Back in June I had the pleasure of celebrating an entire year with Tennis Austin. While reflecting on all we have addressed, analyzed, questioned, adjusted or started in the last year could be fun, that just might bore you to tears. Instead, I wanted to sit in gratitude with you – gratitude for this sport.
I believe gratitude is the single most uplifting gift we have; being grateful and living in gratitude are emotionally and physically beneficial. And spiritual. If we cannot find a way to be grateful for what we do have, is it possible to be entrusted with more? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Meanwhile, let’s reflect together on tennis and all this sport gives, and requires, to play.
If you have ever read The Inner Game of Tennis, you will likely recall how it beautifully enlightens readers to the immense amount of work happening inside us just to make that seamless connection from the racket to the ball. Anyone playing tennis is utilizing far more of their body’s intelligence and physicality than they could ever imagine. When you truly pause to reflect on that intricate, silent choreography, it is impossible not to feel a deep sense of gratitude for what is required to be on the court.
And this is happening inside any tennis player, whether it is someone who hit their first ball yesterday, or someone who is battling all the injuries and years of wear-and-tear a body can face.
Every shot is the product of countless things happening inside us that we never consciously command. Our eyes, our feet, our balance, our muscles, our breath, our hearts pumping blood with oxygen, our instincts, our experience all working together in fractions of a second. It’s remarkable when you stop to think about it. It all happens instantaneously AND its benefits stay with us long after we leave the court.
And what about the people in tennis?
The people make it all happen. Without the people who affect every aspect of the game, it would cease to exist.
I often think about my teammates, my opponents, my captains, my coaches, the league coordinators and tournament directors, first. Those people are coordinating the tennis that I play, personally.
More often than remembering, I forget to remember the people who:
Make the tennis balls, source the materials, design the clothing for both fashion and comfort, configure the rackets and their effects, the stringers, those who fulfill our orders of the plethora of merchandise tennis has.
Then there are the ball kids elevating the spectating experience, the pros who make tennis larger than life itself, the groundskeepers at every type of court facilities, those who analyze the quality of the actual court surface materials, the engineers who design the playing surface.
What about the surgeon who fixed our injuries, the therapists and chiropractors who guided our healing, or the producer of the braces we need or tape to hold us together.
What never came to mind before coming to work at a Community Tennis Association, was the people volunteering their time, talents and treasures to impact the game in their areas of influence – board members, advocates, fundraisers, and the countless volunteers quietly investing in the game. We don’t usually crack open a can of balls, spin the rackets before a match and pick side or serve while stopping to consider those that literally paved the court nor had the vision to incorporate it into a club or city park.
Today is hitting different. Today I want to live in gratitude and reflect on all that needed coordination before a court could be walked upon and all the systems inside us that must come together to play.
Gratitude.
Thank you to everyone who has affected the game of tennis. The impact is vast and lasting.