I’ve been playing tennis since seventh grade, and while walking onto the court for the first time in the summer leading up to my sophomore year, I had never been more petrified. I knew from the moment summer started, that the tennis season was going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to overcome in my fifteen years of overcoming adversity. As soon as the nets went up in the spring I started preparing for the tennis season ahead. It seemed that no matter how much I practiced, I would never be ready for the task at hand. Although it was an exhausting undertaking, I knew that if I put everything I had into my game, I’d be able to prevail. During the tennis season I learned essential life lessons including: always believing in myself and always …show more content…
One example was our match against Buffalo. When we saw our opposing teams lineup I came to the realization that I would be playing a foreign exchange student who was a senior. My nerves intensified as I grasped what I had just realized. My opponent didn’t speak much english which made communication slightly difficult, but we figured it out. I didn’t have a scouting report on my opponent so I had to adjust as I was playing. This match was without a doubt the most humiliating and excruciating match that I have ever played. She was hands down the best player that I have ever had the privilege of playing. She flew to all of the balls and could easily place her shots in order to expose my weaknesses. I found myself in shock as I staggered in attempt to keep up with her fast pace. Playing a exceedingingly good player like her was certainly a good learning experience for me, and an endeavor that I strived to overcome. On the contrary to what happened in Buffalo, our match against Big Lake was definitely memorable. During my freshman year I had played a girl named Ashley at 3rd singles and I lost 0-6, 0-6. So when it came to the Big Lake match, I had to face her again, except this time we were both playing 1st singles. Based on her body language I could tell that she believed it would be an effortless match. This immediately made me want to prove her wrong, so I did just that. We went through 3 excruciating sets and I ultimately won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. This match taught me that although not everyone will always believe in me, as long as I believe in myself, I could do
However, I was always an optimist and tried to convince myself that I could defeat him (Yeah right!). We approached the table and shook hands. In the few initial minutes, we warmed up, just casually rallying the ball around, but even then he was playing better tennis than I ever had. The coach then blew his whistle which concluded the warm up and signaled the commencement of the match. At this point in time, I tried to swallow all the fear and anxiety that I had and to face my opponent valiantly and courageously. The match began and before I had fully realized, he had won the first game 21-05. He had won it with the utmost ease, returning even my best shots without any struggles or even remote difficulty. I tried not to feel discouraged, saying to myself that he still had two more games to win and that I would not give in without a fight.
With my participation on the team, I saw that the sport not only taught how the sport was played, but life lessons as well. Every tournament we went to, my coach always told us, “Whether you win or lose, show your opponent respect and gratitude.” Because my high school was known for
Like a pestering fly, it kept in the back of my head; a mother’s badgering voice egging me to dig deeper, and answer a question that had nagged me for years. Did I really want to play volleyball, to put all of myself into continuing a future that would include playing volleyball? On the day of my first tournament of my 4th year playing, I found my answer.
Quite a lot of people have witnessed a tennis game, whether in person or on TV. Although often depicted by foreigners of the game as being “an easy sport”, Tennis on the contrary, requires quite a bit of technique and skill to even begin the game. Every point in this game begins with a serve, so if anyone was to hold their own on the court, they would at least be required to begin by learning to serve. In this document, I will be explaining the different techniques and postures necessary to successfully complete a serve and hopefully ace your opponent.
When I started playing fastpitch softball I was chosen to be on the twelve and under team at the age of nine. I was terrified, fortunately at the first practice everyone was so welcoming, creating friendships that I still have to this day. I’m thankful I played with the older team, even though I was three or four years younger than the girls on the team, I learned so much from them. Specifically, I learned how to become a leader and how to focus a more in tough situations. That’s something that sometimes younger players aren’t able to achieve due to their maturity level.
Agnieszka Radwanska: The mastermind of the WTA Tour. She plays such genius points that her opponents themselves have to applaud her shots. She inspires me to continually awe people with my accomplishments.
After graduating from college Maya chose to take a brief hiatus from academics and I was extremely proud and excited to bring her into our Academy as a coach. Because of her personal experiences as a top tennis player she is able to relate to her young students, motivating them to do their best. Maya easily relays her years of tennis knowledge in a way that is straightforward an...
Although we lost the game, we had much to be thankful for. Our coaches were proud of us, and we seemed pretty pleased with our performance as well. My first varsity start had been filled with ups and downs, but overall it was a good one. Noah and I began to walk back to the high school, and we slugged each other on the back, grinning the whole way.
the line shots, and short backhands just would not break his rhythm of play. Eventually I lost the match, along with my
As I prepared for the last match, I could tell my partner lost hope in me from his glances that read “what a beginner”, so I had low expectations from him. However, that did not stop me, I had this lingering eagerness barely hanging on to me. So as we got to our rebuttal speeches, I pulled out my wild card. I loudly spat out my inner thoughts with anger on behalf of the topic, my partner's jaw dropped and everyone's pupils dilated as they watched silently to what I had to say. I remember the feeling of fulfillment I had when I sat down with a twisted smirk on my
My love for tennis blossomed at the young age of eleven. During middle school my peers knew me as the boy who was remarkably talented at tennis and I savored that title. Butterflies floated throughout my youthful body whenever someone complimented me. As the years passed, my dad nurtured me into a top player. Before I knew it high school arrived and it was time to compete at a higher level. My excitement was out of this world, but I knew my dad could no longer push me forward and my future was up to me. However, the ego I developed over the years blocked what lie in front of me. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture; the hard work demanded of me, teamwork, and the motivation to reach an ultimate goal. Throughout my four years of participating
The ball comes speeding over the net and slams down onto the face of the court landing just beyond the base line, the line running along the back of the court. I had called her winning point... "out." As I turned towards her, I could see the anger building in her eyes. We walked towards each other, and with only the net separating us, she began to confront me. She argued that, as she saw it, the ball was obviously in and that we should replay the point. I wanted this game as much as she did and we were both standing strong. I finally decided that there was no use in fighting. We had to resolve this argument between ourselves because there were no line judges to decide for us. We decided to replay the point and she won. I tried to convince myself that there would be times when a call would be questionable and that I should try not to point fingers. I still went home discouraged that night because I knew that the call I had made was fair.
Hearing the loud “thump” as the ball hits the racket is extremely satisfying, especially if your life now revolves around this fast-paced and exhilarating sport. Tennis is an outdoor game played by two individuals or pairs of players on a clay or grass court that’s divided by a low net. Each game is played with tennis rackets and small, yellow elastic balls. Tennis was first introduced in Wales and the United Kingdom in 1873 by “Major Walter Wingfield” (tennistheme.com). While most sports are easy to pick up, tennis takes extreme dedication to learn how to play the game, to perfect the amount of technique it takes, as well as its great impact on one’s personal life.
Tennis also teaches many positive characteristics such as, self-discipline, leadership, character, and the ability to manage mistakes. Participating in any sport requires self-disciple. Whether that discipline is through eating healthy with the proper nutrition, or being disciplined enough to practice frequently. Leadership is also a quality obtained in tennis through leading the team to success, surrounding yourself with other leaders, and helping to always improve your game and fellow teammates. These qualities improve both the character and skill of the
and I never gave up. I also had to play my own doubles partner in the final of every round. In conference I had to play her, in regionals, and in the state championship. Playing someone three times really showed me how to persevere through difficult matches. I am glad that I reached that final or my eyes would have not have been opened up to what I could really achieve.