Summer Expedition

For the 4th time this Summer, I put myself on the line in an entry level professional tournament. This time, I found myself in Saint Joseph, MO. For the 4th time this Summer, I "lost". To analogize my summer to the game of baseball, I struck out.....the catcher then dropped the 3rd strike, and I tripped on my way to 1st.

However, note that my stating that I lost was put in parentheses. The journey was well worthwhile in terms of personal and professional growth. I am actually reminded of an article that Coach Rodgers passed on to me not too long ago, written by Pete Bodo:

Andre's Walk in the Woods

Although I will never attain the success, or progress (as referenced by Bodo), that Agassi achieved over time, I certainly made my own progress this summer. I also have more love and appreciation for the game of tennis, and those that make progress of their own, than ever before.

I sincerely hope to be able take this journey again next Summer! Although not defined by the outcome, I would more than welcome a victory the next time around!

Good luck to the juniors competing in the Iowa Open these next few days. I am looking forward to the Adult Tournament this weekend. It is yet another opportunity to grow!

I can't help but share the following picture. Emmie's most recent artistry:

A busy weekend of tennis in the Eastern Iowa area. Iowa City hosted a Missouri Valley Futures tourney where many of the juniors from a five-state area participated in record numbers. Play took place primarily at the University of Iowa, but Saturday's thunderstorms meant that Coe College hosted a day(14 hours) of play for the Boys 16 and under division. I spent Friday and Sunday watching boys and girls 18 and under play, while Kris did the same on Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Kris then headed west to Saint Joseph, Missouri for her final summer USTA $10,000 event. After waiting out Sunday morning storms, Kris fell 63 64 in the second round of qualifying play. I imagine she will chime in later about her play.

Dubuque, Iowa hosted their annual Mississippi Valley Open Saturday & Sunday. Always a good tourney(prize money!!!) the 2011 version was no exception. The Dubuque event serves as the lead-in to this week's big Iowa Open(more prize money!!!) which begins play in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday with the Junior tourney and then the Adults follow with singles play beginning on Friday afternoon. The courts at Clark Racquet Center will be hosting the Boys & Girls 18's, and all of the Women's events. I know for sure that Elizabeth Hoffmann, Sara Ohlman, Jordan Ferree, Jackie Pedersen and Coach Kris will all be playing in the Women's events. I have heard rumors that Jeff Damisch, Curtis Newman, Daken Starkenburg, and Tyler Wilson will be in the Men's tourney. Perhaps others?

Then next week is the Iowa Private College Week where Coe expects some 400 prospective students to visit campus during the morning and afternoon sessions. Hopefully there will be plenty of tennis players to talk with during the week!

Evansville / St. Joe

I have been meaning to respond to Coach Rodgers' post all week. Just now finding the time.

First of all, I must rebut his statement about my sleeping late on Sunday morning in O'Fallon. For the record, I was awake by 8:15 and swimming laps in the pool by 8:30. I do admit to sleeping later than normal since I didn't have a self-imposed 6 AM Insanity workout to wake up for, nor a 3 year old jumping on me to start my day. I also realize that Coach had been up for 3 (?) hours by that time, and definitely possesses the "antsy" gene to get moving / make progress. Thus, I do apologize for my lack of timeliness that morning! :)

My take on Evansville.....it was hot and humid! I found myself sweating while at a standstill, and that is quite unlike me. Having lived, coached (at U of Evansville) and taught tennis in the area years ago, Coach showed me around, and gave me the history of Evansville tennis. Was neat to take in, and it gave me more appreciation for tennis in the area, those that built it, and Coach's contribution along the way.

We even managed to stumble across a great pizza place one evening.....Geronte's. The quaint setting, and atmosphere, would make for a great "date night" should you find yourself in town. On the other hand, and as usual, Coach and I had a working dinner; found ourselves discussing the current state of Kohawk Tennis, and how to improve upon that foundation. We also spent much (most!) of our time in the car discussing the same with the ultimate goal being the compilation of a Business Plan for Kohawk Tennis.

As was the case in Atlanta, the time I spent on court leading up to my match is irreplaceable from an experience standpoint. Believe I got 9+ hours in before Monday's match-up against Hibi. The match itself.....Coach provided me with a rock solid game plan, and his analysis of my attempt to execute that plan (below) is dead on. My 1st serve % was abysmal. I considered, and was very close, to hitting two 2nd serves each point. In the end, probably should have given in to that notion in hopes that I started fewer points on the defensive.

