...and when I finally see the end to this endless chase, I will smack myself...
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Tennis is ridiculously fun, especially when you win. But just to get on the court and pull the ball, see the topspin, make that lefty hook drop shot tailing away from the opponent's backhand, bomb a first serve, slam a jump backhand and just simply reach back to smack an inside out winner is so thrilling.
It's good to be back on court. After two years of singles experience, I've come to realize that while I may not have the best strokes, I can outsmart my opponents. I have the game plan, I have the ability to see my opponent's weaknesses and to make my own adjustments, and I have the variety of strokes to throw my opponent off balance. As I have watched games on TV, I have grown. And within this maturation process, I now know that that power-hitting swaggering lefty that walked into tennis tryouts expecting to win on pure brute force was just plain stupid. Tennis is a game of intelligence and strategy as much as it is about athleticism.
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FBLA SLC tomorrow.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
February 25, 2009
People won't remember what you said to them, people won't remember what you did with them, but people will always remember the way you make them feel.
One of the speakers from the Iron-Hills Sportsmanship Summit said this. While I went in skeptical of the purpose of this conference, I honestly came out with a few things; some sports-related, some life-related. After the guy said this quote, it made me think a lot about the important people in my life - good friends, family - and it's hard not to agree. While I do often remember specific things people do or say, what helps me to remember these things is the way I felt in the moment. Thinking about this brought me back to so many good memories and it makes me wonder whether or not I'll ever feel the same again.
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As for the sports-related aspect of the conference, what I took from it wasn't anything new; it was just a reminder of all the things I should be doing on court every day. Have confidence. I know I'm a good player despite being an underdog. If I am just a little more confident and hit each shot with more conviction, I could potentially unleash whatever potential I have. Play against the game, not the opponent. This is something I really need to work on. It takes two people to play and both players are aiming for a shared goal. One will get it, one won't, but that's the point of the game. Eh, not sure that's exactly what I wanted to say, but that's as good as I can put it in words.
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I'm more excited than ever for the season. Yes, we're underdogs. We were also underdogs last year and we still managed a good season. If each of us just play just a little bit harder than we normally would each day, we have the chance to become of something. It's going to be fun. And I think I have my start-of-the-season pep talk ready.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
February 6, 2009 - Most Eventful Day of My Life
Crazy.
I have never done so much in one day. It was a really enjoyable day. I had been excited for this day for a while, but I didn't think it'd be this eventful.
I just wish that everyone would stop thinking that everyone hates each other or actually hating each other and not letting them know. Or some variation of hating and assuming. It drives me insane. And it makes me really not be able to wait to go to college and get away from all of it.
But then again, I guess this is all part of the fun. Seriously, I feel like just out of this group of friends, we can make a TV show. If someone can really look deep into each little partition or group of people and all the interactions, it would be incredibly interesting.
So anyhow, I guess that's a part of what makes each day so fun, even if it does annoy me. Anyway. Here goes today's rundown of events: school, lunch, mall, hospital, random stores, tennis, gong show, Vin's, dinner. Honestly, each one of those felt like a day. And I cannot remember going to school at all.
Going shopping (kind of) with Jackie today made me wonder why guys hate shopping so much. I really don't mind it. I'm not going to go shopping over playing tennis or something, but it could be turned into a fun activity I suppose.
The hospital. I'm really upset that we didn't go the past few years. We didn't see too much today, but what I did see makes me want to push even harder to help out. I cannot relate at all with the people who were in some devastating injury or born with diseases, but just the fact that they can keep moving on with their lives, try to get better and do the best they can to live the same life they had before, I respect them. When I think about what I would do if I were to lose a leg or an arm, I realize that I would not want to live anymore. I would have nothing to live for. The things that I love doing, I can't do anymore. But there are people out there who actually suffer through this and are able to move on and do their best to the things they loved doing before. Maybe I'm rambling, but this really is how I feel.
Visiting the hospital was also really nice in that now when I think about the hospital, I don't think about it being a Key Club fundraiser. I think about all the children there, the staff, the families of the patients. There's so much more meaning to it. Hopefully I'll be able to do something good for them soon.
Tennis. I dislike children who seem nice and quiet and well behaved (I dislike most of them in general, but this especially), and once they know you better, they start acting up. They need to realize that they're not funny. DEATH.
