Well, both my day and night teams clinched playoff berths Tuesday with match wins. I have played every single match for both teams at number one singles and am so proud of our results.
I played last summer with the day team and we came one match short of advancing to the post season, so I am thrilled that we were able to come back stronger this year. My night team is comprised of a group of ladies, the majority of whom made it to Nationals last year. I am happy this team made it to playoffs, too, because it was a HUGE decision for me to play with them. The captain of the team asked me to play, but joining that team meant leaving a group of friends I had a blast playing with in the years before. Even after I made the decision to join my night team, I struggled with my decision, worrying if I had made the right one. I left my old team to join a team that I thought would be more competitive. The goal of the team from the start was to advance beyond the regular season and every person on the team seemed to buy into that goal. They were competitive and I wanted to play on a team that was serious about competing sans the drama that can sometimes exist on teams whose primary goal is not "having fun". I didn't know anyone on the new team with the exception of the captain. I live on the east side, so the drive to the practices twice a month during the winter provided me plenty of time to second guess my decision. Whatever sport I do, I like to have fun while I am doing it. Otherwise, why do it? The practices for the team were fun and I began to know my teammates a little more, but the process was slow, considering I was only seeing them twice a month. Before the season started, I missed my old team.
At some point, I stopped worrying about it and my conflicting thoughts sort of just floated away, but Tuesday after clinching a spot in the playoffs, it dawned on me that I had made the right decision.
I love my team. They are so supportive. I play singles so
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Running
I hate running, but I do it so I am not sucking wind on the court, ice or soccer field.
I haven't done any running for about a month now because of allergies and respiratory and sinus infections. I did a 2.5 mile run on Friday and then today I did a 4.5 mile run. OMG! I felt like I almost died. But I got through it and next run will be easier...hopefully.
Stay tuned...
KS
I haven't done any running for about a month now because of allergies and respiratory and sinus infections. I did a 2.5 mile run on Friday and then today I did a 4.5 mile run. OMG! I felt like I almost died. But I got through it and next run will be easier...hopefully.
Stay tuned...
KS
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Six Month Plan
Success at this year's Midwest Open Series tourneys was not what I expected. I've been playing well and hoping to qualify as a singles player for the end of the summer exhibition tournament August 20-22nd in Cincinnati, OH.
Last year I was an alternate, who missed the opportunity to play thanks to my invite letter being lost by the US Postal Service. This year, I was determined to work harder, be better, and qualify outright. But tougher draws, nagging allergy problems, sinus/ear infections, so many reasons why I didn't compete my best in singles this summer. However, I did qualify for doubles with my doubles partner, Ty Ana.
I am so excited and once again, amped up to work hard. I have six weeks to prepare to play the most important tournament so far in my young tennis career. The Midwest Open Series Championships are basically an exhibition tournament held on the grounds at the same time as the US Open Series Cincinnati tournament.
I've mentioned before about being goal-oriented and needing that feeling of working toward something tangible. I need that picture on my wall, so when I get up every morning, I am reminded, 'this is the reason I dragged myself out of bed to run' or 'this is the reason I played tennis with that guy who's able to bagel me in six sets in less than an hour'. I came across a quote recently that I absolutely fell in love with; "Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character."
So, true. When I came back from California, never have I felt so accomplished as a tennis player and all of that is due to the work I put in beforehand. I trained harder than I've ever trained from anything, so I got in better shape. My game improved in ways I never thought possible. I gained confidence in my game.
So the next goal is to compete as well as I can in Cincinnati. I have a two tourneys to play between now and then and I am gearing up to play the USTA league post season with both my day and night teams in first place in their respective flights. There are practice matches to play and the never-ending work to improve that flawed volley! I want to be at my best. I want to surprise both myself and my thirteen year old partner with how well I play! There's morning runs to complete (something I've been neglecting because of both allergies and laziness). The plan is to compete to the best of my ability every time I step on a court between now and August 20th, the continue working on the "technical difficulties" of my game, and to better my stamina.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Stay tuned...
KS
Last year I was an alternate, who missed the opportunity to play thanks to my invite letter being lost by the US Postal Service. This year, I was determined to work harder, be better, and qualify outright. But tougher draws, nagging allergy problems, sinus/ear infections, so many reasons why I didn't compete my best in singles this summer. However, I did qualify for doubles with my doubles partner, Ty Ana.
I am so excited and once again, amped up to work hard. I have six weeks to prepare to play the most important tournament so far in my young tennis career. The Midwest Open Series Championships are basically an exhibition tournament held on the grounds at the same time as the US Open Series Cincinnati tournament.
I've mentioned before about being goal-oriented and needing that feeling of working toward something tangible. I need that picture on my wall, so when I get up every morning, I am reminded, 'this is the reason I dragged myself out of bed to run' or 'this is the reason I played tennis with that guy who's able to bagel me in six sets in less than an hour'. I came across a quote recently that I absolutely fell in love with; "Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character."
So, true. When I came back from California, never have I felt so accomplished as a tennis player and all of that is due to the work I put in beforehand. I trained harder than I've ever trained from anything, so I got in better shape. My game improved in ways I never thought possible. I gained confidence in my game.
So the next goal is to compete as well as I can in Cincinnati. I have a two tourneys to play between now and then and I am gearing up to play the USTA league post season with both my day and night teams in first place in their respective flights. There are practice matches to play and the never-ending work to improve that flawed volley! I want to be at my best. I want to surprise both myself and my thirteen year old partner with how well I play! There's morning runs to complete (something I've been neglecting because of both allergies and laziness). The plan is to compete to the best of my ability every time I step on a court between now and August 20th, the continue working on the "technical difficulties" of my game, and to better my stamina.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Stay tuned...
