When I found out Simcoe Tennis was going to have a
travelling team that was going to compete against other clubs I was, and still
am, super excited. Really, you probably cannot imagine how excited I am (I’m
normally pretty excited, but this was a new height even for me). As a college
tennis player, I knew how valuable this experience would be. Tennis is always
seen as an individual sport, but until you get to play team tennis, you do not realise
how much of a team endeavour it really is. I was excited for our athletes to
get the opportunity to play in this environment, supporting one another, and playing
together.
This past weekend, I got to travel to Collingwood to watch
our B Team compete. It was amazing because right away, their first team match,
they were acting as a team. When a player was sitting off they would be sitting
on the sidelines cheering on their teammates. During their doubles play the
teams were communicating and most of the teams came up with strategies. When a
player finished their match they would ask me how the team was doing hoping
that all their teammates were playing well. It was almost unbelievable to see.
Team tennis is a completely different game. It is great
because you are competing as a team, meaning you may win or lose your match,
but that doesn’t mean the team will win or lose. Everyone’s score is equally
important. That is why you want to win your match, but you also want your
teammates to win theirs. You want to cheer them on, stand next to their court
and encourage them. Furthermore the attitude you have on the court is even more
important than usual. If you are acting down you can bring your teammates down
which will affect their performance, but if you are high energy and doing your
best to compete, you can cause your teammates levels to rise also. Even if you
lose your match, you can be a huge part of your teams’ victory by cheering on
your teammates and doing your best to fight during your match to inspire your
team. However, this also works the other way around. If you win your match, but
do not try to help your teammates, you may have equally contributed to a team
loss. I don’t know if the B Team was aware of all of this when they were
playing this weekend, and my guess is they were not, but that makes the
experience even better. Why? They did not only want to see their teammates do
well, but they wanted to see their friends do well.
Our Skyhawks are taking to the court again this weekend. Our
A Team will be playing in Newmarket and our B Team is playing Astra at home. I
am really excited again and am hopeful that we will see more Skyhawks spirit as
our season continues.
