Playing tennis before high school is not very common, being that it’s usually not offered in middle school and there are not as many team opportunities because of its unpopularity at such a young age. For Cabuyadao, this is not the case.
Cabuyadao has been playing tennis since she was seven and has always had an interest in the sport. Much of her dedication comes from her biggest inspiration, Serena Williams. Williams is an American professional tennis player who is very accomplished.
“She is my inspiration because she is always so motivated to play,” Cabuyadao said. “She always makes me want to improve. [Williams] may have recently lost, but she played a good match and she is going to keep practicing to make up for that.”
Cabuyadao started playing more competitively in her freshman year of high school. Now, she jokingly calls her serves her “Serena serve” to keep her enthusiasm going. Since then, her abilities have developed a lot since first seeing her idol on T.V.
“My first impression of Joey was that she was a squirrelly freshman,” junior varsity coach Katherine McNeill said. “[She had] a lot of potential and a natural ability to lead, but she didn't know it yet.”
McNeill is very passionate about her coaching position at Antioch. Her experience allows her to put herself in her players’ shoes and really knows what skills are important to have as an athlete.
“Her competitive nature and passion can cause her to become easily frustrated if she is making mistakes,” McNeill said. “It's easy for kids to feel defeated if they are losing and have to come from behind, but it's not uncommon for Joey to come back for a victory after being down because [her] best quality is that she doesn't give up.”
Building good relationships with the people on a team is very influential on how an athlete plays, making it an important part of being on a team. Leadership is a huge part of being an athlete and Cabuyadao works hard in all aspects to be a good teammate. She often plays doubles with sophomore Audrey Selander.
“Joey is always encouraging everyone,” Selander said. “She works really hard at making sure everyone is included no matter what we’re doing. She always makes everyone laugh at tournaments to make time fly by quicker.”
While the fall is Cabuyadao’s time to strive in tennis, she also plays two other sports. She plays basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring. Being a three sport athlete can help her develop those leadership skills even further.
“It is important to play multiple sports to become a well-rounded athlete,” McNeill said. “To specialize in something is fantastic, but to be able to take those skills and be successful in another sport is an important life skill.”
Cabuyadao was moved up to varsity this season, but isn’t going to settle for anything less than what got her there.
In the future, Cabuyadao is going to continue to set the bar even higher because she wants to continue to accomplish more throughout her high school career and eventually show her leadership and determination at the collegiate level.