In my 5th year of playing IGSSA tennis at MLC, I was more than excited to start the new season and continue working on my tennis skills. I entered this season with the aim of both having fun and improving my own tennis skills – namely my forehand and becoming a better doubles player. I certainly believe that I have improved over the course of the season, although perhaps not as dramatically as I had imagined. During training, I made an effort to learn to control my forehand better and our coach definitely assisted with this through running various drills with our team. Although it was frustrating to see little improvement in my game play during the first few weeks, I remained focused and found that in the final few weeks, my forehand shots were going in much more consistently and had much more power.
In regards to my abilities as a doubles player, I think that our team in general improved a lot in our communication during the game. Having played together for 5 years, we already had a good team dynamic and it was interesting to see how this played out on the court. While there were a few hiccups throughout the season (in one instance, Anastasia and I almost ran into each other in an attempt to hit a shot – but we did win the point!), I think that our skills as doubles players definitely improved. In addition, our “team spirit” was also evident through not only communication during the game, but also off court as we all displayed good teamwork through encouragement from the sidelines (where appropriate). This team spirit allowed us all to have a really fun season and we definitely formed a stronger bond as a team!
One of the major challenges during the season was definitely scoring during matches. Given that IGSSA tennis is self-umpired, there were multiple instances of disagreements over the score or calling outs/faults. While this was often solved easily through either replaying the point or coming to an agreement, there were a few more difficult incidents. Often this was due to parents, coaches or other players interfering with the match, so it was challenging to stay level-headed and assertive to ensure fair game-play. However, I found that remaining calm and ignoring comments made from the sideline was the most effective method of managing these situations.
The team-nature of tennis has also been extremely beneficial in that I have been able to learn from all of my teammates. Obviously, playing in a team has meant that I have been able to observe my teammates and learn from their style of playing or technique. I’ve also learnt a tremendous amount about teamwork – commitment, sportsmanship and dedication are attributes that are just as important as one’s skill level when considering their “value” to the team. It was also interesting to see how our team’s first priority was to have fun with each other and how this indirectly had a positive affect on our performance as we all supported each other. It was intriguing to see this contrast with some opposing teams who were much more focused on winning the match, resulting in the match being less enjoyable for them regardless of the score.
This season of tennis has definitely set up the foundation for future CAS activities as it has served to remind me that commitment and dedication is vital in achieving your goals even if there are a few bumps along the way. It’s also been the perfect example of how important it is to choose an activity for CAS that I personally enjoy, as playing tennis was not something that I only did to fulfil CAS requirements – it was an activity that I looked forward to before every training session and Saturday game!
In regards to my abilities as a doubles player, I think that our team in general improved a lot in our communication during the game. Having played together for 5 years, we already had a good team dynamic and it was interesting to see how this played out on the court. While there were a few hiccups throughout the season (in one instance, Anastasia and I almost ran into each other in an attempt to hit a shot – but we did win the point!), I think that our skills as doubles players definitely improved. In addition, our “team spirit” was also evident through not only communication during the game, but also off court as we all displayed good teamwork through encouragement from the sidelines (where appropriate). This team spirit allowed us all to have a really fun season and we definitely formed a stronger bond as a team!
One of the major challenges during the season was definitely scoring during matches. Given that IGSSA tennis is self-umpired, there were multiple instances of disagreements over the score or calling outs/faults. While this was often solved easily through either replaying the point or coming to an agreement, there were a few more difficult incidents. Often this was due to parents, coaches or other players interfering with the match, so it was challenging to stay level-headed and assertive to ensure fair game-play. However, I found that remaining calm and ignoring comments made from the sideline was the most effective method of managing these situations.
The team-nature of tennis has also been extremely beneficial in that I have been able to learn from all of my teammates. Obviously, playing in a team has meant that I have been able to observe my teammates and learn from their style of playing or technique. I’ve also learnt a tremendous amount about teamwork – commitment, sportsmanship and dedication are attributes that are just as important as one’s skill level when considering their “value” to the team. It was also interesting to see how our team’s first priority was to have fun with each other and how this indirectly had a positive affect on our performance as we all supported each other. It was intriguing to see this contrast with some opposing teams who were much more focused on winning the match, resulting in the match being less enjoyable for them regardless of the score.
This season of tennis has definitely set up the foundation for future CAS activities as it has served to remind me that commitment and dedication is vital in achieving your goals even if there are a few bumps along the way. It’s also been the perfect example of how important it is to choose an activity for CAS that I personally enjoy, as playing tennis was not something that I only did to fulfil CAS requirements – it was an activity that I looked forward to before every training session and Saturday game!