Game of Failure
Aadit Meenege
Sweat ran down my face as I sprinted to hit the ball. The sun was gazing at me. I made a quick move, sprinting forward and lunging at the same time to hit the ball over the net and quickly cutting to the left of the court. The small yellow striped ball contacted the strings of my racket. As the ball made a hollow sound while flying over the net into the freshly painted courts, the crowd started cheering. This is much more than a game, it is war between two players and one can only win. It was a long sunny tiring afternoon, with no breath left and sweating like hell. As I glanced at the crowd and looked at my friends and family, I gained more confidence and enthusiasm. This is tennis.
I had worked hard for more than 5 years in team tennis to prepare for my first tournament. My confidence was crushed, as I watched my opponent curve serve go right beside me, and hit the white line. Suddenly, the score the crowd was quiet and the score was 5-5.
My heart was beating really fast, while discouraging thoughts filled my mind. With two more points to play, I could see there’s a fifty percent chance of making it into the court. With one more set to play, my opponent lobs the ball over my head into the right corner of the blue area at full speed. It seemed like it was a lost.
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Some were furiously red and I could almost see steam rising and evaporating into the sunny sky. Others had their heads down and were whacking the ground with their rackets. After seeing the reactions of my teammates I look at the crowd and they are still enthusiastic and angry. At last, I took a quick look at my coach and I could see the fire burning in his eyes. Once I saw that, I knew we would not go down without a fight. My attitude synched with that of more determination and I could see my opponent has a disadvantage with the sun right in his
Tennis serve Introduction to tennis Tennis is a sport that can be played individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
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.
I felt depleted, I thought that I had finally gotten the hang of my emotions on the court. In return she stated, “Mistakes will always happen, you can't ignore them, but you also can't get caught up in them. I know it is hard, but you have to learn because that is how you get better in sports if you want to continue playing.” This thought whirled around my head for the following months; if I wanted to really excel in volleyball I had to finally fix my attitude, for the better.
As we all know, America is a nation of sports enthusiasts. Most Americans participate is some kind of sporting event, either as a spectator or as a competitor. In the pantheon of great American sports, there is one that stands out. It has been called the great American pastime. Yes, that great sport known as tennis. Tennis requires a mastery of many skills to be able to play competitively, but the primary skill needed to win in tennis is the serve. The serve is the primary offensive weapon used I tennis, because it is the only time when a player gets to put a ball into play. The player controls the speed, the placement, and the spin of the ball. With proper procedure, the serve can win many points and games for the server. The technique I will demonstrate is used by most professional ten...
Just an hour before, I had arrived to this battleground, stepping off of the bus with my teammates. All of us feeling the same nervousness in the pit of our stomach just at the site of the arena, infested with filthy rats with different colored jerseys. Anticipating the events to come, I jog up and down that magical field, taking in anything that I can use to my advantage.
I saw that the girl, who was taking the ball, turned her stick in the direction she heard the voice, but she did not look up to make sure that nobody was covering her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she pulled her stick back and hit the ball. Afterward I sped back over to where the ball was soaring and reached out my stick, I then tried to hit the ball. I felt like a bull charging at a red flag as I whacked the ball to the ground. My coaches and my team went wild, in joy that I had just blocked the most powerful ball I had ever seen. I felt like a bull who finally reached its goal to finally reach that red flag. I finally felt like I had accomplished my goal. I had waited years for this to
Years of playing the game and not improving, Gawande incidentally finds himself play tennis with a young man who is a tennis couch. The young man gives Gawande a tip about keeping his feet under his body when hitting the ball. At first he is uncertain, stating, “My serve had always been the best part of my game….. With a few minutes of tinkering, he’d added at least ten miles an hour to my serve. I was serving harder than I ever had in my life” (Gawande, 2011, p.3).
Hitting the Sweet Spot: Perfecting the Tennis Serve Proficiently. Tennis has been a passion of mine since the start of my sophomore year. Mastering the serve has always been at the top of my to-do list. The serve is not just a way to start off a point, it's also a large factor that can dictate the pace and outcome of the match. Over the span of 1 year, I have struggled with consistency and power in my serve, and I often experience shoulder and elbow pain.
I first stared down my opponent as I walked to the center of the mat. I glanced at him I got the feeling that I was probably stronger than him so I knew I would need to make the first move and go strong in the beginning. We got to the center of the mat and the referee gave the signal to shake hands and at that moment I knew I was ready. I isolated my mind from who was around me and only saw my opponent in front of me. I started getting angry in my mind and thought to myself “It's either going to be him or me who we be victorious.”. As we shook each others hand, I squeezed my hand as hard as I could and can feel that he did too. The whistle blew, our first instinct was to lock arms and get a feel for each other and test our
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
Shouts can be heard everywhere on and off the court. On the court, teammates shout to one another, ordering sets and spikes, working hard for the next point. Off the court, kids celebrate the well-constructed plays of others and claim rights to the next match. At the end of each game, winners run swiftly to the adjacent beach for a swim, while losers meander sullenly to a drinking fountain housed under an elevated shelter. It is only seconds before new games begin, and the cycle begins again.
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.
Down two with six seconds to go fatigue had taken it tolls on the players. With little energy left; over time was not an option. I knew I had to go for the win. I walk on the floor confident of my ability that was until the whistle blew quickly turning my confident to butterflies. As I fought to get open I quickly saw the ball coming my way. As I rose for a jump shot time itself began to stay still. An in flesh everything became silent. As I watch the ball leave my hand I envisioned greatness; sure the ball was on its way in I started to celebrate that was until I hear the announcer say my teammate tip in miss shot to win us the game. Mix with emotion I celebrate with my teammate. “Ok guys, we have 24 hours until tip off. Get some rest because this is going to be the biggest game of your life. Let’s bring this championship back to Barton College. Go Bulldogs and Goodnight!” Why few players stay in the lobby to hang out I took it talk upon to work on my game and reflect on the semifinal game that just took place. At basketball games you will notice how there are all sorts of fans attending the game.
My confidence was growing, and I knew I could win. It was time to face my next opponent. As both our names were announced, we stood up and took our stances. I felt like I was looking in a mirror and seeing the old me. I could tell my opponent was as nervous as i had been in my last tournament.
...e ball bouncing off my racquet, the thrill of a great hit, it made me love tennis. My mind stopped wandering as Jon hit the ball back. Accidently, instead of hitting the ball with my racquet, my free hand catches it. Jon laughs.