Post #4

Prompt: How often do you leave your comfort zone?

    It’s well known that I’m not the biggest fan of doubles in tennis. I usually stayed back at the baseline, where I revolved my game around and felt the most comfortable. I loved hitting angular shots from the back and grinding out a point was the way I wanted to play. Doubles was almost like the exact opposite, where fast-paced gameplay due to volleys could end the point instantly. 

    There were two major issues about doubles. I hated the volley. While others found this shot trivial, even though I had spent years playing, it was my least favorite shot because I just couldn’t get it right. You had to stay up the net and hit the ball out of the air. That meant that you got less reaction time because you were closer and the ball was faster. Volleys were way more common in doubles than in singles, but my least favorite part by far was playing with a teammate. At first, it felt like a lose-lose situation, where you either had to carry your teammate or get carried. Both situations left a bad taste in my mouth.

    I decided to give doubles another chance my Junior year after playing singles for two years solely out of curiosity. I knew that I wasn’t going to like the first couple matches but I kept going because I felt that my biggest weakness was my volleys. I wanted to improve upon that.

    As the season went on, I got more practice playing doubles. Instead of seeing it as some crazy intricate mess, I got more used to the fast-paced gameplay. I had a better understanding of the roles that each person was supposed to take. My volleys got better over time and practice. Most importantly, however, I worked better with my teammate. I realized that your teammate didn’t drag you down or lift you up, at least not if you were doing it correctly. Ideally, both should be lifting each other up and encouraging. Your teammate would keep you in line if you ever got frustrated, and vice versa, keeping a positive mindset throughout the game.

    The beginning of doubles is the hardest because that’s where you’re trying to find you and your partners flow and seeing what works today. Learning to adapt to how you and your partner played was challenging, but once you got that, the game became much simpler. Adapting to the challenges your opponents threw at you was fun to figure out as a team. One of my fondest memories was playing a tournament and though we lost the first set, we figured out our opponents weaknesses and came back from what we thought was a seemingly impossible-to-pass gap in scoring.

    Stepping out of my comfort zone, I was able to allow room for improvement and develop new skills. Even though I had the fear of the ball hitting me, and fear of the judgment from my teammate, I was able to overcome those obstacles. Through practice, the ball became less scary, and I realized that your teammate shouldn’t focus their time on judging you, but rather working as a team to lift each other up. Leaving your comfort zone is challenging, but it’s there where you can surprise yourself. Leaving your comfort zone is a catalyst for growth and maybe, you might actually find that you enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone like I did.