The morning after only a one-hour lesson with Mr. Philip Graham the first thought that came to mind was: It burrrns so, so badly! (The good kind of pain though...the kind that reminds you your body needs all sorts of conditioning to stay in tip-top shape.)
Let me start off by saying that I'm neither agile nor am I a natural athlete. And my hopes of becoming that tennis superstar went out the door long ago when all the kiddos told me we weren't playing baseball. Apparently, we have to stay within the box and our tennis balls can't go flying like fireworks. |: That being said, Coach Philip did an awesome job piecing together what little confidence I had in playing tennis, after it had been crushed and trampled on by my fellow teammates back in the days.
Before diving right into improving your tennis skills, the lesson begins with some drills (so be sure to arrive 15 minutes early to begin the warm up session). While the warm up seems simple, don't be fooled with the light jogging, lunges, and a few high kicks here and there. You may not feel the pain just yet, but believe me...when the pain sets in the next day, you'll wonder if such soreness could have existed in such places. #nopainnogain #nameofthegame
It's been a while since I last played tennis, so I opted for Tennis 101: Beginner's Basics. So, what exactly does this cover? A heck of a lot! Even though I have played (leisurely) before, I'm glad I chose this route because I was completely mind-blown by all the basic things that I missed, like...properly gripping the tennis racket, efficiently moving towards the ball, and hitting the ball with precision.
Trust me, you'll learn a lot from Coach Philip! Or should I call him Saint Philip? Saints may not exist on earth, but he definitely has a lot of patience. I'm an over-analyzer, so I'm the type of student who will ask so many questions that the rest of the students will roll their eyes and look like they're dying of boredom.
How should I move my feet? What angle should I hit the ball? Am I doing this correctly? Even in the midst of bombarding him with questions, he didn't mind answering all my questions and was even willing to slowly go over each movement to make sure I was executing each one correctly. All the while, he'll also feed you words of encouragement to motivate you to explode into your full potential! Do you know many coaches who will do that? Because...I don't...most would probably yell out of frustration or give up on such a hopeless soul. ):
And the best part?! You'll have so much fun that time will surely feel like it flew by so quickly! (: Seriously. You'll come back wanting for more fun, while staying in tip-top shape! If you want to have fun and improve your tennis game, Coach Philip will most certainly help you get there...you just need to show him that you're willing to work for it. Embrace the #pain and let it #burn! GL! d: read more