KS
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Sometimes relationships aren't meant to stand the test of time and in tennis it's no different.
I've found myself having to polish off that eon-old speech that starts, "Well, it's not you. It's me..." Lately, a series of tennis habits have left me physically and mentally drained. Instead of looking forward to hitting sessions, I was beginning to dread them. Instead of looking forward to competing against a certain team or opponent, I felt apprehensive. Packing for a tournament, something I used to do days in advance, was done begrudgingly hours before departure time.
We've all had doubles partners were you just don't seem to click. Those are the partnerships easy to walk away from. Things never seemed like the good fit of a perfect pair of jeans, so it's easy to move on.
But there are other partnerships, associations, obligations, that make walking away difficult, where one of the people involved isn't as quick to realize that it is time to move on. Several of my tennis buddies have recently confessed to me, "I don't really like hitting with her/him, but I don't want to hurt their feelings." In theory, the honesty is the best policy, but who wants to hear; you cheat at line calls when it doesn't matter, so I don't want to hit with you. You're cool, but your mom is a psychopath and if she yells through the fence one more time from her bird-dogging position, I am going to purposely miss-hit a tennis ball right at her big mouth. Or, I would hit with you, but you coaching me when you just picked up a racquet three days ago isn't working for me. Or, if you can't say something sympathetic after a loss, then GO AWAY!
It's taken me a long time to realize that what I need out of a tennis relationship is just as important as what the other person needs. It should be symbiotic. There are people I love playing doubles with. Win or lose on the court, I leave feeling like I've had the time of my life. One of my favorite doubles partners, and I have many, is a teenager from Chicago. I strive to be like this thirteen-year old, who plays her ass off on the court yet is able to wipe the memories of a loss away with one swipe of a towel. At some point, her skills, already light years ahead of mine, will outgrow our partnership. I think we both realize that, but for now, it is fun, what it should be. We got routed our last match together, which was reminiscent of our first match together. The ones in between had become competitive and fun, so much so that I drove to Columbus to play a tourney with her where our first round opponents were far more accomplished than we were. But playing with her has been a blast.
On the flip side, there's a partner I've played with once. And it was a nightmare. I don't want to play with this partner ever again. I don't want to try to work it out. I don't want it to get better. I just don't want to play doubles with this partner. But instead of saying that, I've made excuses. (I'm focusing on singles. Playing singles and doubles with be too taxing on my delicate respiratory system. Playing doubles throws off my singles game.)
Tennis should be fun. If it's not fun, why do it? For all of it's costs and exerted energy and frustrating moments, if it's not fun, why do it?
For the rest of my 2010 season, my goal is to put the fun back in tennis. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Stay tuned,
KS
I've found myself having to polish off that eon-old speech that starts, "Well, it's not you. It's me..." Lately, a series of tennis habits have left me physically and mentally drained. Instead of looking forward to hitting sessions, I was beginning to dread them. Instead of looking forward to competing against a certain team or opponent, I felt apprehensive. Packing for a tournament, something I used to do days in advance, was done begrudgingly hours before departure time.
We've all had doubles partners were you just don't seem to click. Those are the partnerships easy to walk away from. Things never seemed like the good fit of a perfect pair of jeans, so it's easy to move on.
But there are other partnerships, associations, obligations, that make walking away difficult, where one of the people involved isn't as quick to realize that it is time to move on. Several of my tennis buddies have recently confessed to me, "I don't really like hitting with her/him, but I don't want to hurt their feelings." In theory, the honesty is the best policy, but who wants to hear; you cheat at line calls when it doesn't matter, so I don't want to hit with you. You're cool, but your mom is a psychopath and if she yells through the fence one more time from her bird-dogging position, I am going to purposely miss-hit a tennis ball right at her big mouth. Or, I would hit with you, but you coaching me when you just picked up a racquet three days ago isn't working for me. Or, if you can't say something sympathetic after a loss, then GO AWAY!
It's taken me a long time to realize that what I need out of a tennis relationship is just as important as what the other person needs. It should be symbiotic. There are people I love playing doubles with. Win or lose on the court, I leave feeling like I've had the time of my life. One of my favorite doubles partners, and I have many, is a teenager from Chicago. I strive to be like this thirteen-year old, who plays her ass off on the court yet is able to wipe the memories of a loss away with one swipe of a towel. At some point, her skills, already light years ahead of mine, will outgrow our partnership. I think we both realize that, but for now, it is fun, what it should be. We got routed our last match together, which was reminiscent of our first match together. The ones in between had become competitive and fun, so much so that I drove to Columbus to play a tourney with her where our first round opponents were far more accomplished than we were. But playing with her has been a blast.
On the flip side, there's a partner I've played with once. And it was a nightmare. I don't want to play with this partner ever again. I don't want to try to work it out. I don't want it to get better. I just don't want to play doubles with this partner. But instead of saying that, I've made excuses. (I'm focusing on singles. Playing singles and doubles with be too taxing on my delicate respiratory system. Playing doubles throws off my singles game.)
Tennis should be fun. If it's not fun, why do it? For all of it's costs and exerted energy and frustrating moments, if it's not fun, why do it?
For the rest of my 2010 season, my goal is to put the fun back in tennis. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Stay tuned,
KS
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