A few weeks ago while jogging on a familiar street in our neighborhood, my head turned suddenly to catch sight of an ugly Double-wide mobile home, plopped caddy-corner on the lot. There was no siding on the house, and a flapping blue tarp was on the roof. Where, just days before there was a wooded lot, the trees were now pushed up into a heap behind the house. Since we had been getting rain here in North Carolina for months, the front yard was a big red muddy mess. “What an eyesore for the neighborhood”, went through my mind as I kept on running.
Several days later I noticed the blue tarp was gone and a freshly shingled roof was in place. It was then I realized that somewhere, someone was looking at this lot and home very differently than I was the first time I traipsed by. No doubt they envision a plush green lawn, with flowers set in place; maybe some cedar shake siding and a sprawling wrap around porch. Another thought occurred to me later — perhaps inside this currently unattractive structure, is set up an immaculate home decorated with the latest and the greatest!
As tennis coaches we sometimes have players show up for lessons or join our school teams and we find ourselves viewing them as “an ugly house”. Perhaps they have very little athletic ability and struggle just to make contact with the ball. So often their focus is definitely not on the tennis court.
What does it take to flip the switch in our own mind’s eye to envision this player at a match, serving, placing balls where they want them to go and totally enjoying the sport? At what point do we disconnect our focus from perfecting their strokes, to helping them get the glimpse of what “the beautiful home” is going to look like and feel like?
Our tennis players may show up to practice or lessons, and compare themselves to better players on the team or in the clinic, viewing themselves as the “ugly house”. I’ll never forget a doubles match I was playing in with some ladies that were much more experienced than I was myself. I came onto the court with this apprehension all bundled up inside me, comparing my shots to their’s, worrying about what they were going to think or say about my level of play. After we lost the first game, due to my errors, I just asked myself the question, “Why am I comparing myself to them? They get up and put their panties on just like I do. Just hit your shots, Flo.” No more games were lost in the match, due to my errors, and we won!
All it takes is a snap-shot view, with a little imagination. Each time I run by the Ugly House now, I can see this home, no longer on wheels, but with a solid brick foundation, an award winning yard and kids romping in the grass. Coaches, let’s take time to get a glimpse and share the vision!
