Maddux Foster doesn’t lose very often on the tennis courts.
That’s because the Andrews junior went 42-1 this spring season.
What’s even scarier for the rest of Class 4A is that he’ll be back next year.
His only loss came in the Class 4A State Championship against Anna’s Abdulraheem Isa.
Despite the loss, it was a historic season for the Mustang tennis program and for Foster.
“It means a lot to me,” Foster said of this season. “It means that what it shows is all the hours of hard work and dedication that not only I have put in but also my dad and coach have put in me with practice and all the efforts and my parent taking me to outside tournaments, outside of school. It means everything to me.”
This year, Foster was the first Andrews tennis player to ever reach the state finals in school history and the first to get past the first round of the state tournament.
Earlier in the spring, Foster repeated as the District 3-4A champion and went on to win the UIL 4A Region I singles championship a week later.
Winning District was to be expected for Foster. But at regionals, after that last point that clinched the title for him, he said it was a surreal experience.
“I couldn’t believe that I had won region because it was the first time that an Andrews kid had won regionals in 13 years,” Foster said. At that moment, it was everything I worked for. I couldn’t believe it.”
With only one loss this season, there weren’t too many low points of the season for Foster.
However, he did struggle a little bit with form at the start of the spring.
“Early on in the season, I struggled a lot with injuries,” Foster said. “It kind of affected my mental game a little bit. Through those early matches of the season, I had to fight through those. There were not only physical battles but mental battles as well. Later on in the season, knowing that, in region and state, I had to play better than my previous match. I was going up against these bigger players from bigger schools. I really had to buckle down and forget the last point, if I missed a shot, and continue. It was one point at a time.”
At the state meet in San Antonio last week, Foster advanced past the quarterfinals with a victory over Robinson’s Kaden Slider (by scores of 6-1, 6-0).
Foster then defeated Wimberley’s John Moore (6-4, 7-5), setting up his dual in the state final.
Now comes the offseason part of the season.
“For the offseason, we work out and condition and get our bodies strengthen so that those early injuries don’t happen,” Foster said. “There’s also a lot of mental conditioning and focusing on the technicality of the game. For me, when I’m practicing outside of school, it’s just working on that technical aspect and mental aspect of the game. That offseason is very important.”
With one more year left before graduating, Foster aims to play in college hasn’t yet decided on a school yet.
“I’m still deciding,” Foster said. “I would like to play for UT-Arlington or UT-San Antonio. Those are two of the schools where I would love to play at the moment.”
He’s hoping to go into a sports science major and be a coach.
Foster has earned plenty of praise from his head coach Ricardo Garcia.
“One of the things is that he’s not only following his family but also everyone around him because he carries himself with class,” Garcia said of Foster. “When I first got here, he did his homework on me. That tells me the type of person he is. That’s the kind of person you want from everyone. I tell everyone that I don’t want you to be like Maddux. I want them to learn from Maddux and learn his work ethic and his love for the game. Stay humble and love this game. I couldn’t be more proud of Maddux. He’s something else.”
Foster is eager for what should be an unforgettable senior season next school year which will begin with the team season in the fall and the singles in the spring.
“The goal for next year is to play the best that I can and be a team leader as one of the few seniors next year,” Foster said. “I need to set the example for the younger classes to work hard and stay humble and trusting in the coaching staff. I’m also looking forward to playing college ball.”
