Category: Sports

Lessons Learned Playing Tennis

People often call tennis a lifelong sport. I can tell you that so far, it has been a lifelong sport for me. There are literally pictures of me as a baby next to a tennis racket. It was bigger than me at the time. When I first started walking, I would wander around the tennis court while my dad would hit with my mom. And here we are twenty two years later and I’m still hanging around the tennis court. I’ve learned a lot playing tennis, and in my recent match in a tournament, I was reminded of something really important.

Playing in juniors and high school was stressful for me. I felt like there was always an absurd amount of pressure for me to perform well at all times. My coaches, including my dad were always good to me, but I could just feel this competitiveness and urge for perfection always. It doesn’t help that I’m a perfectionist either. If someone else wasn’t pushing me, I was. I put a lot of pressure on myself to always be improving and always be perfect. That was really hard to maintain and I think I suffered in a lot of ways. I became frustrated easily and discouraged if I went on a losing streak.

In high school, I had been working with a coach for a while and he picked up on my spiraling and tension pretty quick. One of the biggest things I could take away from him was that if you’re not having fun on the court, then you shouldn’t be playing tennis. I’m not in a life or death situation on the court. I’m not playing for money (but even if I was, I shouldn’t beat myself up so bad!). I’m playing for myself to enjoy a sport I care a lot about. So, the most important thing is to let go of any frustration or anger or tension because in the grand scheme of things, tennis is a hobby. It may mean a lot to me, but it is not a lifestyle or anything extreme. It is a passion of mine and it should be treated as such!

It’s kinda funny to look back on my high school tennis career. I qualified for state my first three years and then I just missed it senior year. I was absolutely devastated. But, I kept playing. Practically the second I graduated from high school, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I think it wasn’t even a month or two after high school finished, and I was hitting with another one of my coaches and she asked me what had changed. Apparently I looked much more relaxed on the court. I looked free! She was right too. I had realized that competition is great and all, but the key to really improving and enjoying the sport was to have fun. When I stopped worrying about every little thing and the competition and the things I can’t control, I was a totally different tennis player.

This mentality has helped me immensely as I’ve come into the adult tennis world. I’m still competitive and I still want to win, don’t get me wrong. I still want to get as good as I can, but at this point, it’s all just to see how far I can go, move my body, and have fun!! If tennis is a sport that I’d like to pursue the rest of my life, I sure as heck better have fun doing it.

So, the lesson to be learned here: be kind to yourself and remember that your passions are your PASSIONS for a reason. You love what you’re doing and it’s supposed to be fun. Keep it that way!! Have a great week.

February 20, 2022
Losing is Good for You

Winning feels great and makes a person happy, but there isn’t too much one can learn from winning all the time. A person can become arrogant and lazy and that’s why losing can sometimes be good for someone. It allows them to learn from their mistakes and do better next time. The article “Losing is Good for You” by Ashley Marryman contains many relatable points that can be applied to my life as well as the lives of others.

Ever since I was little, I’ve been involved in sports. My coaches have always been supportive and pushed me towards excellence. When I was younger, I was praised for participating in events, performing well, or winning tournaments, and there would be certain rewards that I earned. As I became more experienced and older, the rewards for performing well or winning were trophies or plaques awarded by the tournament directors. When I was twelve, I was on a club volleyball team and I was one of the strongest players on the team. My coach was constantly praising me and it felt good at first but then it started to get old. According to Marryman, “Awards can be powerful motivators but nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed”. I didn’t feel as motivated to give 100% because the praise didn’t feel genuine, since my coach was always praising me. My parents worked hard to develop humility and help me understand that winning does feel good but it’s just as good to lose because you’ll learn from your mistakes and do even better the next time you go out and play. In tennis, I’ve always had a high ranking and been known for my good record. About two years ago, I went through a long losing spell and that was definitely not a fun time. My dad did his best to get me out of the losing streak and eventually I was able to succeed again and from that experience I learned that “you’re going to lose more often than you win even if you’re good at something. You’ve got to get used to that to keep going” (Marryman). It was so rewarding to win after so many loses and I was able to grow as a resilient athlete. I’m more motivated to work hard and succeed.

