Be a beginner!

Stretching myself one tennis stroke at a time

Written by Jess, Edited by Jenna

When was the last time you were a beginner at something? Tough question, huh?

I dabbled in tennis as a kid. Nothing serious, until my coach said I could be serious. And that’s when my tennis career came to a screeching halt. I was already playing soccer and softball competitively. No way could I add anything more to the mix.

At a recent conference, we were asked the following question: “10 years from now, what will you regret if you don’t learn it or do it now?”

A fascinating question and one I think about often now. But for some reason that day, playing tennis quickly jumped to mind. Interesting, as I hadn’t touched a racket in a long time. Maybe I had been spending too much time with Jenna (who was an amazing college tennis player!)

Being a beginner is hard! It forces us to get out of our comfort zone. Be uncomfortable. Feel frustrated. But amazingly, that’s where the growth comes in. Life would be boring if we never tried something new.

But getting started as a beginner is even harder. So many excuses! I didn’t have “tennis” clothes. I no longer had a racket. How do I find out the schedule? And worst of all, why are there so many different tennis levels? And what level am I?!

I went to sign up for a class with a friend, but of course, it couldn’t be that easy! I really did need to know my level and go to an evaluation. So scary!! But then something magical happened. A Glimmer perhaps! I emailed the recreation center with a question, and they immediately responded that the evaluation class was the next day. Could they sign me up?!

I easily could have ignored it. Said no thank you. Put it off to another time. But instead, I saw it as a sign. It couldn’t get any easier. So I said yes and signed up.

And then the hard part - I showed up. The anxiety was real. I had no idea how it would unfold. Who would be there? What would we do? Would I be able to keep up? And the ultimate LA question: where would I park?

But I did it. Heart pounding, sweat dripping, breath racing. Proving I can do hard things. So proud of myself. I was officially a tennis beginner!

Next steps:

• When was the last time you were a beginner at something?

• How would you answer the question: 10 years from now, what will you regret if you don’t learn it or do it now?