I was born in Texas, same as my parents, before we moved to Ohio where my two younger brothers were born. The years of my childhood were spent in the woods, exploring the ample land we live on, often in a haphazard manner that caused me to return home with an array of bruises and abrasions that never made me think twice. Though sports were never something I excelled at, I was always on a team of some sort, once again providing various mild injuries that never occupied my mind amongst the scars that plagued my arms and legs. As the years passed, miscellaneous hobbies and sports came and went, one after the other, until my high school freshman year when I stumbled upon tennis. This was a sport I not only fell in love with, but came to become …show more content…
The ache that felt as though it was radiating through my joints into my muscles, continued with the frequency and intensity that only multiplied week by week. I disregarded any discomfort, accrediting it to the approaching end of the season which came along with tournaments and a significant increase in practices from both my coach and myself. Eventually, tournaments came and went, quickly followed by the frigid winter months that left the tennis courts frozen and barren. Practices were rare and though I was left with a certain empty feeling, part of me was ready for the months off to ease the pain within my body. Days turned to weeks and the irritation not only never lessened, but I noticed it began to become more persistent, especially with mundane activities.This became less of an occasional grimace during conditioning, and more tears brimming eyes in the middle of a class. As my parents and I grew ever more concerned about this lingering pain, a myriad of other strange symptoms began to appear. My intolerance to the Ohio cold became unbearable, even indoors, which came along with blue hands, feet and lips that were all frigid to the …show more content…
Every hospital we went to had the same cycle of dismissive diagnoses of lacking vitamins or weight. The constant dose of different minerals after being asked “Well, have you tried tylenol?” was disheartening and more exhausting than I had the energy for. It wasn’t until we finally got into Akron Children’s Hospital when things began to shift. For the first time in months, I felt like I was actually being listened to, with true efforts being made in order to figure out what was causing this. The constant strings of appointments, tests and days where it was too excruciating to go to school seemed to never end. Eventually, I had lost so much weight that I had reached a dangerous level, I began to have serious nosebleeds, leaving me lightheaded and dizzy, multiple times a week. As winter began to fade away, I worked my way through consultations and testings from almost every imaginable department of Akron Childrens, only to continuously leave with no answers. Managing the pain had become more of a priority than getting to the root cause, but nonetheless, it made everyday activities such as showering substantially more
In a world where winning is paramount, it's easy to get carried away in your quest to succeed. Too often, individuals become so focused on winning that they forget that they are competing against actual human beings with actual feelings. Those not personally involved in a match only notice whether you win or lose. However, being a great player is so much more than just winning. My tennis coach emphasizes the three keys to being a great player; effort, attitude, and sportsmanship. Throughout my high school career I’ve tried my very best to embody these traits. The best example I can think of in which I exemplified each of these traits was earlier this year. Nice intro!
Have you ever thought you didn't like something, but then you tried it and loved it? That's how volleyball was for me. I played for the park district when I was younger, but I didn't enjoy it. “I really don’t want to play volleyball,” I told my mom over and over, “It hurts my arms to hit the ball.” was my main reason for not playing. Now that I think about it, that was a really bad excuse to not play. The problem was that my mom played in college and it's always been her favorite sport, so I knew that I would have to play when I got older. My mom told me that I would try it out, and if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have to play. Turns out, I actually love volleyball!
Throughout high school, I was a varsity member of my school’s tennis team. Unlike most school sports, our tennis team consisted of both boys and girls on the same team. A small school to begin with, the lack of funding for tennis led to an even smaller turnout in the boys tennis team, thus they allowed girls to also join. In addition, the program was still very new and unestablished. The end result was an untrained boys tennis team that was actually just an untrained girls tennis team with about three boys tagging along. Unfortunately, all of the surrounding tennis programs consisted of lifetime tennis players, and yes, they were 100% male. This combination meant that my second doubles partner, Kayla, and I were usually greeted by our opponents with the mentality that the match would be easy, since we were just girls.
I first started playing volleyball at a very young age. I was in the seventh grade when my volleyball career started. My sister started playing in the seventh grade and I just wanted to follow her footsteps. My seventh grade year was ok because I had just started out and really didn’t know the game. There was A team and a B team, where A team was better than the B team. I tried my best to be on the A-team, but guess where I ended up, on the B team.
The person who has inspired me the most in my life would have to be my first tennis coach, Katee Sanderson. It is tough to narrow it down to one single person because I have numerous role models, but she would definitely stand out above any of the others.