I guess losing really can be good for you.

February 7, 2016
Thinking Positive

Whether it’s in sports, school, work, body image, or life, it becomes very easy for people to focus on what they are doing wrong and all of the negativity. People want to succeed at what they’re doing and feel good about themselves and their accomplishments. However, it can be challenging, when one is constantly telling themselves, “This is terrible,”, “I’ll never be good enough,” or “I don’t think I can do this,”. Thinking positive is a way to turn those thoughts into something positive that will help you achieve your goals and feel better about yourself and whatever you do.

In sports, all athletes struggle with the pressure of wanting to win, not let down their coach, teammates, and parents, and perform with perfection. They also struggle with the ups and downs in their performance and when they are going through a rough period, they tend to think negatively which will only make things worse. Two words that are heard often are “can’t” and “don’t”. There are a lot of coaches out there who will tell their athletes, “Don’t hit the ball out,” or “Don’t lose,” and that causes the athletes to think about what they should not do versus what they should do. Then when athletes have talked themselves into doing the wrong thing, they start to believe that they can’t shoot a free throw, or land their back flip, or hit a float serve. Everything can go downhill if this negativity isn’t stopped in its tracks.

For example, in tennis, I can be very hard on myself. Now that I’ve been cleared to start running and playing a little bit of tennis again, my dad and I have been playing quite a bit so that I can get back into shape for the high school season. I haven’t played in about six months and getting back on the court for the first time was great, but there was frustration that came with it too. My groundstrokes were definitely not what I remembered them being and I struggled to get the ball in the actual court. My dad would ask me how my groundstrokes felt and I told him, “I’m not getting the ball in the court” and “I can’t seem to hit forehands”. After I told him that my dad told to focus on what I can do right for the next shot. I’m much more successful when I focus on the positive and what I can do to improve versus how bad my last backhand was.

The idea of thinking positive has been something I’ve been working on for a long time in tennis and life in general but it can be hard. It’s very easy to slip into a negative mindset but when you focus on what you can do to get better, you’re probably going to improve and feel better about yourself.

These same ideas can be applied to how you see yourself as a person and your goals in life. Maybe you think that you aren’t pretty or you don’t fit in. Those same two thoughts could be turned into something positive. Even in something “ugly” or negative, you could find something “beautiful” and positive to think about. And with the whole “fitting in” thing, isn’t it better to be yourself and discover who you are than fake it and be in unhealthy relationships? If you think that you aren’t good enough to try out for something, too shy to ask a teacher about something in class, or you’ll never be able to go on that trip to Japan that you’ve been dreaming about forever, you’re probably right, if you aren’t doing anything about it but complaining and thinking negative thoughts. If you think positive, you might not reach your goals when you hope you will but you’ll get there eventually. And if you don’t give going for your goals a try, how will you know you could have accomplished them anyways?

So with those same thoughts up above, you could turn those into “I’m going to make the best of this situation” “I’ll work towards my goals and achieve them”, and “I can do this”. Turning your negative thoughts into something positive, will help you out in the long run. Set goals for yourself, stick to those goals, and think positive. The road to your goals might be rough, but in the end, all of your hard work will have been worth it. You can do this!

January 10, 2016
Tips For Tryouts

Whether it’s for volleyball, tennis, or whatever sport/activity you compete in, you’re going to have to tryout to make a team at some point. Tryouts can be stressful sometimes and I want to help make it easier and less stressful so here are a few tips for tryouts.

1. Relax and have fun! If you end up making the team, that’s great. And if you don’t make the team, so what? At least you had fun trying. There will be plenty of other opportunities to make teams and try other sports or activities. So knowing this, you should just relax, play your game, show off your stuff, and have fun.

