During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began to play tennis for fitness and fun to overcome the dull moments during the quarantine life. At that time, I had never thought about playing tennis as a major sport because I had never played it before. The only two sports I had played before were basketball and baseball, two sports that require many people to play together.
As the quarantine life ended, I began to play with more variety of people and get better and better by playing every day and doing private lesson training.
Until the beginning of my first year in high school, which is also the first year of in-person school, I started to get my tennis to a higher level and set a goal to join the varsity tennis team. The goal wasn’t easy because most people had played for three or more years, but I started tennis too late. As a result, the time gap between other people and me trying out for the team was the biggest obstacle to realizing my goal. So, I started to get more training and play some matches at the local tennis club. During that time, my skill level had been rising very quickly.
Over time, when the day became closer and closer to the tennis team try-out, I was on a platform, meaning that my tennis level was improving like in the past. This caused a lot of frustration, but I still found a solution. I began to play more practice matches, which helped me gain experience and better understand my game style. Playing more matches also helped to build my mentality for the partners, letting me not be too nervous and scared for the tryout.
After preparation for over half a year, tryout finally begins. I was trying to win my first match during the tryout because there is a Chinese tradition that during a tournament, the hardest part is the beginning. But sadly, I faced one of the best guys trying out there, and my confidence in joining the team was a lot weaker.
The next day, I was trying to focus on my game, but I still got impacted by the match from the first day. I was losing 0-2 in my match and was entirely in the game mode. At last, I won six games in a row, and that match was the most effective match that made me be on the team.
As the quarantine life ended, I began to play with more variety of people and get better and better by playing every day and doing private lesson training.
Until the beginning of my first year in high school, which is also the first year of in-person school, I started to get my tennis to a higher level and set a goal to join the varsity tennis team. The goal wasn’t easy because most people had played for three or more years, but I started tennis too late. As a result, the time gap between other people and me trying out for the team was the biggest obstacle to realizing my goal. So, I started to get more training and play some matches at the local tennis club. During that time, my skill level had been rising very quickly.
Over time, when the day became closer and closer to the tennis team try-out, I was on a platform, meaning that my tennis level was improving like in the past. This caused a lot of frustration, but I still found a solution. I began to play more practice matches, which helped me gain experience and better understand my game style. Playing more matches also helped to build my mentality for the partners, letting me not be too nervous and scared for the tryout.
After preparation for over half a year, tryout finally begins. I was trying to win my first match during the tryout because there is a Chinese tradition that during a tournament, the hardest part is the beginning. But sadly, I faced one of the best guys trying out there, and my confidence in joining the team was a lot weaker.
The next day, I was trying to focus on my game, but I still got impacted by the match from the first day. I was losing 0-2 in my match and was entirely in the game mode. At last, I won six games in a row, and that match was the most effective match that made me be on the team.
