Monday's Important Things : Practice

Important thing number two, practice. I should add that these really aren't in any special order other than the order that they occur to me. This one occurs to me during spring tennis season when practicing is a self motivated choice and not a school regulated requirement. It's during this season of the year that we are tempted to think of excuses not to play, because the season is far away, because we're involved in some other things, and so on and so on.

But practice, especially during the offseason, is a super important thing. Today, I want to discuss 3 reasons why it is important.

#1: Opportunity
Practice gives you lots of opportunities. The most important opportunity that offseason practice gives you is the opportunity to try new things and make adjustments. During the season, it is really difficult to change someone's entire swing pattern or teach a brand new type of shot because there is a certain amount of failure involved in learning something new and during the season that failure may cause losses on that individual's record, and perhaps the team record. So the best place to try new things is during the offseason.

Last year, Jared and Luke both worked extensively on hitting the ball on the rise. This became a dynamite stroke for them throughout the year. Jared also was able to concentrate on having proper footwork between every point, and it became a habit for him by the time the season came around. Jonny Shenk worked on passing shots, Ben and Austin developed more biting and reliable serves, Daniel's groundstrokes improved about 10 times, and Seth transformed into the most dominant #2S JV player ever.

Point being, in the offseason there should be no fear of failure. So pick something to work out, try some new things out and stick with it.

#2: Repetition
You can really gain these new skills because practice gives you the chance to repeat something over and over again. You can take a hopper of balls to the courts and hit 100 serves in a row to try to work on your topspin. That just doesn't happen when we play matches. You can hit crosscourt for 20 minutes, you can work on overheads for as long as you want. You can develop the new skills you are trying to gain through repeating and repeating and repeating.

#3: Character
Practicing develops your character. Because it takes a commitment, but it also is rewarding. This year's seniors were the hardest practicing group I've ever coached or been a part of in any sport, it's no wonder they were able to achieve a Sectional title. But that commitment, that time spent on hard work has developed their ability to pursue their goals in other areas as well. They know what it means to sacrifice time for an important task, so I would be confident asking them to take on more responsiblities in academic fields, or work oriented ventures, whatever.

When you make a choice to be dedicated, you mature as a whole person. You understand how to set goals, how to work towards them, what it means to succeed. This makes you more of a whole person, and can transfer to other areas of your life. It's not always fun to come out and practice, but if you can push yourself through that feeling, then the rewards are worth it. Life works like that too. Not everything feels fun, but staying dedicated pays off.

Well, that's the end. It is important to practice, I hope you decide to put in some time. Now is the time we catch up and work harder than other teams. Tell everyone that now is the time to practice!