Nicholas Hamlin Tennis Memorial Scholarship

$1,000
2 winners, $500 each
Open
Application Deadline
Mar 30, 2024
Winners Announced
Apr 30, 2024
Education Level
High School
Recent Bold.org scholarship winners
Eligibility Requirements
Education Level:
High school junior or senior
Sports Experience:
Tennis
Education Level:
Sports Experience:
High school junior or senior
Tennis

Nick Hamlin was a beloved father who loved to play and coach high school tennis. 

Tennis and other high school sports can instill a myriad of valuable qualities in their players. From time management to leadership and teamwork skills to perseverance, tennis can help students become well-rounded individuals who are driven to succeed.

This scholarship seeks to honor the memory of Nick Hamlin by supporting students who play tennis. 

Any high school junior or senior who plays tennis may apply for this scholarship opportunity.

To apply, tell us what you’ve learned from tennis and how this has shaped your future.

Selection Criteria:
Ambition, Boldest Bold.org Profile
Published July 25, 2023
$1,000
2 winners, $500 each
Open
Application Deadline
Mar 30, 2024
Winners Announced
Apr 30, 2024
Education Level
High School
Recent Bold.org scholarship winners
Essay Topic

What have you learned from tennis, and how has this shaped your future?

400–600 words

Winning Application

Makayla Gale
University of Colorado BoulderFountain, CO
From my first week of playing tennis, I knew I would fall in love with the sport. My school district did not offer tennis before high school, so my tennis journey started during my first year of high school. For the past four years, tennis has been the most meaningful activity in my life. I experienced the highest of highs while playing tennis and learned several priceless lessons. My tennis experience started rough. The day after my first match, my tennis season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I did not even get a month into playing tennis before the pandemic took everything, and I could not play for months. I had prepared immensely to play competitively during the season but was restricted by having surgery. Three months before my second tennis season, I had surgery on my spine to cure my scoliosis. While I still competed during that season, I was not performing at the same level as before. I will battle the effects of the spinal surgery for the rest of my life. When playing tennis, I can not twist my torso and hips as much to hit powerful groundstrokes. This lack of mobility was initially a significant disadvantage against my competitors because my hits were easier to receive. I was dissatisfied with my tennis abilities, so I got personalized help to refine my tennis strategies. My former tennis coach taught me to highlight my strengths as a competitor and minimize my weaknesses. I have high stamina from playing sports throughout my entire life. I learned that I do not have to win the point as quickly as possible; I only have to keep the ball in play until my competitor makes a mistake. I do not have to hit the ball hard and fast to keep playing the point. Accuracy and precision became my main focuses in practice. I prioritized hitting the ball in places that would make it difficult for my opponent to return the hit. This strategy was the most effective while playing singles matches because there is less court that one person can cover compared to two. To add power back into my groundstrokes, I learned to lift my back leg during my follow-through to compensate for my little mobility. This adjustment allows me to gain force from the twisting motion without only twisting my upper body. My tennis capabilities improved significantly after learning to highlight my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. This tennis season, I made second doubles on my school's varsity team. Previously, the highest level I had competed at was high JV. Aside from tennis, I have highlighted my strengths and minimized my weaknesses in the classroom. While studying for a subject, I will try to relate the concepts I comprehend to the information that confuses me to better my understanding of all of the facts. In the past, I would drill myself on unfamiliar topics until I forced a basic understanding. I have saved hours of studying using this new method, and my test scores have reflected the increase in my comprehension. This study technique should serve me well in college, where time management is vital to academic success. Looking back at my journey, I am proud that I persevered through my hardships. With the funds from this scholarship, I can use the lesson I learned in tennis to help me be successful in college. I intend to play tennis along with majoring in engineering. I am excited to see what new lessons I can learn from playing my favorite sport.
Lucy Rothe
The University of AlabamaLongmont, CO
For the past five years, tennis has been an integral part of my life. Played by multiple other relatives, tennis is a family sport which was my introduction to the tennis world of support and compassion, as well as how fortunate I am to have access to it. I must recognize my privilege in being able to play tennis. Tennis is not an easily approached sport, given the rudimentary $100 cost of acquiring a racket. In addition, teams and tournaments often have fees to join that can quickly add up. Prospective players must have access to an open court to play, which is rare in cities and seldom free of cost. Tennis is not abundant in money, attention, and resources outside of the professional sphere, so it is difficult to help those who cannot afford to play. Based on my own experience, tennis is the sport at my school that receives the least care from our athletic department. Last spring, we earned the best record of any spring sport, yet we still had our administrators complaining about having to support us. This inequality is made worse by the fact I play on a girls' team because these sports are disproportionately excluded from resource allocation and attention. Over my five years with this sport, I have witnessed some of its greatest heartbreaks. Teammates of mine have played with broken and cheap rackets, used beat-up sneakers instead of proper tennis shoes, and had incorrect gear. I watched my teammates have to put themselves at greater risk of injury or give up the sport entirely as they were unable to afford it. It has been my pleasure to teach many people how to play tennis or to improve their skills since my sophomore year, and it has been my privilege to provide coaching feedback to my teammates and fellow players for free. I joined the boys' team as a manager at the beginning of my junior year. In this role, I continued to give feedback and coaching to the players. I continued as a manager for the boys' team and led the team's social media during my senior year. I used social media as a method to recruit potential players and encourage participation. Higher team participation would lead to more funding and resources from the school and district, meaning that, hopefully, the inequality would lessen. The wealth gap in this sport is disheartening and unfortunate, but it is an issue I want to continue to work on whenever possible. As a result of seeing people who lack these opportunities due to money or resources, I strive to live a life of service to others. At some point, I hope to work with women and underrepresented communities within the world of sports. The work I have started to do is nowhere close to finished because there are still a plethora of instances of inequality within tennis. When I play the sport for my final time this spring, I will likely have teammates facing obstacles. Service has been an essential part of my life for as long as I can remember which compels me to help those less fortunate than myself. There is true kindness in giving to others. As Luke 6:31 instructs, “do to others as you would have them do to you.” In kindergarten, it is taught that this is the golden rule that we should follow. However, I believe and want to show that charity is a cardinal duty of being human. Helping others has been my past and present, and I am determined to make it part of my future.

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Mar 30, 2024. Winners will be announced on Apr 30, 2024.