This is the first Friday in November, which means that it is once again time to deep dive into a “gift” to improve your tennis life. This month the topic is all about taking the time to make intentional decisions about your tennis aspirations. If you don’t know where you are going, how do you expect to ever get there?
In the corporate environment, I frequently advise my mentees to identify their dream job or to find a job listing for something they would like to do that might be a stretch based on current experience or skills. Armed with that knowledge, that aspiration can be translated into developmental opportunities that fill the gap. Without that focus, it is more than a little challenging to develop a personal development plan for achieving career dreams.
Tennis aspirations might involve both on and off-court objectives. It is natural for competitive players to set performance goals. For example, you might want to qualify for a highly selective tournament such as the Texas Masters or simply to get bumped up to the next NTRP level.
Other goals might be more of an awakening. Perhaps your tennis life is in a rut and it is time to take it off autopilot. For example, if you found USTA League play to be distasteful or dissatisfying, it might be time to give tournaments a try. Alternatively, you may discover that an inability to say no to tennis is creating time pressures in your life. That insight could allow you to cut down to the formats of play that you find the most rewarding.
If you have never engaged with your local tennis association or done something to share tennis with another part of your community, it may be time to volunteer at an after-school tennis program. Similarly, you could stop complaining that your area never puts together a USTA League team and become the person that makes that happen.
The key point is that if you don’t think about what you really want to do with tennis, the odds of maximizing satisfaction with the sport will be limited. A sharp focus on your goals could be the catalyst for transforming your tennis life. Give yourself the gift of defining your aspirations.
Love this idea of setting tennis goals! We have made the same suggestion of people contacting their local community tennis association and starting a new tennis program or league in their area if they don’t have enough opportunities for play.