REFLECTIONS...there's hope yet!

This past weekend I finally got to hit tennis balls on the court with my hitting partner. We hung up our rackets in about mid-December of 2010 and had our trepidations about how the long, cold, and snowy winter would affect our games. Neither one of us play tennis in the winter here on the east coast in New Jersey.

So Saturday at two o'clock was the moment of truth. Could we attain some of what we had at the end of last year? We were both feeling pretty good at the time about what the Spring, Summer and Fall had provided for our games. Our rallies were crisp, our court smarts were focused, and we both were saddened with the prospect of letting all we accomplished go to waste while shoveling snow.

But there is hope yet! We did hit, and the result was better than expected. Yes, the cobwebs did show in some cases, and bread-and-butter shots that were a given last year did miss their mark a bit too often. However, our movement was not sluggish, balls did not spray all over town, and winners (and unforced errors) were both present.

Mainly impressive though was the thinking in our games. We were hitting with purpose. We know the court, we know where to hit and when, and we executed the mental minefield of a tennis court with relative ease. Our bodies and muscles may have atrophied a bit, and our wind or endurance may not quite be back to its fullest, but our brains were firing on all cylinders.

So remember when you return to the court that your ground strokes and serve are only a part of the big picture. Give yourself credit for THINKING like a tennis player. You will be much happier when you miss that running forehand.