I play tennis with other people. Everybody I play with is unique. Everybody is different. I play with anybody. I don’t judge people or discriminate. I look at their tennis style. I notice if their backhand is weaker than their forehand. I notice if they prefer the ball short or deep. I notice if they have a good volley or smash. After looking at my opponent I alter my game. I try and beat them by playing to their weakness.
My aim is to spot a weakness and then
attack it. Do they hit the ball in certain ways or to certain spots? I change
my game in order to beat their game. One lady often goes short. Hits a very
good drop shot. I have to come in. One man hits a very good lob. I need to
stand deeper at the net. Get ready for his lob. One lady often goes down the
side. I need to stand a bit wider. I can hear Geoff muttering.
Geoff: You are labeling and judging
people.
Me: I play with anybody. I judge them so
I can beat them. I don’t get upset If I lose. My goal is to play well. To hit
good shots. To play in the moment. To be relaxed, flexible and move well. My
ultimate goal is for everybody on the court to play well.
Me: You could say I am treating my
opponents badly by judging them and by trying to beat them but they are also
trying to beat me. I need them and they need me. We are both aiming to beat
each other.
Geoff: So that’s your goal. Beating
people.
Me: I respect my opponents by trying to
beat them. When I play tennis I play to win. It’s no fun playing against
someone not trying to win. But win or lose is not the big goal. A game which I win 6/0 is often a bad
unenjoyable game. Losing 7/6 is a much better way to go. The ultimate goal is
for everybody to win.
The Copenhagen City Heart Study is
a much quoted and read study. 8577 participants were followed for all-cause
mortality from 1991 to 2017. Their participation in various sports and other
leisure time activities and length of life was monitored.
Various sports were associated with improvements
in life expectancy compared with a sedentary group. The researchers found that
tennis players added 9.7 years to life expectancy. Badminton players added 6.2 years. Soccer
players added 4.7 years. Cyclists added 3.7 years. Swimmers added 3.4 years.
Joggers added 3.2 years. Health club members added 1.5 years.
This study showed that all physical
exercise was associated with increased life expectancy. Social physical
activities such as tennis, badminton or soccer were associated with greater
increased life expectancy more than individual/solitary activities such as
jogging, swimming or cycling.
Increased life expectancy is associated
with both physical and social health. Connecting
with other people, playing and interacting with them is as important as
physical exercise.
The Copenhagen Study found that people
who played tennis lived on average an extra 9.7 years. While receiving serve I think: Tennis is for team
players. Me and my partner will both hit winners; hit the ball into the net;
serve both well and badly. Both of us respect each other. This is the ways
teams work.
Tennis is for someone reasonably healthy emotionally.
During tennis the ball will bounce or fly towards you. You then have to attack
it with confidence. You have to take a risk. You have to do something which may
or may not succeed. You have to gracefully accept either result.
The players I play against are
emotionally and mentally healthy. They are nice people. I love them so much I
love to beat them. It’s not tennis that makes them live longer. They are the
type of person who lives a long and healthy life therefore they play tennis.
The message from Copenhagen is don’t play
tennis. The message is social health is as important as physical health. Social
health is about respecting your partner and opponent. The other message is
people who live a long and well-balanced life play tennis. If doing a solitary
physical activity then try and do it with other people or afterwards go social.
You need a balanced life.
No comments:
Post a Comment