TAMPA, Fla. — It’s a good thing for the sport of tennis that Jack Satterfield hates to swim, because if water had been his thing, the tennis world would have missed out.

“I got into a swim and tennis club and I took some swim lessons and I hated swimming,” Jack said. “So I just went over to the tennis courts and I loved it. And I’ve never looked back.”

The Plant High sophomore has been moving ahead in this sport since he was 5 years old. He says there’s just something about tennis that makes him feel at home on the court.

“I love it cause you’re out here by yourself and you can really only rely on yourself and you’re like the only one to blame,” Jack said. “It’s really an individual sport. It’s really fun.”

Jack’s passion is paying off in a big way. Only a sophomore, he’s already added a state championship to his resume, winning the Class 4A title at the recent FHSAA Tennis State Championships.

The Plant boys bowed out in the quarterfinals of the team competition, but Jack advanced all the way to the finals where he won in straight sets. He says getting that gold medal meant everything to him.

“It was really a feeling like no other,” Jack said. “You know, it just felt really complete. It felt really refreshing, all the hard work paid off. Felt like, I kind of earned it and it felt well deserved.”

But he says winning once isn’t enough — Jack says he wants to win many more, and he wants to continue playing at the next level and one day professionally.

He says he's learned a lot about himself through tennis and hopes to continue that education.

“You’ve got to be mentally tough to play tennis,” Jack said. “So I kind of learned how to stay focused always.”