The addition of playing tennis to my training program has been positively impactful. With the agreement of the trainer, we have been playing tennis for a couple of months. The concept took hold because of obligations to training sessions in an older facility. I wanted to work with two trainers at the same time, while keeping up session occurrence with the main trainer. The idea came to mind of playing tennis twice per week, with my original trainer. It would make for a great way of adding sport to my programming. Something I have always enjoyed when it came to training. The sessions can become mundane, working out in the same fashion, week after week. I feel like adding variety to any kind of training program, keeps the element of excitement. For me, the involvement of a sport also provides a goal to work towards. Giving the training sessions some extra purpose and possibly more of a structured target. Playing golf and skiing always remain on my mind during the challenges of training. However, when the sport is performed with the trainer, it might also be kept in mind when the trainer forms our training plan. Eventually, my work with two trainers came to a close. But, we have continued playing tennis once per week. Playing the sport continues to add value to my program.
Working on my skills in playing tennis feels good for a variety of reasons. Like most sports I gravitate towards, I find many people playing for a lifetime. The toll taken on the body doesn’t seem to require stopping at a certain age. I find things like playing golf and skiing to be similar in the tilt toward longevity. In trying to consider my challenges with cerebral palsy, I look for activities people seem to do long into their lives. Tennis seems to fill that little criteria pretty nicely. One of the challenges I enjoy most about tennis has been the challenge of hand-eye coordination. As with any of the sports played with a racket, the ability to sync the hands and eyes feels important. Which, lends itself well to helping improve one of the challenges of having my disability. In my mind, if I can improve my hand-eye coordination, I feel it does a lot for improving my cerebral palsy challenges. The lack of control in my hand movements is probably the most frustrating aspect of my disability. The seamless use of the hands in someone typically developed appears one of the most crucial functions taken for granted in the world. If playing tennis helps the operation of my hands, even to the smallest of degrees, the sports feels very worthwhile. Another important aspect playing into the hand-eye coordination in tennis involves the shape of the racket being used.
When playing other racket sports like ping-pong or pickle ball, the contact point for the racket is closer to the hand. Providing the opportunity of thinking to bring the hand close to the ball, as it travels toward the player. When looking to strike the moving tennis ball, this concept feels different. The fact has often been one causing me to shy away from playing tennis. Because, the distance between my hand on the racket and the point I want the racket surface to contact the ball feels significant. Making it a learned skill to deliver the sweet spot of the racket to the moving tennis ball. I could look at the fact through the lens of frustration, as many of my shots tend to contact the edges of the tennis racket. But, the added distance could also be looked upon as another way of challenging the hand-eye coordination piece. Helping me learn how to manage an object in daily life that might not be close to my hand, in proximity. When we add more variables to the challenging task of hitting the tennis ball with the designed tennis racket, things get even more interesting. The two similar sports coming to my mind would be baseball and golf, where the ideal contact point to the ball is a distance away from the hands. However, in those two sports, the player remains in relatively stationary positions.
The movement of tennis seems to be an excellent variable when thinking about my disability. The challenge of running to a position, in order to strike the tennis ball correctly. I find the task to be exhilarating for many reasons and the objective keeping me coming back to play tennis. The running to a spot in order to stop quickly feels like it has all kinds of implications toward my ability to balance myself. Teaching me to learn an accurate representation of moving my body in space. One of the biggest difficulties in playing tennis has been overrunning or stopping too short of the spot I need to hit the ball well. The spin of the shot moving toward me can play a role in my failed attempts. As the spin might cause the ball to react in an unexpected manner follows its contact with the court. Something I work to identify by watching the racket movement of my opponent when they strike the tennis ball. The spinning tennis ball has found me in awkwardly compromised positions, when trying to hit the ball back over the net. However, those compromised positions could also be looked upon as tools to help improve my disability. Helping me learn to adjust my body position more quickly than I am accustomed, while maintaining the overall balance of myself. There have been times of performing the overruns well enough to get the tennis ball, weirdly flying back over the net. While, at other times, the contact point happens in strange areas of the racket. Causing the tennis ball to bounce in all manner of directions. But, the challenge has been cool to work on improving.
Missing the tennis shot hit at me more softly, has felt like a different experience. One which has been more challenging to judge whether I will be able to make contact, or not. Usually, getting to the softer struck tennis ball involves moving forward quickly. Getting my momentum going toward the net with my upper body almost tilting down, toward the court. The action has me feeling in a much more vulnerable position to experience a fall. It feels more off balance than running from one side or the court to the other, usually along the baseline. So, I try being a little more cautious when dashing toward the net for a ball hit softly. I find myself getting to tennis balls, I didn’t think I would reach. While, others I feel confident about arriving on time, but find the ball falling just under my racket. Controlling the balance and timing of my approaches to the softly struck shot will take more repetition. I feel great though, about the way the challenges are helping me learn to stabilize my body during movements. Along with all of the awesome aspect of improving cerebral palsy, I still feel the competitive part of playing. The annoyance with myself when the ball gets misjudged and my body ends up in the wrong place. Either arriving for the shot too early or too late. The competitive side inside of me leads to the fun and the desire of continuing playing a game, which helps my disability challenges.
The idea of playing tennis as an addition to my training sessions has been great. Adding the sport does much for the excitement of overall training sessions. There has been improvement to my disability and mental health. As my mental health improves it carries a great impact on how my cerebral palsy challenges are looked upon. Along with adding the excitement of playing a sport to my training program. The idea of tennis became valuable because of things I had heard about its impact on mental health. A couple years ago, I heard the story of a college coach who had lost his father, tragically. Every week, he took time to play tennis for a while. Which, helped lessen the impacts of the tragedy on his mental health. There has been no doubt about my mental health challenges, as well. It was part of my childhood and has been part of having a disability. Like this coach, playing tennis helps with my levels of anxiety and depression. Getting to physically exert myself, get a good sweat going, has often helped me feel better emotionally. With all tennis can do for helping me improve balance, stability, and coordination. Playing tennis has also helped me feel a little better about myself. Improving the way in which I enter my own world.
A Journey With Cerebral Palsy 