Captain of School Tennis Team
During my junior year, 2021–2022, I was one of the 3 captains of the school tennis team, along with seniors Neelashki and Meenashki Iyer.
Some of the ways I influenced our team were: before every match, I would give a speech about endurance and having the “fighter” mindset, and toss in humor and optimism to lift team spirit. It’s very important to motivate everyone to play the best of our abilities. While my speech was inspirational to others, it also made me more motivated and determined— after all, I had to believe in what I said.
Additionally, I helped plan senior night for our seniors. We set up a place to make posters and also delegated tasks for everyone; some people bought poster making materials, others bought gifts and candy.
I also organized bonding activities, such as a Secret Santa. For Secret Santa, I created forms for people to fill out (for their interests and wanted-gifts), and also drew names for everyone. Although it wasn’t easy trying to
Reflection: From my experience as a captain, I learned the importance of knowing the relationship between individuality and working as a team (and how to identify when the time it is to work on each trait). Tennis, from a technical point, is a very individual sport that emphasizes mental strength and physical endurance. However, when on a tennis team, it’s also important to be hyped and motivated for your other teammates as feeding off the energy of your teammates is bound to happen; despite being one person, the more positive energy you give off, the more others are willing to reciprocate that, creating a chain of positive motivation. Additionally, as a Captain, others are going to look at you as an example of a role model of tennis player — which makes you being positive even more important.
I’ll be honest, there were times when I wasn’t even motivated. Knowing that a team has a better win streak, or the players are exceptionally good can bring down one’s optimism. Even during your game, when you aren’t playing your best or there are other external factors affecting your game plan, things can look pretty disastrous. However, whenever that happens, I just remember one thing: fake it ’til you make it. Fake being positive and optimistic towards your game! Others feed off that energy, and eventually, your whole team will remain optimistic, despite the challenges we were bound to face. Like I said, especially as a captain, it’s important to show your team mates how to react to these difficulties. During my pre-game speeches, I would always acknowledge that we had challenges to face, however, I would remain positive and motivated — I always emphasized the importance of perseverance and having a strong mental outlook.
Tennis Team 2021–2022
Some action shots from this season:
