So I heard some guys talking about this thing called “Rider tennis” the other day, and it got me curious. I mean, I’ve played tennis before, but “Rider” tennis? That’s a new one. I decided I had to figure out what this was all about.
First things first, I started by trying to find out what makes Rider tennis different. I hit up the internet, you know, the usual spots, and found out it’s the tennis program at Rider University. Okay, cool, so it’s college tennis. That makes sense. Then I started digging a little deeper.
I looked at their official page, trying to find some unique things about their program. Nothing special, all the basics. It seems like they have a pretty standard tennis program.
Getting into the Game
Since I couldn’t find anything special online, I decided to see if I could experience it. I checked out their schedule, saw they had a match coming up, and thought, “Why not?” So I cleared my schedule and made plans to go see them play.
At the match, I really focused on how they played. I watched their serves, their forehands, their backhands – all that good stuff. I even tried to pick up on their strategies, like where they were aiming the ball and how they moved around the court. It was pretty interesting to see them in action.
Breaking It Down
After watching the match, I started thinking about the basic stuff in tennis, like the different strokes. You’ve got your serve, your forehand and backhand groundstrokes, your volleys, and that big overhead smash. I practiced these myself, just swinging my racket around and trying to get the feel for each one. No ball, just air.
I also remembered reading something about different skill levels in tennis. They use this NTRP rating thing. A 1.0 is a total beginner, someone who’s never even held a racket. A 2.0 is someone who’s played a little but still needs a lot of practice. There are higher levels, but I was just focused on the basics for now.
And then there are the grips. I messed around with a few different ways of holding the racket. The Eastern grip, the Western grip – just trying to see how each one felt. I was getting a little better at figuring out what I liked.
Putting It All Together
- I learned that Rider tennis is just the tennis program at Rider University.
- I watched a match to see how they played.
- I practiced the basic strokes and experimented with different grips.
- I thought about the different skill levels in tennis.
So, that’s my adventure with Rider tennis. It wasn’t some crazy new sport, but it was a good excuse to get back into the game and brush up on the basics. It was a fun little project, and maybe I’ll even go to another match sometime.
