Swinging Rackets, Crafting Content: Who I Am and Where I Came From

A Quick Intro

Hi! My name is Elijah Poritzky and I’m the new social media intern for admissions. I am currently a junior here at Furman. I grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York and lived there until I was about 12 years old.  From a young age I fell in love with the sport of tennis and it has guided my life for the past 15 years. Almost every place that I have traveled and decision I have made has been because of my tennis. Included in this is one of the best decisions of my life, attending Furman University. 

Tennis: A Love That Started Early

When I was young my parents threw me into many different sports to see what I would enjoy the most. It was a rough experience at first. I was scared of being hit by a basketball, I hated the physicality of soccer, and baseball was just boring. My parents put me in a group tennis lesson at the local YMCA. In the first session I fell and scraped my knee which made me never want to go back. My parents convinced me to try a one on one lesson with a local coach at a park. I LOVED it. The coach was genuine and made tennis so enjoyable. I fell in love with the sports and quickly began to improve. As I became better than everyone in my town, my parents and I decided that we had to make a move. 

From Saratoga Springs to the rest of the world

At 12 years old I moved to a tennis academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina called Smith Stearns. This was my first time training full time training program that consisted of 2 hours of tennis in the morning and 2 hours of tennis in the afternoon with a one hour fitness session to follow. This was quite the adjustment for me especially because I was doing online school. I benefited a lot from this high volume training and began to learn how to compete in tournaments. After about a year I started getting less attention from coaches and began just to blend in with others. This made it hard for my game to improve.

I decided to move to California where I knew a very good coach. I had some good training and experiences, however after about a year there, I still did not feel like I was in the right place.

Over the summer I would travel to Mallorca, Spain to play tennis and have a vacation. I met a coach there that was AMAZING. The level of tennis I would play always improved drastically when I would train there. My parents and I decided that Spain was the place that I needed to be. My mom and I moved there with my dad coming to visit occasionally due to his work in the States. My level improved every single day and I began having success in tournaments. I began to travel all throughout Europe and the world to compete. I have no regrets about moving to Spain and without making that decision I would not be where I am today. 

Exploring the Unfamiliar

Ever since I moved away from New York, I always did online school. When I became a junior in high school I started getting emails from college coaches that were interested in recruiting me. My goal was never to go to college however it was always in the back of my head. After talking to a few schools and I was not impressed. I then got a call from the assistant coach at Furman University and had a great conversation. By the end of our talk, I told him I would talk to my parents and consider it in the next few weeks. I finally made the decision that I would go to Furman and then continue my career as a pro tennis player after College.

When I got to Furman I was amazed with the school and the athletics program. I began my freshman year nervous but excited. Two years later I am a junior and gaining knowledge in the world of communications while still playing the sport I love at a high level. Everyday I am at Furman I try to learn something new while improving something that I struggle with. I take great pride in being a social media intern because as a student that never got to visit Furman; pictures and videos are what helped me make my decision. Just like the decision to go to Spain to play tennis, coming to Furman has changed my life for the better. I am excited to see challenges and adventures the next two years will hold.