A home game was already well underway. There were many matches and numerous players, but I couldn’t help but notice this one athlete in particular.

This tennis player was a small girl battling it out against another. At first it seemed she was getting tired, but she wasn’t. This girl continued to give it her all. Her name? Julia Thomas.

Another time, when the Cougars played Magnolia West, I noticed Thomas playing. So much emotion pours from her when she plays, it begins to infect others watching.

At no point did I see Thomas holding back. Yet what made things more interesting was how she left the court. All the emotion seems to fade away. The only evidence she had even played was the sweat running down her freckled face.

When Thomas plays against her fellow teammates, however, emotion still pours from her, but instead it’s not of competitiveness, but of happiness.

“I’ve been playing tennis for the past eight years,” Thomas said.

She stared playing tennis at the age of 7. Her commitment to a sport is something I’m truly jealous of. She’s passionate. She truly loves tennis.

Thomas is just a sophomore, yet is an equal among the seniors. That’s why she’s the Upstart.

If this is how great Thomas is now as only a sophomore, she could very well be a Tomball legend by the time she becomes senior.