Faces off the field gives a deeper look into the thoughts and lives of high school student-athletes in the Austin are. Today we feature Daniel Hosek, a junior tennis player from Hutto who aspires to be an auto mechanic at Toyota someday.
All about Daniel: Lasting memories from a summer in Italy
If you could be any superhero, who would you be?
I would be Spider-Man because he helps his neighborhood and the world.
What is the best thing you did this summer?
The best thing I did this summer was take a trip to Italy with my family. This was my first trip out of the United States and also my first time to fly. We went to Florence and Rome with a side trip to Pisa, Modena and Tivoli. It was so cool to see the ruins of Rome and know that they were built before Jesus was born. My family is Catholic, and when we visited all the churches and the Vatican, it was really special.
Outside of tennis, what do you like most about your school?
Outside of tennis, I like my automotive mechanics class because I like to do hands-on work and enjoy tinkering with things. I like to weld and also do some woodworking. I carved a kitchen spoon for my sister for her birthday.
What is your favorite TV show?
I think my favorite TV show is “The Office” because it is funny, and I like comedy shows. The way the characters can be so cringing makes me laugh.
What do you plan to do after you graduate?
My plan is to go to Toyota’s auto mechanic school and then work at a dealership. I enjoy working with my hands and not sitting behind a desk. I look forward to working on gas and electric vehicles.
Serving aces and making longtime fans through tennis
How did you get hooked on tennis?
I tried it in middle school but didn’t get a lot of court time because of COVID. When I got to high school, I knew I didn’t want to take PE, so let me try tennis. I like the game because I get to be outside and hit around with friends.
What is your favorite part of the game?
My favorite in tennis is being at practice with my friends, playing practice games, and just messing around and having fun on the court.
How do you handle adversity when you’re having a bad match?
I just try and focus on the next point. Even if I won or lost the last point or set, it is already done, and I need to focus on the point right now and not on the mistakes I made in the past.
Do you have any match-day rituals?
I don’t really have any match-day rituals. I just try and keep a tennis-focused state of mind.
Dream dinner: That’s one impressive guest list
If you could have dinner with any four people in the history of the world, who would they be?
I would have dinner with Jesus Christ, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh.
Why Jesus?
I picked Jesus because I am Catholic and am very involved in my faith. I am a senior altar server, and I actively participate in youth ministry. I think that it would be really cool to have dinner with him because he would feel like a friend I hadn’t seen in years, although we have been keeping up in the socials and on texts. I think we would get along well, and I would have a lot of questions for him. Like do you think that people today are worse or better than the people you had to deal with when you were with your disciples?
Our other tennis player interviews
Westwood’s Jenya Tellabiti and Westlake’s Luke Rieebeek
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Faces off the field: Hutto tennis player Daniel Hosek
