Heading to the next level
Eshaan Dani, co-captain of the boys’ tennis team, goes through his high school career
Photos by Gavin Chen, Staff Writer
Carter Willis, Staff Writer
Senior Eshaan Dani has been playing tennis since he was old enough to pick up a racket. Fast forward to today, and he is now one of the top-ranked tennis players in Georgia, as well as the co-captain of the Northview boys’ tennis team. Dani, who takes the role of co-captain seriously, enjoys every aspect of it. During his time at Northview, he has become one of the team's key strategists and aimed to have a positive influence on younger players.
Eshaan has played number one singles since his freshman year, the top spot for a player. Each match of tennis is played individually or in doubles; however, the overall team depends on how each player does in their match. So, when Eshaan plays against another school, he is playing against their number one singles player. It is vital to win each match in order for the team to win overall, thus making it important that each player goes against someone that they have a high chance of beating.
“As a senior, and the captain of the team, I have a big influence on the team,” Dani said. “[Being a captain] means I form the lineups to help us fundamentally [based on my tennis experience]. ”
If Dani knows a particular matchup will work better, then his coaches and teammates believe that this contributes to the overall success of the team. Part of how Dani knows which matchup will work is because he knows his own players' abilities very well from constantly playing with them.
“Dani leads captains practices, and off-site practices, on the weekends to get the guys together to do a bit more work,” Mike Dixon, head boys’ tennis coach, said. “It’s great because it’s often hard to evaluate [players] with multiple tennis teams playing on the court [during practice].”
Part of the lineup strategy has Dani playing number one singles, when both top players go against each other individually. Dani has played in this position since he was a freshman and is more than used to it.
“You know as a freshman playing number one singles it did put him in a premier spotlight,” Dixon said. “I think maybe that kind of set him up for that role as a leader once he became a junior and a senior.”
So far, Dani in the premier spotlight has not only been successful but has also aided the team in beating key region rivals such as Chamblee and Blessed Trinity. Every time Dani has played number one singles he has won either 6-0, 6-1, or 6-0-0.
“When Eshaan is on the court he is very intense,” Dixon said. “He is so focused in the zone I barely look or speak to him besides saying, ‘Eshaan do you need some water?’ But the thing is once he is done playing he goes back to being [the leader of the team] being very helpful, talkative, and cracking jokes.”
Dani’s leadership skills originated at a young age when he began playing tennis, but he really grew into the role after joining Northview tennis. Dani’s senior mentorship is felt throughout the program, especially among younger players.
“[Dani’s leadership] has been very present during my time at Northview,” sophomore and junior varsity player Romir Das said. “Even not being on the same team as him I knew he was a good leader from the way he ran tryouts and everyone listened.”
Following in the footsteps of captains that came before him, Dani credits his leadership development to teammate and co-captain Paul Phillip. As co-captains, Dani and Phillip work together to lead extra practices, advise other players, and decide match lineups.
“Logistically we work together to figure out the line-ups as co-captains,” Phillip said. “A big part of being a captain is seeing where players fit in the lineup. I’m very grateful to work with Eshaan and Coach Dixon when deciding the lineups because it is open and collaborative when we decide [the lineups].”
Dani is graduating in the spring and is taking his athletic and leadership skills to Emory University this fall. With Dani currently in a top leadership position on the Northview team, he will soon face the challenge once again: entering a new team as a freshman. Dani is ready to embrace the change.
“It feels really good to represent my school and hopefully leave a mark once I graduate,” Dani said. “Being on the team means a lot, especially my senior year. I’ll be playing for the Emory tennis team next year, and I hope to utilize my experiences [from Northview] to compete at the next level.”
