I am so proud of E. She tried something completely out of her comfort zone, something that required her to learn a whole new skill set, and something that no one in our family had really tried before.
She decided to play tennis this year as a freshman.
Now, our school tennis team has been fairly small for the past few years, but has a very dedicated coach and members, which I think is what attracted E to the team in the first place.
She played soccer from a young age, also played volleyball for a while (she's tall so everyone assumed volleyball was her sport), then took up cross country in middle school, which was the only sport in the fall.
Also, G ran cross country and practiced at the same time, making it easier to schedule pick-up. She thrived in each of these sports, and while she certainly doesn't dislike running, she is clearly an aquatic mammal (much like me). But through all of these sports, she never felt like she'd found her people.
Last spring, when my daughter said she wanted to play tennis, I didn't understand why. No one in our family played tennis. We didn't even own a racket. But she was adamant. So she signed up for summer practice, and I found a pro to give her private lessons. If she was going to take up a new sport, I wanted her to learn it the right way, rather than picking up bad habits right the first time.
Over the summer, I tried to give her as much practice time as possible, although her swimming schedule overlapped with her tennis practice. I did take a lesson or two to give her something to hit in her free time. She doesn't play as much as I would like, but she still has plenty of time.
Watching an older child master a new skill is incredibly magical. First, even if it's difficult or not easy to master, the fact that the child sees through it says a lot about their character.
It's also really easy to see the improvement from week to week, and sometimes even day to day. Most of the other sports my kids have played have been from a young age and the improvement came gradually or naturally as they grew and matured. It wasn't always so obvious, but now when E masters a skill over weeks it means much more and she understands how much work went into it.
At the same time, it can be frustrating when your mind can figure it out but your body can't make sense of it all. She has had to learn to be patient with herself and understand that things take a little time.
The other great thing for her is that this is a completely different skill set than she's used before. Her hand-eye coordination has improved a lot and she's also had to learn to work with her partner when playing doubles.
Youth sports have become more competitive, and specialization is starting at a younger age all the time. I've done the same with my own kids, and in all fairness, they've played many sports over the years, but they've only stuck with the ones they really enjoyed.
A plays soccer and swims, G plays soccer and wrestles, and E continues to swim. I know E will be competing against many other tennis players who have picked up a racket since they were young, and I hope she continues on her own path and gets it done, even though the competition is fierce.
Right now, the biggest challenge for me is to learn tennis on my own. So far, and most importantly, I have learned that tennis is a quiet game. You are not allowed to cheer loudly or clap loudly during a match. This is a very welcome change, because in most other sports we have played, especially wrestling, fans can easily become overpoweringly vocal.
E is still learning things on his own and I don't want to bombard him with questions so he's been watching YouTube videos and reading info from “Tennis For Dummies” but piecing it all together for a beginner high school kid is still a bit confusing.
She played her first match and everything seemed to go well, but I was surprised she lost. I think I spent too much time watching her play and not enough time understanding what the other team was doing.
Of course, we can't leave out the “cute” outfits that E cited as the most important “best” part of tennis. I couldn't agree more. The outfits look really cool, especially the navy blue top in the school colors with the crisp white skirt. The visor isn't required, but it does look cute. For E and me, this was a real game-changer, and she can't wait to play long enough to buy some practice skirts in other colors.
It's worth noting that both boys rolled their eyes as we were having this discussion. They thought that was why they hadn't taken up tennis.
Whatever the reason, learning something new and joining a new team was a very positive experience for E, and we hope it helps her get her year as a freshman off to a good start.
It was also a reminder to me that no matter how much we guide our kids, sometimes we just need to let them find their footing, and once they do, all we need is some cheer and a budget to buy them cute skirts.
“Life With Liz” is published every Saturday on Times-News.