Advantage-Me: Lessons Learned on the Tennis Court

When I started my freshman year in high school, one of my biggest goals was to make the varsity tennis team. I remember being very intimidated during the first few days of tryouts as I tried to keep up with conditioning exercises and with seasoned players in my matches.

I didn’t make the team that year, but I was ambitious as ever to make it the next year. I worked with my coaches on my spin serve, split-step, and volley technique and attended extra practices. It wasn’t easy, and there were days when I would get home from practice feeling discouraged. But the hard work paid off and I played doubles for the varsity team for the next two years.

Since I never achieved tennis superstardom, you might be wondering what I gained from my years of chasing a yellow ball with a racquet. The answer is much more than even I would have thought. My time on the court taught me the value of working hard to improve my skills and pushing myself to achieve my goals. Tennis also taught me to stay calm under pressure and be confident in what I can bring to the team. It taught me how to work through disappointment and not let rejection stop me. I have translated these lessons to my academic life and they will undoubtedly be useful as I look forward to my eventual career.

I am so thankful that I was able to play sports in school. Because of Title IX, I was able to learn valuable life lessons, and have fun while doing it. Still, 40 years later, not every student has the same opportunity I had. Take some time today to think about what sports did for you growing up and how you can support equal opportunities in sports for students in your community.