The GONG SHOW. It was pretty epic. It made me feel depressed that I don't have any presentable talents such as singing or dancing. But it's okay. It's nice to watch and listen and enjoy. I'm really proud of Tiff and Lil and Christina and Titas and everyone else who performed. :-) Sweet job!
And then there was dinner, where I felt like everyone was really tired and somewhat on the cranky side. But s'all good.
I didn't have a minute's worth of free time today. Literally. But it was great.
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Scratch what I said yesterday about hitting a wall on the concert. I felt like within a day, all of that turned and there's just so much more hope for it to happen. And when it does, it's going to be big. We're going to make a difference. And it'll be legendary.
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I saw this quote from Yankee's reliever Brian Bruney: "I thought it was time to figure things out and really do what I know I can do. I don't want to be one of those up-and-down guys, great one day and horrible the next. I want to be consistently good."
I can't even remember exactly why this quote felt so meaningful when I first read it, but it's good. It shows growth. It shows new-found maturity. I think I'm at the point where I'm almost able to figure some things out and once I do, it'll be good for me and who I become.
I guess one of these changes is, as I was talking to Tiff about earlier, that I stopped caring about what people think of me. And quite honestly, it's been one of the greatest realization/change that I have made. I can be more free. Be who I want to be and not who I think other people want to be. It's like breaking out of a shell and being who I really am. And it's made me feel much better about myself.
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Alright, that's all for now.
I have never done so much in one day. It was a really enjoyable day. I had been excited for this day for a while, but I didn't think it'd be this eventful.
I just wish that everyone would stop thinking that everyone hates each other or actually hating each other and not letting them know. Or some variation of hating and assuming. It drives me insane. And it makes me really not be able to wait to go to college and get away from all of it.
But then again, I guess this is all part of the fun. Seriously, I feel like just out of this group of friends, we can make a TV show. If someone can really look deep into each little partition or group of people and all the interactions, it would be incredibly interesting.
So anyhow, I guess that's a part of what makes each day so fun, even if it does annoy me. Anyway. Here goes today's rundown of events: school, lunch, mall, hospital, random stores, tennis, gong show, Vin's, dinner. Honestly, each one of those felt like a day. And I cannot remember going to school at all.
Going shopping (kind of) with Jackie today made me wonder why guys hate shopping so much. I really don't mind it. I'm not going to go shopping over playing tennis or something, but it could be turned into a fun activity I suppose.
The hospital. I'm really upset that we didn't go the past few years. We didn't see too much today, but what I did see makes me want to push even harder to help out. I cannot relate at all with the people who were in some devastating injury or born with diseases, but just the fact that they can keep moving on with their lives, try to get better and do the best they can to live the same life they had before, I respect them. When I think about what I would do if I were to lose a leg or an arm, I realize that I would not want to live anymore. I would have nothing to live for. The things that I love doing, I can't do anymore. But there are people out there who actually suffer through this and are able to move on and do their best to the things they loved doing before. Maybe I'm rambling, but this really is how I feel.
Visiting the hospital was also really nice in that now when I think about the hospital, I don't think about it being a Key Club fundraiser. I think about all the children there, the staff, the families of the patients. There's so much more meaning to it. Hopefully I'll be able to do something good for them soon.
Tennis. I dislike children who seem nice and quiet and well behaved (I dislike most of them in general, but this especially), and once they know you better, they start acting up. They need to realize that they're not funny. DEATH.
The GONG SHOW. It was pretty epic. It made me feel depressed that I don't have any presentable talents such as singing or dancing. But it's okay. It's nice to watch and listen and enjoy. I'm really proud of Tiff and Lil and Christina and Titas and everyone else who performed. :-) Sweet job!
And then there was dinner, where I felt like everyone was really tired and somewhat on the cranky side. But s'all good.
I didn't have a minute's worth of free time today. Literally. But it was great.
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Scratch what I said yesterday about hitting a wall on the concert. I felt like within a day, all of that turned and there's just so much more hope for it to happen. And when it does, it's going to be big. We're going to make a difference. And it'll be legendary.
