Whether its weeks, months, or even entire seasons, a winning streak is always something to be excited about. For Hannah Clayton, junior at Irwin County High School, an “L” hasn’t found a spot on her record for nearly half a decade. Her last loss on the tennis court was during her sixth grade year.
With such an incredible record, she has quite the assortment of achievements to show off, including two individual state titles as well as three with the team at ICHS. Her consistency of winning is backed by an equally consistent work ethic.
“Tennis is one of those sports where you have to go out all the time, you have to be routine, and you have to be on a schedule,” Clayton said. “I know that if I don’t practice today, then I will suffer the consequences the next day, the next, and maybe even the next because I would have gotten out of my rhythm. I believe one of the things that gets me out there is definitely due to the mechanical side of things.”
Hannah played in 27 tournaments during 2016. Do the math, and that’s about one tournament every other week for an entire calendar year. Even with all the long hours of tennis practice and competition, Hannah still maintains high academic standards. She has a 4.0 GPA and is in the top five of her class. She is also a member of show choir, Beta Club, thespians, FFA, and FCA.
Hannah has verbally committed to compete at the collegiate level in tennis at Erskine College in South Carolina. Knowing well that an athlete’s junior season is typically the time when recruitment happens, she began researching different programs during her sophomore year. After visiting several schools, Erskine’s campus, courses, and coaching staff all seemed to be exactly what she was looking for; however, she chose to not commit until she had met the team. So, she and her dad went on another visit that allowed her to meet the team and then watch them play in a tournament.
“I was sitting there at the tournament, watching a doubles match, eating a Subway sandwich, and all of a sudden I just start bawling my eyes out!” Clayton said. “My dad looks at me and said ‘What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘Dad, I know!’ And he said, ‘Well, I guess you should tell the coach.’”
She verbally committed in September of 2016. Many students will choose a college on a whim or without fully investigating every detail that will most assuredly affect them for four years of their lives, but Hannah seemed to understand the importance of it. She has a weight off her shoulders knowing she is going to the perfect college of her choice, and now she can focus on the rest of her high school play.
Hannah is an outstanding student and tennis player, and that’s partially thanks to her support system. Hannah said that she has never played a match without a family member there to cheer her on, and she knows how lucky she is for that. She also knows that she isn’t the only one working hard to gain achievement in tennis and academics for herself.
“I’d like to give a shout out to my parents,” Clayton said. “I know the one thing probably harder than being a fulltime, year-round athlete is raising one.
Hannah’s dad played baseball in college, and while he certainly understood all that goes into being successful as an athlete, he didn’t know a ton about how to get better at tennis specifically. However, Hannah met her individual coach sort of by chance and fortunately, as professional individual tennis coaches aren’t exactly easy to come by in South Georgia.
“The private coach I have now is actually from New Jersey,” Clayton said. “I ran into him on the tennis court when my dad and I were practicing; he gave me some pointers, and now I see him probably four days a week. I’ve been with him for the past four years.”
With high school practice, private lessons, plenty of tournaments, and hard work in the classroom and other organizations, time for anything else isn’t always available, but Hannah finds that lack of free-time worth it in the end.
“It is kind of hard because I haven’t been able to do as much with friends, but now knowing where I am, and having made a decision with a college in South Carolina, it’s totally worth it,” Clayton said.
When student-athletes are asked to choose a subject in school that they enjoy the most, a positive answer isn’t always the outcome. And there’s no fault there. Like many things in life, school is just something that has to be done, and it’s not necessarily imperative to find it fun as long as you make good grades. However, this wasn’t the case with Hannah.
ITG: What’s your favorite subject in school?
Hannah: That’s a tough one!
ITG: How so?
Hannah: There’s just not one specifically. I like them all!
At Erskine, however, Hannah might find herself attracted to the sciences above all else. She plans to major in biology, get on a pre-med track, and then specialize in anesthesiology.
Irwin County High School | Tennis
ITG South Georgia February 2017
Written by: Sarah Turner | Photography by: Emmanuel Magbanua
Academics, Athletics, and Attitude: Irwin Junior Has All Around Perfect Record
