To Share the Story

    I have been asked by several parents over the past couple weeks when I started playing tennis. I have shared my story with them and that got me thinking how important it is to share the story of how I started playing tennis. I was entering the ninth grade and I found a tennis racket in our garage and started practicing with it. I can remember making a makeshift grass tennis court out of saw horses in our backyard. I ended up taking some tennis lessons over the winter and then went out for the high school tennis team. That first year, I lost- a lot.  The rest of the team had a name for the way I played because I would always hit the high moon balls. I finished the last man on the team ladder, two years in a row. 

      Some people may think that is not something to be proud of, but for me it is. Being last is what kept me working to prove to myself that I could learn this game. I went to summer tennis camps and played with a friend ritually over the summers. I began to craft my game and by my senior year I had earned a varsity spot, but played number one junior varsity. Even with my dedication, hard work, and passion our coach allowed me to play a varsity match. Something deep down on the inside of me wouldn't let me quit, it kept saying,"There is something more for you, this is just the beginning." I had a hard time listening to that. I wanted success now. 

       When I moved back to Phoenix for college I taught lessons and washed courts at a local academy to help pay my way through school. I would practice in the evening from 7-9 two to three nights a week. Two years after moving to Phoenix, I made my college tennis team after never playing varsity or junior tennis.  The next year I earned a college scholarship. Not only was I a scholarship player, but I had worked for a tennis teacher certification. I tell this story because it does not matter when you start playing as a high school player or the ranking you achieve. It doesn't matter on your talent. It matters on how much you are willing to go the distance and enjoy a journey. It matters not where you start, but how you finish. I may have started last, but now I get to give the instruction I needed when I was starting. I hope in some way I can make your journey just a little bit easier.