---------
I saw this quote from Yankee's reliever Brian Bruney: "I thought it was time to figure things out and really do what I know I can do. I don't want to be one of those up-and-down guys, great one day and horrible the next. I want to be consistently good."
I can't even remember exactly why this quote felt so meaningful when I first read it, but it's good. It shows growth. It shows new-found maturity. I think I'm at the point where I'm almost able to figure some things out and once I do, it'll be good for me and who I become.
I guess one of these changes is, as I was talking to Tiff about earlier, that I stopped caring about what people think of me. And quite honestly, it's been one of the greatest realization/change that I have made. I can be more free. Be who I want to be and not who I think other people want to be. It's like breaking out of a shell and being who I really am. And it's made me feel much better about myself.
---------
Alright, that's all for now.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
February 5, 2009
It's been kind of slow lately. Without all that homework and college apps and school stress (I actually think the lack of stress is helping me do better in school...odd), I really should find something new to do. I'm not sure what though. I've been spending a lot more time lately working out (running two to three miles a day on the treadmill, push ups, sit ups, etc.) but that's not really enough. I need to find something of substance to occupy my time. Something else that I can do without feeling like it's purposeless. This will be less of a problem once the tennis season comes, which I can't wait for. I really should start practicing. Being in shape doesn't help my game much. Yeah, I'm going to get on that.
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We're going to visit Children's Specialized Hospital tomorrow. I'm actually kind of excited. We've donated a decent amount of money to them over the years and it'd be nice to put a face to the name. Jackie and I are making cards for the kids there later. Fun stuff.
It's strange how Key Club's recently shot itself up my list of priorities. I mean, I've always been dedicated to it and wanted to do everything to make it better, but recently, I have been really want to do more, go beyond the normal. I don't lie when I write about how much Key Club has changed me and made me grow over the past four years in scholarship and college essays. It's just lately, I have wanted to make myself more useful to the community. This may sound selfish, but it makes me feel better knowing that I'm not only always taking from everyone. I've come to a point in my life when I realized I need to give back. In a way, I'm also trying to prove to myself that I'm not that heartless person everyone thinks I am and also that I can be a good leader when I dedicate myself to it.
I feel like this concert we're trying to do is starting to hit a wall. The bands are coming along, but the provisions we need to meet seem out of our reach. But then again, this concert was supposed to go well beyond our reach. I'm not going to stop trying until I get a definitive "no."
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I can't wait for baseball season to start. It'll give me something to watch at nights. And hopefully I'll be in a real fantasy baseball league this year. That should be fun.
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We're going to visit Children's Specialized Hospital tomorrow. I'm actually kind of excited. We've donated a decent amount of money to them over the years and it'd be nice to put a face to the name. Jackie and I are making cards for the kids there later. Fun stuff.
It's strange how Key Club's recently shot itself up my list of priorities. I mean, I've always been dedicated to it and wanted to do everything to make it better, but recently, I have been really want to do more, go beyond the normal. I don't lie when I write about how much Key Club has changed me and made me grow over the past four years in scholarship and college essays. It's just lately, I have wanted to make myself more useful to the community. This may sound selfish, but it makes me feel better knowing that I'm not only always taking from everyone. I've come to a point in my life when I realized I need to give back. In a way, I'm also trying to prove to myself that I'm not that heartless person everyone thinks I am and also that I can be a good leader when I dedicate myself to it.
I feel like this concert we're trying to do is starting to hit a wall. The bands are coming along, but the provisions we need to meet seem out of our reach. But then again, this concert was supposed to go well beyond our reach. I'm not going to stop trying until I get a definitive "no."
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I can't wait for baseball season to start. It'll give me something to watch at nights. And hopefully I'll be in a real fantasy baseball league this year. That should be fun.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
January 30, 2009
This week went by quickly, but it felt long in terms of how much work I had. It's amazing how I can put so much work into certain things and yet still fail. Maybe not fail, but feel less than accomplished. Such is my life.
It gives me chills whenever I see a person take in every moment of something after succeeding something they put so much effort into. I can't imagine what it feels like. But I'm really hoping one day, there will be something that I can just lay back and smile about. Something that I work hard to achieve and I would assume that that's the best feeling in the world. I hope.
