Tennis and society
...uring this time of my life, was playing for a club soccer team when something went wrong. I had been out on the field running, and began feeling light headed and sweaty. I stopped running, but my heart continued racing rapidly, beating hard and fast. The coach noticed that there was a problem, and attended to me. He couldn’t get a pulse, as my heart was racing too quickly. My mom rushed me down to the hospital where they were able to slow my heart down with medication, and the cardiologist informed my parents after running some tests, that I would need to be flown over to Seattle the following day where I would need special help. The surgery lasted over 8 hours, and after I awoke, the doctor shared with my parents that it was a miracle that I didn’t need a pacemaker. My heart muscle had been burned by the procedure (Radio Frequency Ablation) and I would need to find some physical activity/ sport that would help strengthen my heart and allow me a normal life. As I entered Middle School, my brothers began playing highschool tennis so I decided to give it a try and signed up for tennis lessons through the local Parks and Recreation department. My parents, who also play tennis, encouraged me by taking me to the courts to hit and practice what I learned. We would play as a family throughout the summer in the evenings and I improved a great deal. I signed up to play for the school team, and have continued playing throughout highschool. I have earned a 4 year varsity letter in tennis, with the past 2 years playing the number 1 singles position on the team. I was ranked number 11 in Pacific Northwest through October 2004. I have volunteered teaching tennis to students at 2 local grade schools. I was employed by the Spokane Parks Department this past summer to teach children and adults and h...