Can't Win 'Em All

Our father always says, "It doesn’t matter how you play as long as you win." While it many not be the most appropriate speech you can get before a game, we, of course, know our father’s sense of humor.  The reality is if we don't win a match and we do in fact come home losers, our dad is still very proud of his little girls.

In every sport, there is a winner and a loser. One team goes home feeling happy and victorious, while the other almost always goes home with sagging shoulders and saddened faces. It’s true that everyone takes losing differently, but we assume most can agree the rush of excitement you get after you win any game, whether it be a tennis match against your twin sister or a basketball game against one of your high school’s biggest rivals, makes you feel so much more accomplished than when you lose.  While there are those few people who take losing well, and who look at the game as being well-played and hard-fought, many more will sit on the bus ride home in silence or take anger out on different objects. There are some who swear and those who could care a less.

It's always hard to accept the fact that there are others out there who are better than you. And sometimes you don't realize it until you come face to face with your opponent or the higher-skilled team the day of the big game.  The Greenwich area, for example, proves to be one of the greatest locales in the state filled with outstanding tennis players. Every year we are faced with the biggest matches of the season against schools like Greenwich Academy, Greens Farms Academy and St. Lukes. They bring forth very tough matches against us all, and we try our best to give them a well-fought match even if we’re out-skilled.

In tennis it’s easy to tell right from the warm-up how the match is going to end up. You learn your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses just from hitting back and forth a few times. Quickly you ask yourself questions like, “Do they have a stronger forehand or backhand?” “Can they run fast for a drop shot?” These questions may seem pointless, but like our coach tells us, strategies like these are key to winning matches because one of the biggest goals is to get your opponent to make the most mistakes.

While finishing a season undefeated and not having lost a set would seem ideal to any tennis player, life, however, isn’t always about winning.

Time and time again, after our dad gives us his famous speech about bringing home the trophy, he too knows as a former athlete that winning isn’t everything. Yes, while losses are unfortunate and everyone wishes they could be the best at everything they do, sometimes we learn more about ourselves by playing people who bring out our weaknesses. We both know after losing a match that we can view a loss as something that improves our aptitude and moves us one step closer to our long-term goals.

Thanks for reading! -Morg and Tay