Meet the Athlete: Megan Ameele a Tennis Smashing Success

For Megan Ameele, tennis has morphed from a casual elementary-era pastime to a therapeutic core of her life. Ameele is a senior at Sandy High and a member of the varsity girl’s tennis team. Her tennis career is about having fun alongside friends and teammates while continuing to hone her skills.

“I’ve played on the [high school] team for all four years but I did summer camps since like fourth grade,” Ameele said. “But since high school and working with [coach Tom Delaney] that’s when I kind of got good.”
Ameele began playing tennis in her younger years to fill her time, but she has enjoyed developing as a player and as a fan of the sport.

“I want to continue [after high school] for fun. Tennis has become like my therapy; I spend four hours a day at practice just playing – so that’s where my head’s at,” Ameele said.

The opportunities Ameele has had at SHS have also helped expand her athletic horizons.

“We have a couple [coaching staff] who are pros or ex-pros. Tom Delaney is an ex-pro and he has a helper who was semi-pro and competed in a lot of tournaments. They’re implementing a lot of new things in the practices like teaching us more about strategy in the game. Hopefully that’s gonna elevate our game,” she said.

Another unique aspect of Ameele’s tennis experience is her family ties.

“My dad is the head girl’s coach this year. He coached boys last year and the boys’ coaches help coach the girls too. It’s kind of like one big coaching staff for both teams,” she said.

This meshing of teams is another factor that keeps Ameele going.

“The team aspect is great, everybody on the team is super supportive. And it’s not like you really have varsity and JV – you technically do, but it’s about everybody. It’s not a girls’ or boys’ team either; they all mix together,” Ameele said of the team dynamic.

Now, early in the season, Ameele has only a handful of matches under her belt but she aspires to go far. She has high hopes, but keeps at the sport for fun; from her humble beginnings in fourth grade to her reasoning for starting in high school:

“It’s a no-cut sport, so why not?”