Personal Narrative: The Varsity Tennis Team

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.

When I was younger, basketball was all I wanted to play, it just looked like so much fun. In fifth grade I had my parents sign me up for CYB, then in sixth grade I tried out for middle school basketball and played all the way up until ninth grade. In middle school when I was in eighth grade I was awarded the captain position and that helped me build leadership and responsibility. All of the players especially the younger ones knew they could always come to me at any time if they needed anything or help with anything. High school basketball was a lot different than middle school. In middle school I was one of the star players so I played a lot but in high school that changed. I sat the bench a lot that taught me patience and understanding even

As I first joined the Prince George’s Tennis and Education Foundation tennis team, I was extremely pleased with the environment. I was met with friendly individuals and warm personalities from my peers and coaches alike. The coaches were exceptionally supportive, and I maintained a healthy, competitive relationship with my peers. Athletically, the PGTEF coaches were devoted to assisting the members of the team in comprehending

“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

It was my sophomore year, and the day had come to find out who made the varsity lacrosse team. We piled into the locker room to discover rows of brand new helmets. The list of the varsity players was written on the whiteboard. The team was excited, the locker room buzzing with noise. My heart dropped as I realized that my name wasn’t written there. My friends were admiring their new helmets and I had to hold back tears and disappointment. I know now that I still had to be developed at the junior varsity level, but it wasn’t easy to understand back then. At practice that day, I played out of pure spite, every move filled with rage. You aren’t good enough, I thought. I left practice that day without saying goodbye to my friends.

With a score of 44 to 37, the Varsity Football Team won against the Midway Panthers last Friday night at Waco.

I was able to communicate efficiently between our players and the coach. I was able to bring a team of 2 to a full team of 22 players by the end of the season. I went from beinga coach, to business women, to a team mom and simply by the end of the season I am proud to say I am the captian of the Girls’ Mira Mesa Tennis

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.

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

It was June 11th, 2015 and the softball team was headed to Radford for the state tournament. The nerves of everyone was running wild as we all sat on the bus listening to music in our headphones. While everyone sat in silence I could see the on everyone’s face that they were trying to strategize, including myself, on how we are going to win these last two games. The previous year the softball team won the state title. This created a high bar for this team to reach. As we sat on the bus we started talking to each other about how we can remain calm and drive ourselves to do the best that we possibly can. Coach Gaines reminded us, “play every play and at bat like it is the last time you will ever play softball”. As I hear these words echoing over

I receive a call from a Freshmen girl the day after an annual event for the Jenks tennis players. According to her, two boys--a Junior and a Freshman--were under the influence of alcohol. 'At a school event, seriously?' I wander.

As far as most people are concerned, every school tennis court is pretty much the same. The only prominent difference is the surface, whether it is a hard court, clay, or even grass. While I was a member of the Brewer High School Tennis team, I can recall vivid details of the time I spent participating in inter-school scrimmages and district tournaments as well as the other teammates involved. The tennis court I played on was surrounded by a steel, vinyl coated chain-link fence with aged and weathered benches located in the outer boundaries of the court. In addition, the surface of the court was coated with a green, acrylic paint with white boundary lines painted where necessary. There was one practice session where I accepted a challenge to

I played tennis through junior high school. I hated running. Because I tired running easily. But I like plaing tennis. Because I am not tired playing tennis. But I limited body power when I became high school. As soon as, I began body power training. It seems that I am fine begin body power training. Because I was stong tennis. Also, I am useful on the life because I began body power training. Now, I continuing body power

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.