Tennis - 3/24/10

Today at tennis practice, we began competing for a spot in the varsity team by participating in ladder matches. Of course, I was very nervous for this, as I wanted to have a good showing and have a chance of actually acquiring playing time. However, I decided to be realistic, because there are many great tennis players on the team and I am entirely a novice. I knew that I had a slim chance of getting into the top 9 not because I was a horrible tennis player, but because there were experienced veterans who would almost definitely claim the ranks.

I didn't let this phase me, and I decided to play for fun. My doubles partner was Luke, whom I played with in some of the earlier practices and seemed to have a skill level similar to mine. I decided to give it my all in this match, and have my main goal be to simply hit well and get the ball over the net. Out first match was very difficult, as one of our two opponents was clearly very experienced. We played well and I made sure not to let his skill intimidate me. When he served or hit, I knew that it would be difficult to receive, but I still did the best I could in returning all of his shots. In the end, Luke and I lost 8-5, but we played very well, and came back from a 7-2 deficit early on to win 3 games straight.

We decided to pursue a second match to prove to the coach that we were in it to give our best effort and that we were truly committed to improving and perhaps eventually getting a spot in the top 9. Luke and I worked very well together in this next match. Learning from our mistakes in the previous match, we made sure to call the shots and tell the other person when we planned on returning the hit. We worked very well, and it became clear that the only reason we lost points was because of lack of skill, not because of lack of effort or communication. Luke and I also seemed to be very enthusiastic about doing well, and addressed all of our remarks to one another in a hortatory manner. I was proud with how well we played in this match, as we won 8-2, proving to the coach and to ourselves that we would never quit.