As of a few weeks ago, my tennis journey has officially ended, at least at this level. I wrapped up my senior season with a bang, and then realized the finality of it all. As sad as it is to say goodbye to a thing that has been good to me, I know that I will no longer be playing tennis at the level I have been playing (don’t get me wrong, you will still find me on the court from time to time!). God has been good to me in giving me two seasons in this sport, but by the end of this season, I knew that I was ready to move on to different things.
Now that I have had some time to reflect, I want to take a break from the word study series and share the lessons that the Lord has taught me in my brief yet meaningful time on the team.
Discipline
This is such a big one for me. I know I talked all about discipline in a previous blog post in the word study series, but I do want to touch on it again, and focus specifically on how I learned more about it through tennis.
Discipline can involve your body, but it is more rooted in your mindset, and everything else flows from that. During my seasons, I had to be disciplined in my actions and my thoughts, both on and off the court.
While I was on the court, whether it was a practice or a match, I had to discipline myself through my hard work. There were days where it was over 100 degrees on the court, and even walking made me sweat, and there were days where my body felt weak and tired, but that is where discipline comes in handy the most. I learned to push myself through beating these obstacles and working hard no matter what my circumstances are. Even though I wanted nothing more than to take a break and sit down, I knew that with every stroke I did, and every serve I did, I would become a more resilient player. In addition, it helped form my living testimony. Trust me, people notice when you go the extra mile, even if nobody else is.
In addition, I am learning discipline outside of the courts. I struggle a lot with these disciplines, because it involves things like nutrition, sleep, and daily habits. All of these things can make or break your athletic journey, and even if your coach and teammates don’t see it, the fruit of your work will become evident when you show massive improvement in whatever it is you are doing. I learned to create little habits throughout my day to keep me in good shape for tennis. I will admit, my nutrition and eating habits aren’t amazing (but let’s be honest, I’m going to blame the hormones for that a little bit!), but I learned how important it is to keep yourself fully rested, and how to let your body relax instead of getting things done 24/7. The little things that you do every day is what shows big results later on, if you remain steadfast.
Initiating connections
This year, since I was a senior, I was put in a position of leadership within my team. I, along with all of the other senior players, were given a few girls on the team as a “small group”. The idea of this small group was that us seniors could practice leadership, while the other girls had someone to look up to and learn from. I was blessed with three amazing girls, two of which were brand new to the tennis team. Throughout the season, I began initiating conversations with these girls, whether it was face-to-face (cheering them on in a match, congratulating them on a good point, etc.) or through a group chat to see how everyone’s weekend was. These girls were sweet from the beginning, but I learned that the more that I poured into these girls, and the more time I spent focusing on them as individuals, the more that they came to me with questions, concerns, and good moments. It fills my heart to get a text from one of them, or to have them come and say hi to me in the hallways between classes.
A few weeks ago, I had the girls over for a fun night. We played games, ate pizza, and laughed a lot. After everyone else had left, I was given an opportunity to invite one of the girls to church. I knew that if I had asked her without me investing in her at all, I probably would have gotten a polite decline, but I learned that all the love and time I had given her showed her that I cared, and was thrilled that she accepted and came with me. I can really feel the Lord tugging on her heart, and I am so grateful that she feels comfortable coming with me and doing something new, which was probably a little nerve-wracking for her at first.
I learned a while ago that I can’t wait for people to initiate friendships, and that I need to be the one to take the first step. Not only will this bring you great friendships, but it also will give you opportunities to share your faith with others, and to bring them into the kingdom of God. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I was given to be with these girls and show them love.
Conflict resolution
Let’s be honest: when there’s a bunch of girls on a team that are together pretty much 24/7 during a season, there is no way that there won’t be at least a bit of drama. I have always been grateful that I have not been involved in pretty much any drama, but it is different when you are a part of a team. Everyone is in it together, and you work through problems together. Because I was a senior and in varsity, I was expected to set an example in how I conduct myself on these issues.
The biggest lesson I learned in this is to never escalate the issue. If two girls aren’t getting along, and some things are said, the worst thing that you can do is to tell everybody else about it, and get more people involved and picking sides. Sometimes, if it is a close friend, you can go to them in love and tell them that they aren’t making a wise decision, but if you aren’t close with the people involved, a coach, teacher, parent, or mentor is usually the only other person that needs to know.
In addition, when dealing with conflict, be cautious about how you talk to and about the people that are involved. If someone else comes up to you to ask about your opinion on the problem, or wants to pull you into it, I have learned to shift the conversation. I learned to do this by introducing a whole new topic, or even just to change the way the conversation is phrased. For example, if someone comes up to you and talks about how annoying this one teammate is, deflect and edify by saying something like “I can struggle with that too sometimes, but I admire how hardworking on the court she is” or “I have noticed you too butting heads, but I respect her work ethic and how she encourages others” can help you remain neutral on the conflict while not arousing any more anger or annoyance. I’m grateful that I haven’t had to exercise this much, because it means I haven’t had to deal with drama or conflict like this, but with me being in a position of leadership and trust, I had to quickly learn to be cautious about what I say and who I say it to.
Appreciate every moment
Yes, yes, this is the sappy senior in me talking. I feel like the seniors every year say this, but it is so true. Those extra long practices and rainy matches don’t seem like fun at the moment, but later on, you won’t remember how miserable you were. In reality, you are going to remember how you and your teammates ran around in the rain collecting the tennis balls, and how you all laid on the ground together after practice, laughing as you tried to catch your breath and cool down. It can be really easy to take the miserable moments and mope around all day complaining, but you are going to miss all those days. This is especially true when it comes to a team, because you spend an insane amount of time with your teammates during the season, and it is a really big shock to your system when that is all over.
Whether you are in a sport, team, or any other group of the sort, know that it, along with everything else, will eventually come to an end. I hate to say it, but that is the reality. Nothing on this earth lasts forever, but it is meant to be an important part of who we are, and brings us closer to people and to who God made us to be. Don’t take it for granted, even on the days where even showing up is so hard.
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I feel like I could talk about this topic forever, but I don’t want to give you guys a 2-hour read. I hope you guys enjoyed this quick break from the word study topic, but I promise I am coming back to it real soon! I love you guys <3
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