Once again, I learned a lot about myself as an individual, competitor, tennis player and coach. Coach also absorbed much insight/knowledge simply by being present; he thinks and understands the game of tennis at a very different level than the rest of us. I have already benefitted from his enhanced tennis bank of knowledge this week. The practice sessions I did get in were very productive; I AM excited to play again and continue improving. I am actually sitting in St. Jospeh, MO right now waiting for the draw and tomorrow's schedule of play to be released.

Hibi went on to qualify for the main draw, and managed to do some damage there as well. She beat Kyle McPhillips (the winner of $10K Cleveland event) in the Quarters before losing in the Semis to Nicole Melichar.

I had a short (18 hour) hiatus in Prairie du Chien, WI with my family and parents on Thursday/Friday. We drove up to De Soto, WI for pizza at the Great River Roadhouse....another treasured find! The bridges en route were quite a sight, especially as evening fell and reflections glistened off the water. A picture of Emmie below (on a jet ski with a family friend):

Travel with Kris...

John Steinbeck wrote a book about his travels across America in 1960 with his dog Charley. A literary classic, by a classic American author. This Blogpost will be neither literary, nor as extensive!

As Blog followers know, Coach Kris has been fulfilling a personal quest by playing in a few entry level Professional Tournaments. These are $10,000 events held across the country. She has played Cleveland, Atlanta, and Evansville, with St Joseph, MO this weekend. I drove Kris to Evansville.

The way these Events work, sign in for the Qualifier is from 3-6pm on Saturday, then the draw is released at about 615, with play beginning early Sunday. So to break up the drive(8 hours) we left late Friday, and stopped in O'Fallon, on the Illinois side of St Louis. Saturday morning, I got in 4 miles of walking, and a quality cup of coffeehouse coffee while waiting for Kris to emerge from her room. (you know how those "pros" need their sleep!) The we drove the remaining miles to E'ville with a slight detour over the toll bridge to New Harmony. (New Harmony, Indiana was built by a communal German religious group)

Arrived at the tourney site, Wesselman Park. 12 concrete courts, a dewpoint of 78 degrees and temperatures well into the 90's. We practiced for as long as I could stand up(90 minutes) then went to check into our respective hotels. (Kris stayed at the player hotel which was very nice and had a great rate for players....I stayed a couple miles away in more affordable lodging!) We went back to the tourney HQs to check the draw.....and discovered that Kris had a Bye and did not play until Monday!

Sunday morning I enjoyed an early cup of Starbucks, then picked up Kris and we were on the court by 745am. We hit until 845, then Kris joined up with Simone Kalhorn(Syracuse alum, 2011) and they played sets until 1030. (since the practice courts are assigned with 4 to a court, that practice set was often interrupted by x-court practice and court changes) I was assigned the task of watching the match Kris would play the winner of; it was the 2nd match on court #7. Fidan Manashirova and Mayo Hibi were paired up. Fidan will be a junior at Ohio State. She played #5 and #6 singles. Mayo is one of the top two players in the country in the 2014 class. Hibi would win an entertaining match in 3 sets; 61 46 61. After scouting, we talked about potential tactics for the Monday match at lunch, then Kris went swimming, we watched the end of the Women's World Cup, then returned to the now-empty courts for another round of practice. I lasted an hour in the humidity this time! (side note-years ago, I lived and coached in Evansville. Not sure how I survived the Summers?.....Guess I was a lot younger!)

Up and on the warm up courts at 745am. Match was assigned to court #6 at 9am. I settled into my seat with two bottles of water to get me through the match.

Hibi plays extremely gracefully, with a one-handed BH, and beautiful volleys. Quite different from the normal topspin baseline bashing that is prevalent in the Women's game. Kris also plays different than the norm, with footspeed as her primary weapon. Since Mayo is 15 years old with a flat FH, and that one-handed BH, we had decided to try and elevate Kris' shots to shoulder height, hopefully to elicit some errors. Also when Kris came forward, the idea was to pressure that BH side. We were looking for long points, 8-12 shots, followed by a net foray by Kris.

101 minutes later it was over. Hibi won 61 60. While a scorekeeping 'blowout", keep in mind that the adjacent court finished at the same time with a score of 64 75! What happened? Kris was unable to keep Mayo off the net enough, not enough of the points went our goal of 8-12 shots, and since Kris' 1st serve percentage was abysmal(less than 20%) she spent ALL of her time playing defense. Kris was able to use her footspeed to frustrate the younger player and make her hit an extra two shots per rally, but to her credit, she was able to do so. On the bright side, the game plan worked to a degree, Kris played very well, and I think she is eager to return to practice and competition. To be successful at this level, requires a workable draw, a reasonable playing style matchup, and of course, execution!