Never before have I experienced anything comparable to the sensations which arose from playing on my USTA Junior Team Tennis 14’s and Under Intermediate team. Prior to this team my club decided to piece together one summer, I had only competed individually, almost never together with other players, and for a young boy with social anxiety and fear of attention, this environment was one that I had never previously encountered. Being competitive players with similar abilities and interests on and off the court, this team became a family, and for the first time in my life I felt comfortable being myself and opening up to others. When we made it to Sectionals, my personality only grew, and I became not just a friendly face but a strong leader of the team, holding the best record among my teammates. All my social issues dissipated from my team, and my new sense of confidence allowed me to make memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I had my weekly tennis class. I jumped into the car, and my mom drove me to CPAC, where I play. When we finally got there, I jumped out of the car and ran to the court. I thought I was late, but everyone was just arriving. As we ran our laps, I noticed a woman walk in that I had never seen before. Usually, it was only three men coaching our class, so I was confused what she was doing on the court. She had blonde hair slicked back into a tight ponytail, a long nose, and tiny lips glued shut. She looked intimidating, but she didn’t say a word. She had a black racquet in her hand. She scanned the courts to see everything going on, as she stepped closer to the other coaches. She started talking to the coaches, and then they turned to all of us. The lady stepped out, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m Mira. I will be teaching this class from now on.” Then, as everyone went to grab their racquets, I decided to introduce myself to her. I stepped up to Mira, extended my hand and said, “Hi. I’m Lucy. Nice to meet you!” She smiled as she tightly gripped my hand saying, “Hi Lucy. You are the only one to introduce yourself to me! How nice- thank you!” She had a thick accent, with a powerful voice. I felt happy that I introduced myself to her, and hopefully
Tennis has been a major part of my life and still continues to be a major factor in my life. Tennis was the highlight of my time during high school, I met so many new people, made so many friends, and had so much fun. Tennis has been a major source of joy for me ever since I started playing. The sport has altered my friend groups, brought joy to me, and altered my life path. A big reason why I picked to go to Otterbein was tennis, if I wasn’t going to play tennis then who knows where I might have gone to college. In college tennis has built my friend groups and shaped who I
After my visit to urgent care I discovered more than just a mere broken clavicle bone, I discovered what my right half represented: sports. Prior to the hit, my love of sports had been waning, quite rapidly in fact, and it refused to leave my body. Moreover, its presence was consuming my time, and cluttering my mind, leaving no time for the freshly sparked passions that conflicted with it. Although I don’t celebrate the physical manifestation of my injury, I certainly laud the liberating opportunity it presented to me.
Outside of ASB, the only sport I play is basketball. I am currently playing for the LOHS JV boys basketball team. Even though this is a vast commitment, I still manage to meet my responsibilities in ASB, school, and at home. I have the mentality of getting my work done before anything else. Of course, basketball comes last on my agenda. In order to manage all these commitments, I must be great at time management. First, I make sure that my most paramount work is done first, and that I focus on the task at hand. I must limit my distractions. There are times where I just lock my phone away, just so that I can get my work done as agile and efficient as possible. I make sure that I have time for ASB and basketball because I keep myself determined
In this essay, I would be talking about basketball and how it affected my life. This very challenging topic for discusses because it is so hard for me. It was a though thing to deal with in my life; it was sad what happen to me. Basketball always remained an extensive fraction of my life.
I was thirteen years old bouncing a basketball in my front driveway. Playing for pure joy, never thinking twice that this sport could take me any further. Little did I know that what I thought to be the simple sport of basketball would soon change my life forever.
I have been on the court since I was seven years old. Basketball has been a driving force in my life. The spirit of the game, comradery of a team, and the perfection of a swish is a part of who I am. My first community based coach ‘s name was John Cochrane in a small township, Warminster, a suburb of Philadelphia . Through the fifteen or so games we played in rec, John modeled great technique, that everyone should play equally, and that team is stronger that its parts. I learned that skill development took a lot of work and that sometimes you just had to laugh! As my basketball career became more serious and a more competitive journey, I had the immense pleasure of meeting and working with a personal trainer name, Chris Harper. He partnered
Tennis has given me the opportunity to interact with many different types of people. Playing on the tennis team at my school helped me meet new people who I would have never met in school. The experiences I have had with these different groups of people led me to change the stereotypes that I’ve had in my head. I’ve learned life lessons in tennis that go beyond what is being taught in school.
Did you know about 90 percent of children between ages 11-16 witness bullying? This summer at tennis camp, I became a part of the 90 percent to witness bullying.