Before Lyford’s Nick Martinez begins any of his tennis matches, the spiritual 6-foot-1 senior steps onto the court, heads over to the end of the baseline and quietly gets on one knee. He closes his eyes, drowns out the clamorous environment and says a quick prayer.
He asks God to give him peace, keep him free from injury and, above all else no matter what, never let him lose focus of the task at hand.
For Martinez, tennis has always been a substantial part of his life. When he was just 8 years old, he would linger around the very same high school tennis courts he plays on now and just take in his surroundings.
In fact, he hung around the tennis courts so much that head Lyford coach David Lopez vividly remembers the then third-grader clasping the fence and watching his older brother practice every day after school, eagerly waiting for the clock to hit 6 p.m. so he could join in.
“I still remember him coming to the courts and hanging outside the fence wanting to play,” said Lopez. “I would tell him ‘you can’t come in yet, son. You’ve got to wait until practice is over.’ He was always so eager to come in.”
Eight years later, Martinez is no longer on the outside looking in, but on the inside looking at what lies ahead.
This season, Martinez qualified for the UIL Class 3A state tournament once again, only this year he made it in the boys singles division. Last year as a junior, Martinez qualified for the state tournament in mixed doubles.
“It’s new, but at the same time I know what to expect at a high level like that,” said Martinez. “It is a lot different than a normal tennis match because there are a lot more schools, a lot more people and the atmosphere is very competitive. Last year I didn’t know what to expect and sadly we lost in the semifinals; but we didn’t really lose we learned something.
“And that experience is what allowed me to adapt and grow, not only as an athlete but as a person. Going to state this year really means a lot because of all the sacrifices I had to make and all the obstacles I had to overcome.”
As Martinez explained, what he learned is that this year he feels more confident and calm going into the tournament. Completely the opposite of how he felt last season, when doubt and uncertainty began to settle in before taking the court.
“At state you can feel the high intensity level of play,” said Martinez. “The atmosphere is very cut-throat because if you lose you lose; it’s something very hard to explain unless you’re there. Even witnessing it you can feel how intense it is.
“Last year I was very nervous and I was already doubting myself and settling for any medal. And that was where I made a very big mistake because we had a very close first match, but in the semifinals we lost momentum and the atmosphere took over, and I couldn’t crawl back out of it and we lost.”
Martinez will take the court on May 18 at 8 a.m. at the GeorgeP.MitchellTennisCenter and Omar Smith Intramural Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.
