How teaching tennis has made me a better student

“Bounce, hit! Bounce, hit!”

I ingrain this phrase over and over again into the heads of seven-year-olds as I drop feed tennis balls to them, hoping it will improve their forehand rhythm so that they can finally hit that sweet spot on the face of their miniature tennis racquets. These simple words are all too familiar to me, because that sentence was the foundation of my understanding of the game when I was just five years old.

I have spent the last thirteen years immersed in the competitive world of tennis. When my parents handed me a racquet and drove me to my first tennis lesson at age five, they had no idea that I’d fall in love with the game instantly and compete in USTA tournaments for the next decade as they supported me every step of the way. Growing up, I even equated much of my identity with the sport. All my life I was introduced as Marianna, the tennis player. I considered my local tennis club my other home, and my tennis coach Dan was one of my best mentors.

Thanks to Dan, last summer suddenly felt like a dream come true when he asked me to help him run his summer tennis camps. I thought to myself, what could be better than teaching a game I love, let alone get paid for it?

Most importantly, I wanted to do something meaningful. A teacher is one of the biggest influences in someone’s life; good teachers act as role models who inspire others to live up to their full potential and inspire greatness. As John Quincy Adams once famously said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” As cheesy as this may sound, I wanted to be Adams’ definition of a leader because I am grateful that my parents and my early coaches pushed me to see my own full potential. I wanted to make the same positive impact on another child’s life.

Well, I definitely set high expectations for myself. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a great time working the tennis camp! I got to be out in the sun running around the tennis court demonstrating my favorite sport to children. However, it wasn’t as “inspiring” as I was making it out to be. There are just pros and cons to any job, really. My naiveté was showing.

When I looked at these kids, I was trying to find a reflection of my nine-year-old self who was eager to learn and dreamed of playing alongside Rafael Nadal. In reality, the kids didn’t come to camp with much will to learn. They were there because their parents needed a place to drop them off while they went golfing or tanning by the pool. With their short attention spans and everlasting energy, the kids were mostly focused on firing tennis balls at an inflatable Bozo the Clown, and when they failed they tossed their racquets out of the way and conquered Bozo man-to-man, eight children versus one inflatable clown.

Then the middle schoolers showed up and some were even taller than me (short people problems are real)! Although I know tennis like the back of my hand, successful instruction is a whole other ball game, and I had a lot to learn about children. I realized that it would take much more than “Simon says, swing your racquet over your shoulder!” to grab their attention. What they really needed was some incentive, creativity, and patience. Fortunately, this wasn’t going to be my last time teaching.

They liked Bozo a little too much.

As summer came to an end, I left for my first year at UC Berkeley. I made the Club Tennis team, through which I have met some of my closest friends, improved my game, and continued to play competitively.

It was also through the Club Tennis team that I got a new job as a tennis instructor for Higgins Tennis, an organization that provides group and private lessons at public courts across the Bay area.

Cal Club Tennis won Sectionals back-to-back!

A change in audience and setting could always make a big difference. It feels a lot less like babysitting and more like teaching because I feel more in control now. Suddenly I am the main adult now and I get to choose what lessons and games to do.

Trying to coax the enthusiasm out of uninterested students can be tiring and frustrating, but it’s worth it when you see a struggling child glow over making his first forehand and start jumping for joy. However, most of these kids are very curious to learn. And unlike the parents at the summer camp I worked at, these parents seem to have higher hopes and expectations for their children’s tennis game, which stimulates a more enriching environment.

I am learning more and more over time and I am happy that I can use tennis as a way to inspire others to be active and find a passion. I also find that the more I teach, the better person I become. I have gained new perspective. Teaching tennis has helped make me a better teammate and brings me a whole new kind of appreciation of the game.

Working with children has taught me to bring more cheer into my life and others, to be flexible, to be optimistic, to be patient, and to be kind.

GO BEARS! WE BEAT STANFORD!

In addition, I’m taking what I’m learning as a tennis instructor and translating it into the classroom. It’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed with schoolwork at Berkeley. My job has allowed me to look at my own professors in a different light, as they have to deal with conflicts from their students all the time, even though the circumstances are obviously much different. I am also becoming more disciplined with my work habits, which is crucial to succeeding academically.

Hopefully I can keep this going.