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?