Inhale

Exhale

Bounce

Toss

Load

Jump

SLAM!

Recover.

Turn left

Prepare

Backhand

WHOOSH!

Recover.

Remember to breathe!

What next?

Approach! It’s risky…

Turn right

Forehand down the line

Recover

STAY ON YOUR TOES

Turn left

Backhand Volley!

Oh…

Net shot. Brilliant…

 

Life is a tennis match.

Coaches teach you plays, strategies, strokes, footwork, technique…

But you, yourself, are in control.

You utilize every skill you have learned, but most importantly you keep your mind in check.

Tennis is a mentally challenging game.

Sure speed, agility, and power are essential,

But composure, control, confidence, and motivation are just as crucial.

 

Life is a tennis match.

You have coaches and trainers helping you learn everything there is to know. They push you to condition until your movement ceases,

But in the end…

It’s up to YOU alone and no one else to take the shot at victory.

Of course you have a team rooting for you and hoping you succeed,

but you and your opponent control the ball,

and YOU control your destiny.

 

Life is a tennis match.

You start as a child in school.

Your teachers and parents teach you simple things.

As you progress and become more knowledgeable,

their expectations rise,

as does the difficulty in completion and success.

 

Life is a tennis match.

When you start out with tennis,

coaches teach you the basics,

and you work to perfect them.

The variety of strokes…

The direction you hit the ball on the courts…

The spin you apply…

All have to be perfected, or at the very least consistent, in order for you to use them—accurately.

As you progress and become better,

your challengers become more difficult to defeat.

Some matches you are triumphant!

Some, you win by miles. It hardly takes raising a finger to conquer, it seems.

Others… your skill level was no match for your opponent’s,

OR maybe you could not master your mind that day.

The court has no tolerance for rash behavior.

No room or time for clouded thoughts.

No emotional distraction is permitted to the smallest degree.

Reflexes have to be instantaneous,

as there is no time for any slight mistake.

One irresponsible move or shot…

BAM!

Before you realize it…

Game, Set, Match.

You lose.

 

Life is a tennis match.

We will all have our wins and losses in life.

Some losses will come because we are not experienced enough to overcome it,

or our skills are not quite seasoned in that particular area.

As in a match, you will always have a cheering section.

They want you to make the best decisions possible to ensure your success.

They want you to accomplish everything, to take on the world and come back victorious.

 

Your opponent can never be sized up just by looking at them.

In tennis, looks can be deceiving—as are challenges in life.

Things come unexpectedly, but it is your choice whether or not you fight to win.

To learn and to grow. To come off conqueror.

It is up to you, and you alone.

Live The Match