My tennis career started when I was eight years old. Back then, I never quite understood why I played the sport. My only reasoning was because I enjoyed the sport. A couple days ago, I played my first, Level 6, USTA tournament for girls age 14's. I was feeling only a little bit nerve-wreaked when I signed up. Then, the draw placed me against the NUMBER 4! seed of the whole tournament. Immediately, this was my reaction:
What was I going to do? My brain was swelling and on the verge of blowing up. The planets around it were feeling the explosive impact of the incessantly shaking brain. I couldn't find a way to fight the apprehension. I knew I was going to lose. A friend encouraged me to imagine how I wanted to play. Finding the craziest and most meticulous strategies for success, I could not succumb the distraught feeling of playing the NUMBER 4 SEED. I wanted to pretend to be sick, hide in the corner. Of course, play day came soon enough…I was forced to crack the shell.
It was terrible, as I had predicted it would turn out. I'd lost the first set 6-1. I'd been creamed, pronounced the way five-year old exaggerate the 'eamed' when their final soccer game scores are 10-8. Really? Losing by 2 goals? That's nothing. I lost by five GAMES in the first set. I looked at the clock. I'd only been playing for thirty minutes. It was a 50 minute one-way ride to the courts. Wow. I was going to be eliminated in another thirty minutes and I would end up spending forty extra minutes on the road than on the courts. Though in my head, I wasn't aghast that she had beaten me by five games the first set. I was kind of expecting it because of her higher ranking.
Then the game turned. In retrospect, I frankly cannot say how I'd played differently. However, I do know three things: (1) I switched rackets, (2) my opponent freaked out, (3) I didn't freak out or give up. It drove me to win this next set 6-2. This win dramatically changed the way I saw the game. I had gone into this tournament thinking, oh yeah, she'll cream me. I don't stand a chance. Now I'm thinking, you know, I DO stand a chance and if I focus, remain resilient and be aggressive, then I can win. Once again, I evoked the image of how I wanted to play. I closed my eyes, fingers fidgeted with my strings, dictating that I could be the player I had envisioned myself to be.
The tie breaker went well, even though I lost by two points, 10-8. I'd remained resilient, I hadn't given up. The lesson I've learned from this experience is that internally you must believe in your skills and success. This goes beyond playing a sport. This skill can bring success into life as well. For example, if you want to attend a highly selective university and you don't believe you'll get accepted, change that confidence. Envision yourself during your interview, during the test and imagine who you want to be. You'll have a much better shot at resembling your true self during that moment. Also, be resilient. I don't know how many times I've said this, but I've learned that if you give in, you won't win anything. During my first few tennis matches, I remember feeling the desperation in seeing the score 5-1, with only five points lost until my opponent won. I would end up hitting random, wasted shots, showing my lack of strength. When I was creamed in the first set of this match, I managed to remain strong internally and win the second set. I have learned to bring myself back into life beyond sports whenever I encounter a setback. This is why I play tennis.
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