When it is so cold that I must wear snow pants to walk the dog and cannot feel my gloved fingers just ten minutes into the experience, I am grateful for the indoor sports that keep me sane.
We have a treadmill at home. Appointments on my gym’s track or in the weight room, however, hold me to a standard during couch potato season I would never meet if left to my own devices. For another thing, commitments drag me out of the house. Gym visits may be semi-solitary, yet they are companionable in a way that whittling away at errands and the daily to-do list is not.
I look forward to the familiar faces at the health club as much as the endorphin high and feeling of accomplishment that carries me through the rest of day. My weight lifting dates back decades, and I took up a bit of running recently, finding I frankly enjoy it; but the back story behind it all is that my gym routine really helps my tennis.
I returned to tennis after a ten year hiatus raising young kids. Though I was quite young, relatively speaking, my skills had completely deteriorated from disuse. Those first couple of months in lessons, followed by private “parking lot tears” of frustration, finally gave way to that old exhilaration. Round robins became doable because babysitting was available. When that ran its course, I moved on to play team.
Suburban parents are familiar with how all-consuming and drama-filled their children’s sports can be. Women’s travel tennis league unfolds in many of the same ways. Bad calls, worse manners, hollering and gamesmanship: the higher the ranking, the more unsportsmanlike the behaviors can be. Sometimes we wonder why we play.
The answer emerges when we honor the rules, hit well and are gracious. On these best days, we feel fit, confident, convivial and joyous.
Not many experiences have a payoff like that. (c)
