line marking

My first experience of Line Marking was watching my somewhat heat-affected school caretaker trying valiantly to walk a straight line with a 4` paintmobile and mark out our lawn tennis courts for the up and coming interschool tennis tournament. I can only say it`s a very good job that the Wimbledon lasers weren`t in operation or every service would have resulted in a loud, disconcerting bleep to proclaim `Out!`. It`s typical of life that we work within boxes and delineations. We have Line Marking on our roads, on our sports fields, on our car parks, our bus stops, our taxi ranks, our supermarkets, even our bank queues as if none of us is capable of organising ourselves unless we have Line Markings to fall neatly within! I guess that`s why `thinking outside of the box` has become such a notable fashion trend in psychological circles these days. And what does that mean exactly? It means that we should flout the rules and express our individuality, see new potential where previously there was only limitation and boundary. But what would that do for sport? Goal posts would be somewhere vaguely down this and that end. Service Line Marking would mean a general suggestions as to where might good to aim a serve. Queuing would be a thing of the past and paying would be a free for all (much like it is in more relaxed European countries where queuing and falling within Line Markings is viewed with utter disdain). We Brits make Line Markings a way of life. We set limits where they`re not needed. We make ourselves conform to rigid strictures and we generally assume that if anybody else, particularly a foreigner, wants it any other way, they must be quite unutterably mad. Hmmm…..

tennis equipment

If John McEnroe is to be believed, the best bit of Tennis Equipment you can possibly organise to take on court is a loud voice representing a foul temper. Charming as he may be in real life, it became his stock in trade and pumped up his adrenaline levels nicely to ensure his next service after each outburst would be an unreturnable, ferocious ace. For the rest of us mere mortals and Sunday tennis enthusiasts, the Tennis Equipment we bring to court is probably the best racquet we can afford, a nice new fluffy ball, a fresh pair of trainers and some sparkly new whites from Asda. After that it`s down to the amateur Tennis Equipment we`re stuck with – the jagged irregular white lines, the sagging net, torn periphery netting and a total lack of umpiring! Not the case for the pros, of course where every single item of Tennis Equipment is engineered with military precision to ensure fair play for all. In fact, Wimbledon of recent years has truly exemplified for many the art of robotic tennis. It`s so flawless, so precise, so fast and so furious, the original sport of gentleman and gentlewomen has become something of a tech fest where the ball speed is measured to a within fraction of a second and the courts are beyond question in their exquisitely honed precision. For most of us, it would be just grand to be able to play tennis using the kind of Tennis Equipment the pros take for granted. We might not exactly shine but just to try in such rigidly formal surroundings would be a challenge indeed. Why we need to set ourselves such rigid structures and clear definitions in life and sport is another matter altogether…

goal posts

We`ve all heard or used the phrase, `moving the Goal Posts` to mean changing the target, usually just when the original target had been hit, fair and square! It`s what keeps many industrial and commercial companies on the ball (if you`ll pardon the pun!). Funny then that, throughout the world, Goal Posts are so representative of success or winning attempts. In fact, come to think of it, most things in life are symbolised by sports like football where we work as a team or strike out individually to achieve a chosen ambition, a predetermined outcome or a lucky strike. Kids get it from a very tender age indeed as they`re taught that aiming for the Goal Posts affords them approbation and approval. Then, when they hit the right spot, they`re in for cheers and back slapping that starts to give them an externalised sense of approval and self worth, whether rightly or wrongly. The fact is we`re all programmed from a very early age to aim high, aim well and aim specifically towards our chosen Goal Posts, or towards those that are chosen for us. But I defy anybody watching the world cup or even a local 5-a-side footie team to deny the intense feeling of satisfaction and jubilation when the ball goes sailing between the Goal Posts and victory is assured. The competitive urge is within us all which is possibly why moving the Goal Posts causes us such high anxiety – we are only trying to please and to achieve approval which the psychiatrists would call having hot buttons or unconscious aspirations that govern our entire conscious beings.

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line marking

tennis equipment

goal posts