Its been a long two-week haul with the weather and heat but the campers have made it through the week with little difficulty. We have some hitters this session, a bunch of kids that are nationally ranked. It's fun to hit with these future college stars and have the chance to mold them. I lost last night to one of the kids from Hawaii, we played a set and I played him even but he pulled away at 5-5. He said that he needed to play guys like me because I drop shot and lob and give him a lot of different looks. I guess thats a complement. The kid is ranked 11th nationally in 16's.
When we woke up this morning the first thing Sandy said it's cool outside. We had the window open and we were both cold, the radio said it was 68-degrees, the coolest morning since early June and it feels great and on top of that its clear.
Mr. Brennan lectured us today on winning and finding the drive to win. He says to be a winner you must be hungry to win, you have to have it in the belly. He talked a lot again about Althea Gibson and how every time she walked on the court she had something to prove, he said her hunger centered on the fact that she just wanted to be somebody.
He talked a lot about BJK and her teen years, he said she had a chip on her shoulder, and then he corrected himself and said she had chips on her shoulder. He talked about the time she played her first tournament at the LA racquet club and they wouldnt let her in the winner photo because she wasn't wearing a skirt. He said from that point on BJK was out to 'show the Country Club crowd'. FXB said BJK didn't know much about the 'club rules', at the park where she played you just showed up and played and there was no dress code.
He also talked about the USTLA and how BJK had to share her number ranking with Nancy Richey and how that was a blatantly political move and how that burned BJK up. He told us about the first time she won Wimbledon singles and how once she got over the elation of winning how upset she was when she realized how much more Laver got for his win...he told us that BJK is wonderfully complex, that these things were always on her mind, and inspired her to win. He said not since Althea Gibson had there been a woman 'peoples' champ.
Mr. B says that we should never discount the kids coming out of the public parks, he says they're hungry to win and when it's 4-4 in third, he'll bet on the park player because they'll work for the win, they're not expecting a handout, they're used to working for the win. I guess Im partial to Mr. B's comments, I'm a park kid...I wish I had the talent to go with the desire.
I played Tom Sheridan tonight and stayed with him through two sets but lost 4 and 5...two service breaks! Im getting better but must find another concentration gear when it gets tight. Mark and I are doing so well with ball duty that Mr. B says he's gonna owe me another 'Foot of the Mountain' dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment