Moments of Magic

Tennis 101

"Change of clothes? Check. Racket? Check. All set!" I said as I tossed spare clothes inside my school bag. Then, with my new racket in hand, I went to my mom's car. It was a normal April morning. A month had passed since I had performed in the Middle School Play.

"Have a great day, Mia!" My mom crooned as she dropped me off in front of the school. I went inside, only to bump into Brittany, Kirsten, and Mikayla as I was putting my stuff in my locker.

"So, tennis starts today! You excited?" Mikayla asked.

"Um...yeah." I answered. Every spring, Coaches Eddy and Tony coach those who are interested in playing the sport of tennis. As always, I was excited...and a little nervous. I was finally going to learn how to play the family sport! My brothers have been playing at a young age and my own mother occasionally plays the sport. At the time, Theodore wanted to be a professional tennis player. Everybody in my family played tennis. Well, everybody, except for me and my dad, but I never include him, because he's gone from this earth. So, I guess one could say I was a late bloomer.

Before I knew it, I was headed to a park with tennis courts. That was where we would be practicing tennis. Once there, Coach Eddy had us do some warm ups and sent Isabella, Alex, and I to the wall. Alex was Isabella's brother, but I wasn't sure if he or Isabella was adopted.

"We'll practice on the other side." Isabella said as she and Alex took off.

"Alright." I said as I began to practice. There was just one problem. How the hell am I supposed to hit the ball? Who did Eddy expect me to be, Novak Djokovic? At this rate, I'd be as good as a Stormtrooper.

"Do you need any help?" A friendly voice beside me asked. An elderly man in sports clothes grinned.

"Uh, yeah." I said. Yeah, we all know what our parents said. Never talk to strangers. But here I was, standing like an idiot, not knowing how to hit the ball. Sure, the guy seemed nice, but he could be a pedophile. Besides, Coach Eddy wouldn't let some perverted dude rape me.

So I accepted this man's help. He showed me how to do the front-hand swing, step by step. This went on for several minutes.

"Practice the front-hand swing and you will get it." The man said before he departed. And so I did. Coach Eddy called me over to hit some balls.

"You saw that old guy teach me?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, I did." Eddy smiled.

"Were you annoyed?"

"Oh, no. I would've been ticked off if he was trying to harm you. Now, let's hit some balls, shall we?"

The tennis practice flew by. During the tennis season, I saw that same man once more. Afterwards, I never saw him again. But his teachings about perseverance and practice had stuck with me to this day. Sometimes, a mere lesson can teach you many values.

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Author's Note: So not very school relevant, since I encountered an elderly man during my tennis practice. But I figured it was worth sharing, so there you go!

Did you learn anything worthwhile from just one lesson? Share your thoughts in the comments below.