I first learned Lawn Tennis when I was 8. It has since been a part of my weekend routine, that is, until covid hit. During the lockdown, I didn’t get a chance to play. And after that, I just forgot about it. But when my neighbor once asked me to play a match with him, something pretty standard in the pre covid era, I was annihilated by him. This loss was when I realized that I had gotten rusty in my skills, and it was going to take some time to recover it. So I decided to start practicing Tennis again and get myself at least back to the skill level I had two years ago.
Learning Outcomes:
LO1: Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
As I played lawn tennis for quite a time, I thought I was pretty sure of my strengths and weaknesses. But after playing for some time, I realized that due to the physical changes in my body over the two years of height and muscle growth, my body had become very stiff. I was, however, surprised by the speed at which I was able to run in the court and the power with which I was able to hit the ball. So I practiced regularly to get used to lawn tennis once again, and also, doing yoga helped make my body flexible. Identifying my strengths and weaknesses helped me plan routines and focus on specific aspects to further improve my game.
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
At first, it was tough to play Tennis for more than 10 minutes as I would get too tired and feel nauseous. It demotivated me. But I increased my morning exercises and started warming up before practice to build my endurance. I did it every day, and soon enough, it paid off. Now I can play for 30 minutes and not feel nauseous at the end.
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
As I had lost a game to my neighbor, I was determined to become better at Tennis. But that loss had still really hurt my self-esteem. Throughout the first few sessions, I continuously doubted myself whether I would be able to even get better in Lawn Tennis or not. With support from my parents, I was able to go through daily practice and slowly get better in Tennis. With time, as I got better, I regained my confidence once again.
In conclusion, getting back on the court has improved my health, especially my endurance. It also taught me good warmup practices and pushed me to make my body more athletic. Finally, it also helped me regain lost self-esteem and confidence in myself.
Evidence:
