I read a story the other day of a high school football game in Texas. You can read about it here. Anyway, it reminded me of something that happened the summer that I turned 12 years old. I had been playing Little League baseball and one of my teammates played tennis as well. In fact, his dad was a well known local tennis pro. So, my mom signs me up for his summer tennis camp at a local resort and I am given a new tennis racket for my 12th birthday.
Now, tennis camp was great. I had never played before and so I was learning the most basic things.....how to serve, how to backhand, etc. I actually thought I was getting pretty good, as far as a really bad beginner goes. Well, at the end of camp we were to have a tournament. Since I was a new player and still fairly bad, I was put into the girls bracket. There's a blow to my 12 year old ego. But I accepted it and attempted to get ready for the onslaught I didn't know was even coming. Who knew I was going to play some 13 year old girl who was a foot taller than me and had been playing for several years. Plus, I think on this day she was channeling her inner Chris Evert.
Now our match gets started and she is killing me. I can't even win a point much less a game. All the while, little Miss Priss is berating me for being so bad. Slap to my ego #2. She wins the first set 6-0. I don't even win one point. Not one time did she ever double fault or hit the ball into the net or out of bounds. A complete shutout. Now before we begin the second set, it was best 2 out of 3 sets, she walks off!! I didn't know what was happening. Turns out she went to get the instructor, my friends dad, and told him how bad I was and that she shouldn't have to waste her time finishing our match. Crazy. The instructor comes over and asks me if I was trying my best and I said yeah but she is so much better than me. He turns to her and tells her to finish the match or forfeit and she is clearly not happy with this answer.
We start the second set and she trying to finish me off as quickly as possible. This girl is killing my manhood before it even has a chance to begin. And then it happened. Finally!!! I win a point. No, she didn't make a bad shot. I hit a clear winner. I smoked that ball right past her. HA!! Time to save my future manhood so I talk some trash to her. "Take that!! Where were you on that shot!!" She pokes out her hip and places her hand on it and gives me the "You've got to be kidding me. I hate you" look. Ahhhhh, sweet victory. Well, I finish the match winning 3 points and losing to the self appointed prepubescent ball-bashing man-crusher by a score of 6-0 6-0.
What does this have to do with the football story? Well, not once did I whine about the beating I was taking. I just played as well as I could. I knew I was completely outclassed. I hung in there the entire match, looking for small victories like winning a single point. I learned some things that day. One, I was never going to be a very good tennis player. Two, sometimes you're going to be in a situation where you are a complete underdog. And three, when you're taking a beatdown, whether in tennis or in life, just buckle down, suck it up and focus on one small victory at a time.
