Indianola’s Bryson Rehmeier didn’t start swinging the racket until he was in ninth grade. He just wanted something fun to do after school and to stay in shape for baseball.”My freshman year, I was bottom of the JV, just having fun with my friends,” he said. Rehmeier fell in love with it. That led to him taking lessons that summer and working incredibly hard on his new craft.”After freshman year, I just heard these stories from other students that Bryson played all summer and long, and he was beating everybody that was varsity the year before,” said Indianola tennis coach Jamie Busby. “He came into that sophomore season, and he had put the work in.”He got to play actual varsity matches his sophomore and junior year, getting better and better. He still wound up losing in Round One of districts each time.Last week, the senior had one final chance to qualify for the State Meet, needing to win his semifinal match to earn one of the two spots. He came back from a 4-1 deficit and wound up winning in straight sets. Now he’s off to State, capping off an unlikely journey. In a sport where players start at a young age, relatively inexperienced guys like Bryson hardly ever crash the party.”It’s incredibly rare,” Busby said. “He is going to be up against a lot of guys at the State Tournament that have played since elementary school. Guys that play year-round and play inside in the winter. For him to be in just his third year playing is just incredible.””Seeing that excitement on everyone’s face was pretty fun,” he said.That’s the only reason he’s out here: To have fun. How many players in this year’s state bracket sound like this?”I’m not too determined on going too far in this. Just making it to State was my goal. I accomplished my goal.” That no-expectations, no-pressure mindset may seem crazy in this hypercompetitive world, but there might just be something to it.”His way of thinking of going out and having fun is what got him into State,” Busby said. “We should not lose sight of having fun in sports that can take you a long ways.”He’s the first Indianola player in a decade to qualify. State singles and doubles start in Iowa City for 2A, and Waterloo for 1A

INDIANOLA, Iowa —

Indianola’s Bryson Rehmeier didn’t start swinging the racket until he was in ninth grade. He just wanted something fun to do after school and to stay in shape for baseball.

“My freshman year, I was bottom of the JV, just having fun with my friends,” he said.

Rehmeier fell in love with it. That led to him taking lessons that summer and working incredibly hard on his new craft.

“After freshman year, I just heard these stories from other students that Bryson played all summer and long, and he was beating everybody that was varsity the year before,” said Indianola tennis coach Jamie Busby. “He came into that sophomore season, and he had put the work in.”

He got to play actual varsity matches his sophomore and junior year, getting better and better. He still wound up losing in Round One of districts each time.

Last week, the senior had one final chance to qualify for the State Meet, needing to win his semifinal match to earn one of the two spots. He came back from a 4-1 deficit and wound up winning in straight sets. Now he’s off to State, capping off an unlikely journey. In a sport where players start at a young age, relatively inexperienced guys like Bryson hardly ever crash the party.

“It’s incredibly rare,” Busby said. “He is going to be up against a lot of guys at the State Tournament that have played since elementary school. Guys that play year-round and play inside in the winter. For him to be in just his third year playing is just incredible.”

“Seeing that excitement on everyone’s face was pretty fun,” he said.

That’s the only reason he’s out here: To have fun. How many players in this year’s state bracket sound like this?

“I’m not too determined on going too far in this. Just making it to State was my goal. I accomplished my goal.”

That no-expectations, no-pressure mindset may seem crazy in this hypercompetitive world, but there might just be something to it.

“His way of thinking of going out and having fun is what got him into State,” Busby said. “We should not lose sight of having fun in sports that can take you a long ways.”

He’s the first Indianola player in a decade to qualify. State singles and doubles start in Iowa City for 2A, and Waterloo for 1A