Tennis

The tennis team has not won any games so far, and it's no wonder when the conditions for winning are not maximized. Tennis (and golf) is unique in that no one really cares about the sport. The school doesn't care how we do as long as we win and it's not supported by the student body, not even by some of its own players. As assistant coach, I can only make suggestions and the final decision falls on the head coach, who prefers to coach baseball. The students respond well to him and respect him as father figure and community member, but he hasn't been the best coach. There are 21 students on our tennis roster and we only have 2 tennis courts. Of those players, about 6 show up regularly every day. We just added 3 more members who couldn't come to practice before because they were busy with basketball. It's the middle of the season. The head coach won't cut them or the other slackers, but he wants to win. I guess my enthusiasm and energy for coaching a potentially winning team has waned since January and I'm not sure if I'll be able to regain that sense of confidence. If we don't improve these conditions, we're not going to win any games and it feels like I'm wasting my energy. Is tennis about winning and losing? No, it's not, but my players' morale, confidence, energy, interest, and passion fades more and more with each loss. There has only been one game in which I was truly proud of my players for not playing like frightened kids, but finally playing with their hearts. They lost anyways, but they played well.

Longer Days

A normal day goes like this:
The first alarm sounds at 6:15am. The second at 6:25 and the third at 6:35. By 6:45, I'm finally out of bed. Schools starts at 7:30 so I get there by 7:15. A full day of teaching commences and ends at 3:30pm. Tennis practice starts at 4:00pm and ends around 6:45pm. On the way home, I pick up my usual order of steamed dumplings from China King Buffet. For about an hour, I eat, check on the cat and kittens, and shower followed by a half hour of lesson planning. With 15 minutes to spare, I try to read a chapter from a book. Finally, it's 9:45 and I'm in bed.
Ever since tennis practice started, I haven't had much time for anything else. When it's all over, all I want to do is go to sleep. No food, no shower, no work- just sleep.