And there's this guy:
I've come to realize lately how much I love underdogs. To just burst out on the scene and deliver everything you have with confidence, perseverance, and heart. I mean, this guy, Verdasco, he's never been past the fourth round of a grand slam event. He comes to Aussie fitter than ever and prepared to play. He had his heart set on making a good run. And he sure made one hell of a run. I'm sure in his mind, he never had a seconds worth of doubt in his ability, in his potential. He remade himself. He didn't let his past record scare him away from being successful now. I give this guy a lot of credit and my respect. He's an inspiration.
I guess, in a way, that's what I want to do with myself. Forget my failure-and-bad-luck-filled past. Restart. I suppose that this whole new workout routine that I'm committing myself to is part of that. Like Verdasco, maybe I can go into the tennis season fitter than ever. Unlock some of the potential I know I have. Then again, all of this comes with practice, practice, practice. Being in shape is one thing. Knowing how to play is another. And I'm not sure I have the resources to truly unlock this potential. But I'll work at it. Once I find someone who wants to play with me.
Back to the underdog idea. My life has always seemed to me as if it's some sort of a failure. I have never really been able to achieve as much as I strive for. Mainly, it is because I never truly put my mind to something to be the best that I can be. So in this sense, I feel like my life is one big unlocked potential. In every thing I do, I feel like I'm the underdog, which I may be. But my mentality of being the underdog restricts me. I walk in feeling inferior and therefore, I am. Yes, I believe that existence comes before essence, but having the mentality would give me one less force to fight against. And because of this, all of these underdog stories are truly inspiring. It gives me the hope that I can do more if I work for it.
I think it's time for some change. Class pessimist no more? We'll see.
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My birthday wasn't anything really special. Nothing exciting. Lots of "happy birthday"s, from acquaintances on Facebook more than anyone else. A cake. Some money. Good money actually. A hundred and sixty dollars worth of money. Though it was combined with Chinese New Year red envelope money. Still nice. I guess my mother forgot about our tirade the evening before.
Being eighteen doesn't seem like anything special. Until I tell people that I'm eighteen. That's when I realized how old I am. Do younger kids really look at me the way I used to look at eighteen year olds?
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The Australian Open has been going on. I've probably watched and followed this tournament more than any other before and it really is incredibly to watch them. It makes me want to play so badly. It makes me want to be good. It makes me want the to feel success; to be able to scream in joy, pump my fists, and let euphoria run through me. To be able to do this:My birthday wasn't anything really special. Nothing exciting. Lots of "happy birthday"s, from acquaintances on Facebook more than anyone else. A cake. Some money. Good money actually. A hundred and sixty dollars worth of money. Though it was combined with Chinese New Year red envelope money. Still nice. I guess my mother forgot about our tirade the evening before.
Being eighteen doesn't seem like anything special. Until I tell people that I'm eighteen. That's when I realized how old I am. Do younger kids really look at me the way I used to look at eighteen year olds?
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It gives me chills whenever I see a person take in every moment of something after succeeding something they put so much effort into. I can't imagine what it feels like. But I'm really hoping one day, there will be something that I can just lay back and smile about. Something that I work hard to achieve and I would assume that that's the best feeling in the world. I hope.
And there's this guy:
I guess, in a way, that's what I want to do with myself. Forget my failure-and-bad-luck-filled past. Restart. I suppose that this whole new workout routine that I'm committing myself to is part of that. Like Verdasco, maybe I can go into the tennis season fitter than ever. Unlock some of the potential I know I have. Then again, all of this comes with practice, practice, practice. Being in shape is one thing. Knowing how to play is another. And I'm not sure I have the resources to truly unlock this potential. But I'll work at it. Once I find someone who wants to play with me.
Back to the underdog idea. My life has always seemed to me as if it's some sort of a failure. I have never really been able to achieve as much as I strive for. Mainly, it is because I never truly put my mind to something to be the best that I can be. So in this sense, I feel like my life is one big unlocked potential. In every thing I do, I feel like I'm the underdog, which I may be. But my mentality of being the underdog restricts me. I walk in feeling inferior and therefore, I am. Yes, I believe that existence comes before essence, but having the mentality would give me one less force to fight against. And because of this, all of these underdog stories are truly inspiring. It gives me the hope that I can do more if I work for it.
I think it's time for some change. Class pessimist no more? We'll see.
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