Stuff Happens: Tom

Stuff Happens. Real-life stories for boys. Suitable for beginner and newly confident readers.

Stuff happens sometimes. Everyday stuff. At school, at home, with sport, with mates.

For Tom it happened during a tennis match.

Tom Connors is a very good tennis player. When it comes to hitting a ball over a net he can do it better than almost anyone else his age, including the state-ranked Johnny Vargese who trains at the same club as Tom and also goes to Monvale Primary. Tom's problem is that he struggles to control his nerves in a match, particularly on his serve. His left arm seems to have a mind of its own and he can't even toss the ball up straight, let alone hit the serve powerfully into a corner of the box like Johnny can. Tom was fine until 6 months ago when he held match point against Johnny in the club championship, only to serve a double fault and lose the match. He thinks about this loss all the time, and ever since his serve and game have got progressively worse. Tom must find a way to overcome these nerves. Can he find a way?

Ages 7-11