Castine Szwajkowski serves up her top five reasons for taking up tennis this summer.
1. COORDINATION
Tennis will have you running in different directions while hitting the ball at the same time. You need to be vigilant to react to bounces as well as the other player’s movement. With time, tennis will help you synchronize these movements and greatly improve your coordination. Having good coordination helps prevent injury and reduces strain on muscles.
2. AGILITY
With the constant deceleration, acceleration and change in direction, tennis is ranked as one of the top sports to increase your agility. Many have argued that agility is the most important factor in succeeding in a sport across the board. Conditioning your agility will help you in the athletic world and in your everyday life. As you begin to age, having strong agility will help prevent falls by speeding up your reaction time.
3. LOW IMPACT
Tennis allows you to play at your own pace. From “hit-arounds” to tournaments, there are options for people of every age and ability. With this, you can play at whatever speed and competitiveness you would like without harsh impact on your muscles and bones.
4. MENTAL HEALTH
Tennis constantly has you thinking about your next move, providing opportunities to be creative, strategic and competitive. No match will ever be the same, so you will always need to be thinking of a new strategy, constantly stimulating your brain and improving your concentration. Tennis has also been found to increase serotonin output, which has been linked to improving your mood and decreasing anxiety and depression levels.
5. IT’S SOCIAL
Whether it’s cardio tennis, doubles, tournaments or teams — tennis can be extremely social. Playing with others has been shown to increase the likelihood of continuing the sport and managing stress. On top of that, tennis allows you to meet new people and therefore expand your social interactions.
For the past two summers, Castine Szwajkowski has been an instructor for youth and adult tennis at the Jetties Tennis courts. She played tennis competitively for fifteen years and is currently the captain of the women’s lacrosse team at Skidmore College. Newly resurfaced, the Jetties Tennis courts have been open to the public since the 1980s. Jetties Tennis has dramatically expanded its programming this season, including becoming a provider of Net Generation youth tennis. For more information, click here or call 508-332-9057.
