I have decided to quit tennis trainings and I would like to summarize my whole experience connected with this activity.
I have started playing tennis in the previous school year under influence of my class mate and continued it in this school year. At the beginning I have been doing this only to fulfill my CAS hours. I had zero contact with this discipline before and it was a new experience to me. Until IB course I rarely had chance to put myself in a situation when I had to learn something from the basis. This activity gave me an opportunity to challange myself and to force myself to put more effort than usual in what I was doing; thanks to this I had fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Undertaking new challanges.
At the beginning I have been experiencing more failures than I expected, which was discouraging. I have felt each mistake quite personally. But as I kept practicing I have come to a conclusion that complaining is not a solution to anything. If I wanted to get rid of mistakes and imperfections I had to work on it instead of talking about it. It is true not only in this case but also in everyday life. People often have tendency to brag about their failures. They come to a conclusion that if they cannot do something they should stop doing it. We should approach this issue from the other perspective. Failures should point out areas for possible improvement. If we realize this we will broaden our perspectives and possibilities. We can achieve more in more fields. As the time passed I learned to work on my weaknesses and to appreciate my strengths. Thanks to this I have fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Increased awareness of strengths and areas to growth.
Attending tennis classes also broadened my interest in the field of this discipline and sports in general. I have started to watch tennis matches and tournaments, to follow WTA and ATP rankings. As my knowledge about this activity was growing I started to appreciate its complexity. For me it greatly ressembles some kind of art. Players are like artists; with moves of the racket, ressembling the brush of the painter, they create beautiful pictures. They master their technique and play with impressive precision similarly to performing dancers. Matches and tournaments often can entertain us, provoke emotions and surprise us with turning points as spectacles in theathre do. For some people it can be nothing new, but for me it certainly is; I have never associated the word 'sports' with the word 'art'. It is interesting how different areas of culture intertwine and fit together like pieces of the same puzzle. Thanks to tennis trainings I gained much more than just physical benefits. It changed my perception of sports and gave me an opportunity to develop new areas of interests. Even when I quit trainings the knowledge I have gained and the interest I have developed will not disappear.
Also I have fulfilled the Learning Outcome - Developing new skills. As the time passed I was shown many types of shots. I practiced them on each training. I managed to perform them properly, but not without some problems. Most of the time I was just not focused enough; when I have pulled myself together and remembered about proper position, used enough strength, synchronized the move of the racket with approaching ball, my shots got better. It certainly has allowed me to improve myself.
It is true that tennis trainings have taught me plenty of things and brought me many benefits, but after some time I have noticed that I have stopped to learn anything new. To be honest I have become a little bit bored. Also the trainings have stopped to be challanging; we haven't got any warm up and generally I was more tired after PE lessons at school, than after tennis classes. Also to get to tennis court I had to travel for 1.5 hour, and for another 1.5 hour to get back home. Overall I have been gaining some skills and values during 1 hour of training but also wasting 3 hours on the ride. So I have decided to change this activity for something that is nearer.
To sum up I am glad I have been attending tennis trainings. It was a short but valuable experience and I do not regret taking part in it.
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