Play, play, and then play some more

I haven’t written a blog in a while because I am at home and I thought that if anyone wanted to know about playing NCAA tennis they could just ask me when they saw me at the club. However, that would only be possible if I was at the club on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I have only been able to play a few times during my break giving me an even greater hunger to play, a hunger that I am having trouble satiating. However, this blog entry isn’t about how much I want to play tennis; I’m sure most of you know that if I had to choose between playing tennis or my right arm, I would choose tennis and just become a lefty with a one-handed backhand.  

What this entry is about is the importance of playing on a regular basis. The past two times I have played this week have been very difficult for me. I am no where near my best and I largely attribute it to my poor timing from not playing enough. As tennis players, I know we have all experienced those days where we play amazing, but they are often followed by days of @%$#$^%$^$%%$#%, or below average playing. They are the peaks and valleys that must be traversed in any sport, but going through these valleys because you have inflicted them on yourself is the worst feeling. This is what I am going through now. Since I haven’t been playing I am just not there, especially since I am a player that needs to be feeling the ball everyday to be consistent. Sure if I was practicing everyday I still may not be playing like Roger Federer, but it is easier to accept any valleys you are in when you know you are putting in the time and doing the best you can. 

Not only is it easier to accept the lows when you are playing all the time, but it also allows you to reach your potential. All of the girls on my team have been playing from a young age (some had a racket in their hand at four years old and are still playing meaning that they’ve been playing for 15 years). It takes time to become great, believe it or not Federer was just as good as you were once, but he worked, experienced the peaks and valleys, and look at the player he has become. 

The core of this entry isn’t about playing university tennis - or really any level of tennis - it’s about life. If you want to reach a goal, whatever it may be, you have to put in the hours to reach that goal. The more time you spend, the better you will become. For me, my life is tennis (or at least that is what I want it to be; school and work keep getting in the way) and I know I need to get back to university so I can get back on court everyday and work myself to exhaustion so that I can reach my goals. I hope that if any of you have goals you really want to achieve you can run towards them at full speed and do your best to attain them.