It Finally Clicked

I've been meaning to do a blog on tennis for a while since it has become the most significant thing in my life. This blog will be about tennis, but it will not be my tennis blog. Just for your information.

I'd also like to preface the blog by saying that I am bad at taking instruction. I am, for the most part, a stubborn person, and I believe that my way is the best way. I don't care if you're a master of a craft and I've just started. If I've set my mind on doing it one way, it doesn't matter how wrong it is. I will keep doing it until you either give up and agree with me or give up and...well, give up.

So Tucker and I are taking a tennis class, and I've been a bit frustrated. First of all, Tucker was already better than me at tennis. Second, like I said, I'm no good at taking instruction. Third, Tucker is very good at taking instruction.

End result: Tucker is now very better than me. Incorrect grammar intended.

And what really frustrated me happened on Saturday. I've been playing with Tucker almost every weekend (in fact, maybe every weekend) for the last couple of months, and I thought I'd closed the gap. Not enough to beat him or anything (although I did once or twice) but enough to make things interesting.

And on Saturday, I show up and I'm immediately mentally challenged. Not only can I not serve or backhand (the focus of the lesson), but I can't forehand either (my apparent strength). If you watch 30 Rock, I was Kenneth when Liz asked him if he could "walk and talk." He knew he'd done it before, but when he was put on the spot, he was super-awkward.

It mostly dealt with my serve. I was putting my arm off to the side instead of bringing it straight back. And putting my arm back is the foundation for a serve. If I didn't do that part, there was no reason to keep trying because I'd never be able to serve correctly.

And the teacher, literally, tells me to look at Tucker and try to mimic him. Not only had I not closed the gap on Tucker, he was now light years ahead of me.

And so Tucker and I continued to play for four more hours (give or take) and I kept trying to serve. I took Sunday off and tried to serve for another two hours on Monday (with Ashley and then with Ashley and Tucker). I was getting better, but I was constantly fighting my old muscle memory.

Then came tonight's class. I was nervous because I'd be facing our teacher for the first time. I could either show him that I'd put six hours of extra work in three days, or he'd be frustrated that I didn't learn a damn thing.

And after he continued to break down my forehand and later insult my volley, the time came. I'd served by myself a couple of minutes earlier, and I was facing the same problems. My serve was extremely awkward, and I wasn't even getting the awkward serves in.

When I got to the station where he'd critique our serves, I did the motion that I'd been learning. And, almost immediately, I noticed he was impressed. I'd actually learned something that he'd taught me. There was still something wrong with my serve, however, but I'd at least started with the foundation.

But then he did it. He told me to pull my arm/racket back a little bit and then move it back. It seemed simple enough, but it worked. Perfectly.

I'm serious. It was like magic, and everything suddenly clicked. My motion instantly became smooth, and I was able to serve. I still have an extremely weak serve, but I think I have the motion down. My fear, of course, is that I'll wake up tomorrow, and all of my progress will be gone. With LOST tomorrow and hockey the following night, I don't have a lot of time for practice.

In fact, I've already taken one break to just do the motion. Try to commit it to "muscle memory" before I go to bed...in a sense, cramming for a big test. And hopefully, by Saturday or Sunday, I can go out there and try to keep up the correct motion. If I do that, I can try to get some power behind it. If I can do that, I might be able to add some spin to my serves.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself....but if I can do all of that, I might be able to begin closing the gap on Tucker. Unless, like I think will happen, he will eventually go pro and leave me in the dust.

But Tucker's cool...I think when he gets the #1 ranking, he'll convince the Professional Tennis people to let me play on tour. Or at least help me to date the cutest (legal) female tennis player.