Rohrbach, acknowledging that Hayes “has played more tennis than [he] ever has,” said that his focus while coaching Hayes was on her mental game. Between the pressure built into her number-one spot on the team and the pressure she adds on herself, Rohrbach understood she would likely need more coaching on the mental side of the game.

“[We’re] just trying to build up that mental awareness and mental strength that she needs,” Rohrbach said. “I’ve told her [to] pretend it’s the second set when she goes out, because that’s when she usually turns it on and just destroys people.”

As her doubles partner, Horton also helps Hayes to stay mentally strong. Through their playful jokes and encouraging words during matches, they pull each other up.

“When we’re off the court, we like to make jokes with each other. When we play tennis, we’re just so supportive of each other. If we make mistakes, we just tell each other to shake it off,” Horton said.  “When we play other teams, some of the partners really get down on each other, and it causes them to do worse. But since we… bring each other up, we do better.”

These moments with her doubles partner and her other teammates were among Hayes’ favorites from the year. Despite her many victories, no win was ever greater than the people she celebrated it with.

“[Tennis] gave me a place where I can feel like myself. I have a lot of people who … understand me and who are like me,” Hayes said. “Before, [tennis was] a lot more individual. But now I have a team, and I have a group of people that’s there to support me. It’s just like a family.”

The camaraderie between Hayes and her teammates was one of Rohrbach’s favorite parts of coaching Hayes. He emphasized that he didn’t have to worry about Hayes’ ego, even though she is an incredibly talented athlete.

“There are times when kids are this good and they get to this level and they want to be left alone [by coaches], or [their] sportsmanship isn’t great. But I tell people all the time that [Hayes] is willing to listen… and she never has a better-than-you-type of attitude,“ Rohrbach said. “Ashley is a great player, but she’s a better person, and that’s what we absolutely love about having her.”

This story was originally published on FHC Today on November 7, 2024.