Juan Diego Catholic High School girls tennis coach Heather Foy has had a lifelong relationship with the sport of tennis. She has been passing along that love to her family, including her daughter Lauren, who is a senior on the team.

“These past years have had a different twist with Lauren on the team, but I was excited she wanted to play high school tennis and elated she wanted to play for Juan Diego,” coach Foy, who has been at JD with the boys and girls teams since 2022, said. “As both her parent and coach I considered how we would navigate the tricky terrain of discipline, support and expectations. At practices and matches I am ‘coach,’ not ‘mom.’ I have had to focus on maintaining the same level of objectivity I did with our other players.”

Having her mom in that position has brought a new perspective to Lauren Foy about respecting her coaches. “I’ve always held respect for them, but seeing the amount of hard work they put into each and every athlete is remarkable,” Lauren Foy said. “As I’ve seen what my mom does for the team it makes me love and respect her as a coach and a mom. It isn’t super easy all the time to have her as my coach, but I love it nonetheless.”

Heather Foy was a member of the two-time state champion Judge Memorial during her high school playing days and then enjoyed watching her daughter Caroline compete for her alma mater from 2018 to 2021. Lauren also played for the Bulldogs as a freshman and sophomore before coming to the Soaring Eagle program after the 2022 season. Heather’s 10-year-old daughter Maria also “loves tennis.” During the pandemic, tennis became even more of an outlet for the Foy family to play and be together. “That is something that I treasure dearly,” Lauren Foy said.

Coach Foy said that the time with her daughter Lauren Foy at Juan Diego has also brought them closer. “I have enjoyed the extra time I have been able to spend with her and grateful we can share our teams’ laughs, tears, defeats and triumphs,” Heather Foy said. “One of the things I appreciate about Lauren is her dedication and commitment to the team. As a captain she is setting an excellent example for the young teammates.”

As the JDCHS coach, Foy has brought a philosophy of life lessons which she uses to teach her athletes how to progress. “I believe that sports are symbolic of life. We will always confront adversity, but ultimately it comes down to how we handle those situations,” coach Foy said. “I try to teach resiliency, teamwork, discipline, commitment, respect, integrity and good sportsmanship. I also try to teach them not to be afraid of failure because that is often the catalyst for change and improvement and to persevere to accomplish something despite the level of difficulty.”

Lauren Foy, who has been playing tennis since she was 10 years old, has gained so much from the sport to use on and off the court. “I’ve learned a lot, especially about mental discipline,” she said. “There were so many days when I was younger that I would never want to go play but I learned that I should go for the fact that it is good for me, helping me ‘power on’ even when it’s extremely hard to do so. Soon that would lead to me actually enjoying it. When I began playing high school it had even more of a purpose and as the seasons progressed, I was able to learn how to be a good leader and overall how to communicate with others better.”

Last season, Lauren Foy reached the 3A state semifinal round at No. 2 doubles, paired with Isabel Hopkins. This year, she has played in multiple lineup positions, including second and third singles, with most of her matches in the No. 1 doubles spot with sophomore Sophia Longtain where the pair finished the regular season 4-4.

“Lauren is one of our top players and she hasn’t missed a practice,” Heather Foy said. “She also cheers for her teammates and has made a continued effort to nurture unity within our team.”

At the Region 15 championships Sept. 23-24, Lauren Foy/Longtain placed third at No. 1 doubles while Piper Nordstrand was second at No. 1 singles, Leila Harline and Keira Ahearn/Nicole Morgan were fifth at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles, respectively, and Ananya Kongara was sixth at No. 2 singles. The team placed fourth.

“We have exceptional captains this year in Lauren and Keara and JV captain Brisa Lucero. They organized a night with the seniors where they wrapped the younger player’s uniforms, wrote a nice note, then presented a uniform to each player. This was their way of welcoming them to our tennis family,” coach Foy said. “Our captains started a wonderful tradition for years to come. Our team has been able to build strong friendships and our captains have been a large contributor to that.”

Juan Diego will close out its season at the 3A state tournament Oct. 3-5 at Brighton High School and Liberty Park.

 “I look at all of these ladies like daughters,” coach Foy said. “I have built close bonds with them. They know they can talk to me about anything and that I will always be cheering for them. I believe in each one of them, and I have loved watching our players grow, improve, fight for the win and most importantly believe in themselves.” λ