Excuses, excuses…they feel so good. Like a warm blanket protecting us from shattering our fragile egos. Here are some pre- and post-match excuses used in women’s doubles that may be the leading cause of coach eye-rolling:
Why do you think you lost that match?
The other team kept asking what the score was, and I just lost it.
The other team made too many bad line calls.
They were crazy lobbers, it drove us bananas!
I was thinking about where I had to go after the match.
The opponent had really funky looking braces. It’s all I could think about.
The opponent was an aggressive gum chewer.
The opponent’s age was the same as the temperature…75. Reminded me of my grandma, I was worried she might pass out.
I had a rough night.
Too thirsty.
Too hot.
Too cold.
Too sunny.
Too windy.
My racquet sucks.
The balls were too bouncy.
Wardrobe malfunction.
Just felt icky.
My in-laws are coming for Thanksgiving dinner.
Didn’t you hear all those birds squawking?
It was a full moon.
Solar flares, they make me cooky.
My partner was telling me what to do all the time, and I couldn’t keep my head in the game.
My partner was freaking out.
It’s my partner, I can’t play with her.
You’re the Coach, shouldn’t you be telling me the answer to that?
We may think a lot of these are absolutely legitimate, and we may wonder how it’s even possible to win with all those distractions. Hmmm, wonder what Coach thinks?