Category: Tennis

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
Why is the Crosscourt Game So Important?

In tennis there are many strategies and ways to play the game. My personal favorite and favorite of most if not all professionals is going crosscourt with the tennis ball. Here’s why having a strong crosscourt game or at least developing one is important.

– A crosscourt shot is the highest percentage shot you can hit. By hitting crosscourt, you have a high chance of getting the ball in and an even more likely chance for your opponent to error.

– Most of the time, when hitting crosscourt, you are swinging across your body. Swinging across your body is one of the most natural and smooth ways to hit groundstrokes. You can hit inside out crosscourt shots and those can be pretty awesome and fun to hit, but simply going crosscourt can be good enough.

– Crosscourt shots allow you to recover to a closer spot behind the baseline. After every shot, you should recover to the middle of the angle of possible return, which is in the middle of where your opponent could hit the ball. When you hit a crosscourt shot, you can recover slightly off-center from behind the baseline. You want to be slightly diagonal from where you hit the ball. If you hit the ball down the line, you would have to recover a lot faster and a lot further from the middle of the baseline. Hitting crosscourt is efficient.

– By hitting crosscourt shots you can set yourself up for other shots that can help you be successful. You could go crosscourt several times and then when your opponent is cheating crosscourt you can hit hard, slice, or with top spin down the line. And if you get pulled wide on the court, you could hit a hard angle or buggywhip-like shot crosscourt. Hitting crosscourt is strategic and sets you up for success in points.

Having a good and solid crosscourt shot is very important to your game. It is a high-percentage shot, feels natural and smooth, is efficient and allows for a quick recovery, and is smart, strategic, and sets you up during points.

June 28, 2015
How to Be a Tennis Player

Congrats newly minted tennis player! You’ve decided to enter the wonderful world of tennis and become the top player in the world! Here are five easy-to-follow steps on how to be a tennis player. These five steps are guaranteed to make you the best tennis player in the world and give you pure awesomeness.

1. Don’t even consider getting a racquet. If you were one of the tennis players silly enough to purchase a racquet, you’d be putting yourself and others in danger and you could save a whole lot of money! You run the risk of hitting yourself in the shin or foot or even head if you get a racquet and it hurts! Not to mention, when you run around on the court and scrape your racquet on the ground to get a ball, your racquet gets banged up and strings break. Fixing these kinds of things can be expensive and you save the money by skipping out on a racquet.

2. Sportsmanship and honesty are not key. Some coaches and players say that having the right attitude and sportsmanship will get you far in sports. But you came to win didn’t you? So this means that lying will get you as far as you want to go. You need the point to get closer to win the game or even the match so use your best poker face and make it your call. If the ball hits the line or is even a little inside, call it out! You need the point! And at the end of the match when you go to shake your opponents hands don’t even think about it because you’re obviously much better than them.

3. “Are you sure?” needs to be the mostly commonly spoken words you use on the court. When your opponent makes a call you need to question them every time. This works well to get into their heads and manipulate them. Wouldn’t want your opponent making the wrong call right?

4. What you wear is very important. To catch the attention of recruiters and scouts and even other players, you want to wear the flashiest outfit you possibly can. This means neon colors, sequins, and very happy bright thoughts are words on shirts, if you are wearing one. Make sure to always mention who your outfit was worn by like Sharapova, or Nadal, or the Williams sisters, or Djokovic. This makes your outfit seem more fancy and expensive. Wearing something bright and flashy can also distract your opponent on sunny days. You’re a walking disco ball!

5. During water breaks after a game, take your time. Go ahead and sit down relax and drink your water to stay hydrated. You need the time to get prepared for the next game and beat your opponent. Also, if you need to get your legs and arms massaged, now is the time to prevent cramping. This time can also be used to grab a quick snack and keep your stomach happy.

Good luck to you, tennis players! By using these tips, you’ll strive in your tennis career and be known by many internationally. Have fun and are you sure?