2. Control what you can control. The two things you can control are your attitude and effort. You can’t control the coaches and evaluators (although that would be pretty cool), the place and time the tryouts are held at, the other people trying out, the drills you do, and so on. So many people worry about those things going into tryouts that they forget what’s really important and what they should be focused on controlling. When you focus on controlling only your attitude and effort, you perform well, feel relaxed, and have fun.

3. Wear something bright so that you stand out from the rest of the crowd. From experience, a lot of people will either wear black or white to a tryout. You want to be noticed and have the coaches and other players watching and keeping an eye on you.

4. Stay positive and don’t get down on yourself. This goes along with the first tip for tryouts. If you shank a pass or miss a layup, or hit your serve in the bottom of the net, it’s not a big deal, just as long as it isn’t happening on a consistent basis. No one’s perfect and we’re all human, so if you make a mistake figure out what you’re going to do right next time, and execute it. Relax and you’ll do fine. Also, don’t get down on yourself if you don’t end up making the team, there other teams to tryout for and other opportunities.

So when you all head into tryouts just remember to relax and have fun, control what you can control, wear something bright, and stay positive and don’t get down on yourself. I really hope these tips will help you all succeed in tryouts. Good luck and have fun!

July 12, 2015
Having the Right Attitude in Sports
“I can’t do it.” “That team’s too good. We’ll never beat them!” Does this kind of talk sound familiar? It could be in your head or actually coming out of your mouth or a fellow teammate’s. Those two quotes sounded pretty negative, huh? Saying those kinds of things might not seem like a big deal but in the long run they could be. It could mess up your attitude in not just sports, but life. Here are five thoughts about having the right attitude in sports.
- First off, what is the right attitude? Well, being optimistic in low times or moments when your team is down and having that competitive, classy, and fiery personality is the right attitude. Thinking smart about your options and the future is also having a good attitude in sports. Respecting your opponents, teammates, coaches, refs, parents, fans, even yourself, and so on contributes to this as well.
- Losing is something that a lot of athletes take harshly. Some take it seriously, calmly, and some don’t even care. When you lose, you shouldn’t take it as the end of the world or the end of your athletic career. You also shouldn’t just brush it off of your shoulders like you could care less as to what just happened. When you lose, you need to take it as a learning experience, forget about it for that day, and then briefly reflect on it the next day at practice or whenever you can. Use losing to make you stronger, not bring you down.
- Some sports like volleyball, for instance, require a team. Team is a part of the word teamwork. Now when girls on a team start up drama and turn their backs on each other, that’s not teamwork or a team at all is it?! This goes back to respecting everyone and everything around you. You might have issues with a girl on your team and you might not have very nice things to say to her but the second you step in that gym or step on the court, you are friends. You guys are teammates. You love each other and work together as if you are best friends. You win and lose and work together as a team. Your attitudes towards each other are caring and respectful and you are willing to help them. And then the second practice is over and you are out of the gym, you don’t have to be friends. You don’t have to hang out or even talk to each other. You still have to respect that teammate as person and you can go your separate ways. Your attitude can go back to whatever it was before you stepped on the court but you still have to respect them.
- Believe! When you believe in your training and your skills, you can almost do anything! I had some friends that went to a sand tournament to qualify for a bigger tournament and they were playing two girls from one of the top clubs in the state. They put their minds to it, believed in their skills, and went out and beat that team, getting third in the tournament, and qualified to go to the bigger tournament. They believed in what they could do and got pretty far!
- Lastly, before you go out to compete. Prepare yourself mentally, and physically. Let yourself visualize yourself having a good game or time or shot. Warm up by stretching or jumping or getting some last minutes reps in so you can get yourself into a positive, confident, ready-to-go mindset.
I really hope that all of you athletes can use some of these ideas to better yourselves and teammates so that you all can have a good or better attitude in sports.
September 14, 2014