I've never played a full game of tennis in my life. It's a fact that my daughter, Rylee, loves to remind me of whenever I critique her in a match or when she's practicing. I remind her that for almost 10 years now I have watched her take many lessons, carried her to lots of tournaments, and seen her play many, many times. Any parent of other players who have sat near me can tell you that I'll make a noise the moment that she hits a ball that I know isn't going to go where she wants it to go. I've seen her hit enough of them that I can absolutely tell you the moment the ball touches the racquet if it will be in or out. I know that because I've seen her hit so many tennis balls. This week I watched her hit her last tennis ball as a high school player and it left me with a lot to think about.
You don't have to read too many of these blog posts to know that I love a metaphor. Watching my daughter play, I remembered how much I've seen her change and grow over time. Those investments of hours on a court, lessons, and equipment made a huge difference. We poured a lot of effort into that growth, and while it was something that she enjoyed, it wasn't always easy or fun. Similarly, I thought about the time that we have with students. It's short. And while you may not feel like it mid-semester, they will soon be gone. You will have put the effort into them that you could best provide. Hopefully, the time and resources you were given produced some growth that you could see. You watched them, coached them, corrected them, and praised them. And because you get to know them so well over that time, you also probably have a really good idea of how they will perform when they take a test or prepare to demonstrate what they know on the subject. In the same way that I know where the tennis ball will go, you probably know how a student will perform because you've watched them. There's a lot to be said about that level of investment, especially when you want them to be successful so badly.
As a tennis dad, I learned a lot of lessons about people and motivation that are probably pretty applicable to the classroom as well. I've fallen victim to being an overbearing parent at a 10-year-old match and getting kicked out and I've wiped away tears when she cried. As I sat and watched her play her last match, I asked myself what I would take from this experience. These are my best takeaways as a parent, educator, and just as someone who has been the guy who watched a kid play a game.
Never be afraid to coach and give feedback but always remember that they are kids.
Tell them that they did a great job even when they didn't get the outcome they wanted, especially if they put in effort.
If you only play lesser opponents, you'll always perform like them. Challenging yourself is how you grow.
Pushing yourself is hard but if you're doing it right, it should still be fun.
So many problems can be solved by stopping for just a minute and taking a deep breath before you carry on.