November 2, 2014
Setting Goals – Does it Help?
On the way to my past tennis tournament this Sunday, the topic of coaching tips came up. John Dunning, the volleyball coach at Stanford, has his girls from the team write at least three goals that they want to accomplish by the end of practice. They can be physical, tactical or strategic, mental, nutritional, leadership, and so forth. Both my sister and I found this very interesting and decided to give it a try for the tennis tournament.

I set three goals for myself:
1. Smartly place my cross court shots. (tactical/strategic goal)
2. Stay positive and use every point as a learning experience. (mental goal)
3. Stay hydrated and save energy. (nutritional goal)
I played five matches throughout Saturday and Sunday and there were several things I noticed from setting the goals. I’ll give examples from a few of the matches I played.

Match 1

Goal 1: accomplished

Goal 2: sort of accomplished

Goal 3: accomplished

Conclusion: Goal 2 was partially accomplished but, I wasn’t always in the right mindset during the match. Sometimes I was very focused and positive about the task at hand and other times I was out of it and careful about hitting the ball. My other two goals were met though. From this match I realized that by not meeting all of my goals, I lost the match. I thought there could be a relationship between setting goals and the match results.

Match 3

Goal 1: accomplished

Goal 2: accomplished

Goal 3: accomplished

Conclusion: I accomplished all of my goals for this match. I was relaxed, played smart, and stayed hydrated. By having goals to accomplish, I feel that they helped me win the match.

Match 5

Goal 1: accomplished

Goal 2: accomplished

Goal 3: accomplished

Conclusion: Looking at the results from my third match, you would think, “Oh, she won that last match, right?” Wrong, actually. My last match was a very good one and I played hard; however, my unforced errors or “gimme points” cost me big time. Even though I did meet all of my goals, I did not win the match. This was in contrast with my idea that setting goals can help you win matches. What it showed is that it is more important to focus on performance than outcome.

So, setting goals for you is a very good thing to do whether it’s tennis, volleyball, soccer, academics, or just life in general! It helps you think about what you can do to get better and keeps you from being so worried about the outcome. From my last match at the tournament, I wasn’t discouraged about the outcome at all. I was focused on the goals I had set for myself and I was pleased that I accomplished them. I felt like I had a successful tournament by setting goals and seeing accomplishments made throughout the weekend. Setting goals can make you more successful in all that you do.

Setting goals improves your serving and your game.
June 15, 2014
Tennis Tips for Tournaments
This past weekend I participated in a satellite or challenger tennis tournament in Fort Collins, Colorado. There were several tennis tips that I learned from this tournament that I want to share with others.
1. Stay focused throughout the points and match. You have to stay focused on what you want to accomplish and how you want to execute your shots otherwise your opponent can take advantage of you and win a few points and even a game or two.
2. Hit the ball in and play smart. You could have the best forehands or the best backhand slice shots in the world but if you can’t hit the ball in or return it back to your opponent then you can’t compete and the match is pretty much lost. And if you only push it down the middle or beat the crud out of the ball every time you go up to the net, then your game won’t be at the level you might want it to be. If you have a selection of shots and place the ball according to how your opponent is playing or how you want to win the point, then you will be much better off.
3. Stay active if there is a rain delay or a delay of any sort. This weekend, due to the rain we had a four hour rain delay. I found that it was better to stay patient and warm during the delay so that when I got to play, I was ready to go, and I wasn’t stiff on the court. Check the weather often too so you’ll know when you could possibly play next and you’ll be ready for your next match.
4. Stay positive. It’s important to stay positive while you play so that you stay relaxed and play your best. If you get down on yourself you start to miss more shots, you get upset, your confidence goes down, and your playing level goes down, and then you just end up in this big hole that you dug yourself into. To prevent this, when you miss a ground stroke or a serve or a volley just think to yourself, “I’ll get it in this time,” or, “Here we go, next point.” These kinds of things go through my head and this past weekend, they helped me be successful mentally even if I lost a match.
June 8, 2014