Madison Olexson's improvement during her high school tennis career was through the roof.

And she might owe it all to thousands of tennis balls that nearly went through her garage.In a sport where the top players usually develop their skills through private lessons and by playing year-round on indoor courts, Olexson's ascension to Pleasant Valley's top player was part old-school and part MacGyver.To say she was resourceful would be an understatement."I started playing tennis right before I entered high school," explained Olexson. "I'm an only child so I didn't have any siblings to play against, and since I just started playing tennis I really didn't have any friends that played the sport."I also wasn't old enough to drive, so when my mom was working, I was stuck at home with no one to practice with and no court to play on."So Olexson improvised."I started working on my tennis swing by hitting a racquet ball off my garage door," laughed Olexson. "I used a racquetball because I didn't hit the ball really hard at the time and the racquet ball would bounce better and make it easier for me to hit the ball back."I hit ball after ball off that garage door for hours at a time. That was my offseason practice for the first couple of years I played tennis."The idea helped Olexson's game soar, but it didn't do much for her garage."The garage door was white, and I can remember trying to clean it off after I finished hitting because if the balls were wet or dirty, they would leave marks all over the door," Olexson said. "Then as I started to get a little better and hit the ball harder, little pieces of paint and molding started falling off when I played."The garage was never the same, but neither was Olexson's game.After playing No. 3 doubles for the Bears as a freshman, Olexson played No. 1 singles the past three seasons all of them ending with a Times News Player of the Year award."Madison worked tremendously hard," said veteran Pleasant Valley coach Mark Allison. "From the time she stepped onto the court as a freshman until the district tournament her senior year, she never stopped improving. She was never satisfied."As her passion for the sport increased and her game elevated, Olexson began attending clinics and camps. In the offseason, her workouts started to come against people and not objects.More success on the court followed, climaxing with a history-making senior year.Despite the Bears' move into the more competitive and talented Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, Olexson led the Bears to one of the top seasons in school history."Honestly, I was surprised how well we did in the new league this year," Allison said. "This was the toughest girls tennis schedule a Pleasant Valley team ever had and we went 11-5 and finished just one win short of tying the school record for wins in a season."Madison was a big reason why we had that type of success. Not only did she have a really good singles record playing against some of the best players in the Lehigh Valley, but she was a great team leader as well."Olexson's regular season success led to her being seeded for the District 11 Class AAA singles and doubles tournaments.She won her opening singles match before falling in the second round. In doubles, she teamed with classmate Kara Urland to become the first Pleasant Valley girls tennis players to ever reach the quarterfinal round at districts in either singles or doubles play. Olexson and Urland won a pair of matches on the opening day of the 32-team tournament, before being eliminated by second-seeded Liberty in the quarters."One of the best decisions I ever made was when I decided to go out for the tennis team my freshman year," Olexson said. "I had never even played the sport before, but I'm so glad I decided to give it a try. It has provided me with so many friendships and so much enjoyment over the last four years."This season in particular was so much fun. Not only was it a great experience playing new people in a new league, but to make school history with Kara at the district doubles tournament was a perfect way to end my high school career."It was a career that was jump-started with a tennis racquet, a racquet ball and a garage door.A garage door that has since been replaced."It was in pretty bad shape from years of Madison hitting against it, so we had to get it replaced a few months ago," said Madison's mother, Michelle Olexson. "Madison has been extremely dedicated and extremely resourceful her entire life, so hitting against the garage door is nothing surprising. She always finds a way to reach her goals."Even though this ended up costing me a little money, it was well worth it. Garage doors are replaceable, but the memories that her hard work help create can't be replaced."With double-digit victory totals in singles play in each of the past three seasons and a school record in doubles play, Olexson will definitely be someone who is not easily replaced at Pleasant Valley.