Personal Narrative: Playing Tennis Through Junior High School

It was a hot summer day in Hammond, Louisiana and I was pouring down sweat like I had just jumped in a pool. The game was just about to begin, me and my team was eagle eyeing the bomb squad. It was so quiet that you could hear your own sweat hitting the bench. The umpire broke up everyone’s concentration by saying, “play ball”! The defense had ran out on the field and I started rolling ground balls from 2nd to short-stop to third base. They had all made good throws back to me and then I threw the ball into the dug-out because the game had begun.

Middle school is a time when kids attempt to figure out how they fit in, and that is exactly what I was looking to do when I started playing volleyball. I was in seventh grade when I decided to try out, and it was only because my best friend was playing. Little did I know just how organized and complex the game was; I just assumed volleyball was a more intense version of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground.” I never thought that I would become so passionate about this sport that it would have an impact on my character.

“Oh no, please don’t tell me this is happening. Mom, can I just skip this tournament?” I pleaded, “There is absolutely no hope for me.” Being the dramatic person I am, I lamented the imminent end of my tennis career. I went into the tournament with an expectation of failure. I started the match by accidentally whacking the ball over the fence, tripping on my own feet rushing to end the point. The little confidence I had when going into the match dissipated within a few minutes. I continued the match pondering how to angle my racket to put spin on the ball. Every time I failed, I blamed it on the high skill level of my opponent. Unsurprisingly, I lost in an hour. When looking back on that match, I realized that it could have gone differently had I not brought myself down before. My lack of

This is the story of my freshmen year playing volleyball. This was one of the toughest and most frustrating times in my life. I was edgy with nerves and had no confidence at the beginning of the season. Anybody could guess how that made me play and how often I got put in at the beginning of the season. Conquering those nerves and catching the coaches attention was a monstrous mountain glaring down at me. Climbing that metaphorical mountain taught me many things.

My journey on my high school tennis team has been a peculiar one. Going into my freshman year I was touted as one the stellar players, one who was on the path straight to varsity. Unfortunately, I tore one of the ligaments in my right wrist and was sidelined for the months right before the tennis season. Going into my season, my confidence was low, I was worried about making the junior varsity team. I would end up making JV but not varsity. The next year I was back with more determination. Injury free, I had high expectations but lacked confidence. As I entered try-outs, I was shocked. My teammates were waiting for me. Each one of them came up to me and told me that they knew I was going to play this year, and that I was going to live up to

“Vivian, we are the only two returning players on the team next year”, my co-captain for the Mira Mesa High School Tennis Team notified me.

As my Varsity baseball team suits up for practice we whip out our “Easton Mako Bats” and our “Evo-Shield arm sleeves.” Everyone prepares for the season as we break in our new 200-dollar gloves. As I Un-zip my “Demarani Bat Bag” I search for the stick of eye black that seems to add spice to my game as I smother it under my eye, to “reflect the sun” of course. Our accessories become a part of our game, and we begin to value them more than the game itself.

Being ranked number one on the Vacaville High School Varsity Tennis Team was one of the most mentally challenging events during high school. I love tennis, but it was very difficult balancing all of my Advanced Placement classes, trying to having some sort of a social life and playing tennis year-round all at the same time. The only reason being number one was mentally challenging was because I was losing most of of my matches. I thought about quitting the tennis team more times than I could count. It was my first year playing in the number one spot and I was not ready to play against such high-level tennis players. I knew that if I didn't show up we would lose because the rest of the team would have to play against a player that is one level

One time when playing travel baseball my team played in a 16 youth tournament , and we were the only 14 and 15 year old team. We were a very small team in size and numbers , but we had a great amount of talent for our size and age. The tournament took place in Columbus Ohio. We were the only team from Tennessee in the tournament , and we worked very hard all year to make it to the tournament. We played up in pretty much every tournament all season , so we came prepared to see some very talented and big teams. Sure enough we showed up to our hotel the first day arriving and there were tons of teams staying in the same hotel , and by the looks of these teams we were by far the smallest team. The next day was the start of the tournament and we

There are many teams that I’ve loved being a part of over the last three years of high school. The first is the golf team. I was blessed to be on the Junior Varsity team during my freshman and sophomore years, and this year I’m now on Varsity. The first two years were incredible. I was with Coach Al VanderHart, and we had such incredible seasons, especially sophomore year. I was blessed to be a team captain with Natalie Mason, and I grew so close to the girls on my team. We had so many traditions, including dressing up on match days, bringing food to the Town Square at Break, devotions before every practice and match, and much more. Another reason my team and I became so close was through the tragic loss of Coach Al’s son. We all surprised Coach by going to the funeral as a team. It was one of the moments in my life where I could feel God the most. Our team gave a big group hug, and we all started crying together, including the coach. It felt so good to lean on each other as a team for support, and it showed me just how powerful God is through the people

I went to Riley’s house and John was there. John brought his tennis ball. Riley said, “Hey let play baseball with the tennis ball”.

I attended Robinswood Middle School my first two years of middle school and I absolutely hated it half of the time. I did not like half of the staff and I didn’t like how they ran things, clubs and sports teams. But one thing I absolutely loved was the band program.

“Great accomplishments start with great aspirations.”- Gary Hamel. Tennis is my passion, life, and aspiration. To be accepted into the Marshall High School Tennis Team is a goal I’m inspired to accomplish. This ambition is something I’ve been working towards for a long time. If I get in, I feel like my life would actually be worth something. Being on the team has so many positive aspects; it seems to be calling my name. A position on the team will make my family and coach proud, help me become a worthier player, and prepare me for college.

Playing on the varsity volleyball team is an adrenaline rush like no other. To be able to play the sport you love with teammates that are like family, in front of a crowd of actual family members is the ultimate feeling. Playing is even better when you, a small town nobody, beat a ranked team in the first set. We had just beaten Humboldt 25-17 and I was on top of the world. We were playing like our lives depended on it and I couldn’t be more proud of the girls.

I first started playing volleyball at a very young age. I was in the seventh grade when my volleyball career started. My sister started playing in the seventh grade and I just wanted to follow her footsteps. My seventh grade year was ok because I had just started out and really didn’t know the game. There was A team and a B team, where A team was better than the B team. I tried my best to be on the A-team, but guess where I ended up, on the B team.