KIRBYVILLE, Texas — A Kirbyville High School teenager is constantly and currently overcoming the odds even though he said he knows many did not believe he could.
Hunter Foster is a senior at Kirbyville High School and has a passion for tennis.
“He really wants to win, and he plays as hard as he can every time he steps on the court,” Dianna Caston, Kirbyville High School head tennis coach, said.
Foster's passion for tennis began when he started playing it on his WII when he was 6 years old. However, the sport has not always come easy for him.
Foster has cerebral palsy. It has left the right side of his body restricted
“I don't think it’s ever held me back” Foster said. “I think it’s just been me thinking that it's holding me back.”
Foster cannot move his right toes and has limited control over his right fingers.
“I had to work a lot with my toss,” Foster said. “It’s still not perfect either. It still goes behind me. When I get done playing after a long match, I usually have to go home and take off my shoes and just like ice it out, the scars and the bruises I get on my foot."
Foster said the obstacles he has faced only made him work harder. In addition to hours-long practices with his team on weekdays, he attends private weekend lessons.
Foster said the hours of practice he puts in gives him the confidence he needs to win.
“Varsity tennis team, freshman year, I would feel like, 'Awe man, I'm never going to be as good as these guys,'" Foster said. "I started trying my best, and now I want to say, I'm near the same level as everyone on my varsity team."
His coach said the confidence shows.
“Midway through the year he came and talked to me and said, 'I really want to try singles,' because he really wants to depend on himself,” Caston said.
Before every game, set, and match, Foster focuses on one point at a time.
"I just keep telling myself try your best, try your best, play smart and do your best," Foster said.