This summer I decided to continue with a sport that I have been playing since I was very young – tennis. During the school year I wasn’t able to participate in the school team because the time clashed with another commitment and it is very expensive to play outside of school. But, in the summer I had the time and the resources to do so.

Since it had been a long time since I had played I had to take stock of the skills I had managed to maintain and the skills that I needed to work on. For example, my groundstrokes and movement were still good but my serve and ball direction had slipped since the last time I played. Each session I set little goals for myself to work on and by the end of the summer I saw improvement in my abilities.

I also showed commitment to this activity. I had free time for about a month to play tennis and during that time I played for at least one hour every day, regardless of the weather, my energy or whether I had already done activity that day. I did this to ensure I was getting in some physical fitness when I had free time before the hectic school year started again.

I also was working collaboratively to improve along with a coach who I have played with for a couple years now. She would give me feedback to improve my play which I would take constructively and apply it. This helped me focus on my goals and see overall improvement. I plan on continuing to play tennis in the summer and hope that I have a chance to play in Singapore this year.