I’ve been asked by some people why I like to record matches. While it seems somewhat self-evident to me, let me explain just what I get out of this. First, you have to understand where I am coming from. Having played minimally, although successfully, in high school, I took up the sport again in my early forties when an injury kept me from doing long-distance running. Being a little successful, I kept at it and found I was on the verge of competing with some of the “old timers”, that is, my peers who had never taken any time off from the game. I think this is probably a pretty common story.
How do you make up a 25 year layoff? Working hard at strokes, reading lots of books, etc., is a part of it. But my strokes and technique will never catch up with a lot of guys. So, how about making the most of what you have? That’s where I started to video tape matches, especially doubles matches, to see if my partner and I could improve our winning just by playing smarter. Well, by working on our movement and strategy, we actually had a year where where ended up ranked No. 6 in the U.S. in the Men’s 55 doubles, a result I was pretty darn happy with!
Reason No. 2 for recording a match? If not just for learning, how about for the fun of it? After I got over the shock that I actually didn’t look like Patrick Rafter or Federer, I found it could be just as much fun to watch a match. Even if it’s someone else’s and not my own. Personally, I find that a tennis match played by 3.0 players is just as engrossing, if not more so, than what I see on TV. The drama and tension in a 3.0 match is just as real as for a professional match, maybe even more so! Not that there isn’t some pleasure in watching the athleticism and drama of a pro match, especially later on in a tournament when the stakes are high. But it’s just as real for the participants in a lower lever match.
Are there reasons other than having fun and improving your game? Do you need more reasons? Anyone else have any?
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