Dana H
From the first moment I picked up a tennis racquet, I knew that tennis was the sport for me. Until then, I had no idea that I inherited my mom’s fabulous hand-eye coordination and my dad’s athleticism. While those traits played an essential part in making me the strong 4.5 player I am today, I never could have done it without my own competitive drive – and the advice from my pro. She taught me that loyalty to my tennis team is not always a good thing.
The following is a break down, of sorts, of my experience joining a team of women that I adore to this day. It may relate to you or a tennis pal you know.
The excitement.
I started out as a 2.5-ish player, though my goal was to be like Serena Williams. And I was naïve enough to think that a few tennis lessons and drills would get me there. If it were only that easy, lol!
After a few months of instruction, my club pro suggested I join one of its doubles tennis leagues through the WHLTA (West Houston Ladies Tennis Association). It wasn’t USTA sanctioned, however, it followed the USTA rules, and its levels are C (for beginners like me), B, A, and Championship Division.
The nerves.
When I first met my teammates, I was SO nervous. What if they don’t like me? Or what if my partner doesn’t like me? What if I suck? Yeah… I really piled the pressure on myself, and it was all for nothing, too, because they were all amazing ladies – especially my partner.
Most of the team were middle-aged and/or retired, and I was the “baby”. But this baby practiced hard in lessons an drills, and played hard on the court, and eventually, this baby became the line 1 butt-kicker that opponents hated (cuz they always lost!)
The frustration.
Being on this team was a blast in the beginning, but as my game improved, I found myself wanting more. After a couple of years, I was beyond frustrated with the lack of competition in my C1 division. I mean, c’mon… we played the same women on the same teams, over and over, and I was winning too easily. I actually started feeling bad for the competition – and myself, for playing my more advanced game against them. Loyalty to my tennis team sucked. But what could I do?
The guilt.
Well… Out of guilt, I stayed for another 6 months, but I was miserable. I cut out my private lessons and cut back on drills to just 1 or 2 a month. I also decided not to use my aggressive shots in match play so I didn’t piss off the opponents and/or get accused of sandbagging (which happened a lot). But when this voluntary regression became involuntary and started affecting my drills, my pro sat me down for a “come to Tennis-Jesus” moment.
The misery.
You know that phrase, “Use it or lose it”? That’s what was happening to me. I was literally losing the muscle memory that gave me the power and consistency to make my winning shots.
The sad reality was that my love for my teammates and staying on the team was literally killing my game. My pro’s advice? Leave my team and move up to a level where I would be challenged and where my wins would truly feel deserved.
Hmmmm… That’s it? Would my teammates understand and support my decision?
Yes, and YES!
THE JOY!
Long story short (too late, I know, lol!) don’t be like me and waste your time AND money by staying on a lower-level team just to be with your teammates. You’ve worked too hard to be the best tennis player you can be. Move on and play your game at your level, whatever that may be. Yeah, they’ll miss your winning awesomeness, but if they really are your friends, they will respect your move and be happy for you.
Life is too short, ladies! Don’t let your loyalty to your tennis team hold you back from achieving your tennis goals!
If you can relate to my experience, please drop a comment below and share with us 🙂 Are you still on that team? If not, how did you (and your team) handle moving on?