The hardest part of becoming a frequent tennis player is finding the inspiration to commit to playing regularly.  Family, work, and life circumstances can make finding time play tennis complicated.  In our situation, both my wife and I work in careers that require some very strange and irregular hours.  Both of our professions are 24/7/365 and weekends and nights off are not always a given or few and far between.  Finding a way to stay motivated when you can not always commit to leagues or a regular game can make the path to better tennis harder to find.

 

I found my path by exploring group instruction and drills.  When I started taking tennis seriously, I was lucky to find an instructor who not only taught me the skills I would need to progress but also provide motivation to keep me going.  My wife and I took group lessons together with the sole goal of getting proper instruction so that we could enjoy playing together when we found time to do so.  Our instructor, however, ignited a tennis passion in both of us as he dripped his enthusiasm for the game onto us during our training sessions.  He motivated us to play better and challenge ourselves to improve our strokes every session.  His lessons opened a door for us that would allow us to grow our tennis skills as well as discover additional ways to enjoy the game.

 

After several lessons, our instructor challenged us to join some of his group drills.  While I was very hesitant to try thes drills as we had no experience, he eventually coaxed us to give the group drills a shot and we were instantly hooked.  He ran his drills with that same level of enthusiasm as he did his instructional classes and his drills drew a crowd of people looking to share that enthusiasm.  It was during these group drill classes that I found my place in the game of tennis.  The group drills are an opportunity not only work on your strokes but also learn the game by playing the various mini games during the 90 minute sessions.  I had found my tennis nirvana, a place to play tennis and challenge myself without having a long term commitment schedule wise.  I attend drills when I can fit it in to my schedule without having to cancel and reschedule on days that I can not attend.

 

Finding the right instructor /mentor is the key to finding inspiration and motivation to improve your tennis game.  You need to find someone with the passion and desire for tennis that is willing share and inspire the passion in others.  The right instructor can open new worlds for you and inspire you to succeed even when you do not believe it is achievable.  I will be forever greatful to the instructor who ignited my passion for the great game of tennis.