Should I:
A- Throw my Racket
B- Yell very loud so other courts can hear me.
C- Shake my opponents hand, and work on getting stronger.
The answer is pretty obvious but you would be surprised how often we choose A or B. This part of the game is called SPORTSMANSHIP.
SPORTS (tennis) MAN (the person) SHIP (uhh.. a boat?)
The word breakdown is more confusing than the word itself. Sportsmanship is very often over looked. Anyone can play the greatest match of his or her life but it can very easily be forgotten depending your sportsmanship. It is your character, it’s how you handle yourself, it’s how you treat your opponent, and it’s important after a loss OR a win.
We usually think of being a good sport when we lose. But, how many times have we found ourselves taunting our opponent? Sure, we all joke with friends or people we’re familiar with when we play against them in a sport. However, you can’t do that with an unfamiliar player, especially in tennis. Quite simply it’s not what you want done to you, it can hurt your chances of winning, and also hurt your chances of playing again.
If you are a player who likes to storm off of a court and not compliment a good shot from your opponent, so be it. But remember that we see the same people again and again. You don’t want to get a reputation of being a bad sport because people won’t want to play you again, and not playing does not help you get any better at your game, which is the ultimate goal.
How important is the mental aspect of Tennis? EXTREMELY! This ties in with sportsmanship. The way you handle your attitude on a tennis court reflects how your game is played. If you are completely out of control screaming at the person across from you, usually you are missing shots and getting more and more frustrated. However, if you stay in control, and can be aware of a good shot from your opponent your game will stay in control.
Sportsmanship is important in every sport. It’s who you are, and it’s a challenge for yourself to get better. Let your game speak on it’s own, don’t let your negative actions do the talking. Be a good sport, if someone hits a good shot on you… great good job, let him or her know, but learn from what they did and try to make a better shot.
Thanks Coach Josh, this topic is the most relevant to what we do as tennis coaches. Across the board we want all of our students to be great sportsman, because this isn't just a reflection of the person on the court, this translates into your everyday life off the court as well. If you pout and stomp your feet on the court because of missed shots on the tennis court, what happens when things don't go right for you off the court, bad grade on a test, misplacing something, will you stomp your feet and pout then as well? Negativity carries over to all aspects of the daily routine, if you do just that, make it a "routine". If you're positive and move on, everything becomes much more relaxed and enjoyable. How often have you played a tennis match against a bad sport that gave you bad line calls or just had that mean attitude on the court? Was it fun? Now turn the tables, look at what you're doing, if you're the bad sport, do you think you're making the experience enjoyable for your opponent, or the people watching? Sports are supposed to be fun, and being competitive is great, it's a challenge, but doing so while upholding great sportsmanship will transcend just the game, it'll make you a better person! At RTC we deal with kids of all ages, and if they play the game, for just a little bit or continue to play for the rest of their lives, we want to instill in them the highest degree of sportsmanship possible, because that's what makes it fun for everyone.
ReplyDeleteCoach Josh you the man! Sportsmanship is huge in developing our game, to me Fed is just the best example. He didn't used to be such a good sport the commentators would say Roger slammed his racket alot had bad demnor after many of his points that he lost. Roger as you can see now has changed after a point that he loses you almost sometimes can't even tell if he won or he lost it. If you notice your being a bad sport you can always change and I will garentee it will improve your game and the next time people play you they will look forward to it.
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