I learned "tons" from being at the tournament. Watching professionals and aspiring professionals practice, and compete. I have a lot of notes about practice drills, emotional management, intensity, focus, etc. that I plan on sharing and implementing into our Kohawk practices.

As the Tournament progresses I will update Mayo Hibi's progress, and maybe I can get Coach Kris to add a couple of comments about her perspective on the tournament?

Returned Home.....

I have arrived back in the homeland after almost 2 weeks away. Played in the Atlanta ITF event this past Saturday and received a shellacking in the first round; wasn’t pleasant! After winning the 1^st game, experienced a mental/physical breakdown on the court. Upon tossing the ball to serve at the outset of the 2^nd game, my entire body seemed to tense (likely attributed to nerves?). I caught the ball and reset, or tried to. Failed miserably…spent the next 9 games trying to attain any semblance of rhythm and/or a meld between my mind and body. Finally relaxed myself (lost part of my speed in doing so) in the middle of the second set and played a few competitive games before shaking hands.

Admit to having once lost a match as a junior player after being ahead 6-0, 5-0 in score. Although the memory has been repressed, I vaguely recall a similar on-court breakdown occurring as I tried to close the match out. Two examples of how important the mind, and mental side of the game, are!

After much assessment, realize that I will/have grown as a player and coach based on each of those experiences. Regardless, was a tough match to swallow given the time, travel, expense, energy, passion put into my tournament play thus far and on behalf of those that have invested time in me (or afforded me the opportunity to play)....namely Coach Rodgers and my family.

On a more positive note, I did have the opportunity to train with Coach Luke Jensen, and a few of the Syracuse graduates, throughout the week. The additional match play and practice was great for my growth! A big thanks to Coach Jensen and Coach George for taking care of me all week. I also would like to say thank you to the Tournament Director (Patricia Jensen) and staff (Bunny, Missy, etc). I thoroughly enjoyed my tournament experience……OFF THE COURT!

The only upside to my first round departure was a 2 ½ day hiatus back in Peachtree City with family. I was able to catch one of Charlie’s (my cousin) baseball games at a National Tournament being held in the area. His team went into the 7^th trailing 3-4; they loaded up the bases with 2 outs and a full count. Ended up scoring 3 in the top of the inning, and held their opponents to 1 run in the bottom to win the game 6-5. Tooled around in the golf cart with Charlie for 2 hours my final evening in town…got Emmie her first Under Armour shirt, and had Italian ice at Rita’s!

Read both Fit for Life and Sugar Busters while away. Armed with new and interesting information relating to nutrition!

Quiet!

I know it has been a while since I have jotted down any words in this space. Truth is that not to much exciting action is happening around the Clark Racquet Center! I have had the pleasure of being able to assist in the Training of Coach Kris, and an University of Iowa Men's player for the first six weeks of the summer. But, they are both out on the Tournament Circuit, as they should be, because they both desperately want to improve. So it is too quiet!

In their absence my weekly mileage on the bicycle has gone way up, and I have my days full of tracking tournaments results across Iowa, the Midwest, and this week, across the entire country. As we expand the borders of Kohawk Tennis, I am being made increasingly aware of the amazing number of junior tennis players in the United States. Youth Tennis seems to be thriving, but the number of Adult tournament participants is dwindling. Not sure what that says, just an observation.

I have heard from assorted Kohawks, past and current, this Summer. Many current Kohawks are working on their tennis games. Mike Janssen currently is the leader in tournaments played as he is on his 5th one this weekend . He and his brother, Greg(10) are living in Maine where Greg works as the Assistant Tennis Coach at Bates College.. Jon(96) and Missy(97) Turbett recently put on youth clinics in their hometown of Dubuque and Jon reports they had a great turnout and a lot of fun! Kevin Buckner(92) is finally getting married and working on Wedding Plans. Congratulations to KB! Mark Murphy(98) just returned from the NCAA D3 National Committee Meetings, and is now back at Kalamazoo College helping to prepare to host the USTA Boys National Championships.

Locally I see Molly(09) and Megan(10) Fiala a couple times a week on and off the court. They are doing wonderful! Chris Paasch(06), Andrea Schupbach(10) and Natalie Bordignon(11) all are working in the Admissions Office here at Coe. Chris and Andrea recently assumed new job responsibilites. Congratulations to them! Prateek(11) and Scott Stegemann(11) are both still around too. Prateek is working on campus with the Upward Bound Program, as is Sara Ohlman(13), and Scott is fulfilling an internship in the Uptown District. Scott is also going to try and carry Joey Lankelma(09) in a doubles tournament this weekend. Good luck on that! Our resident Rocket Scientists, Victor Khristenko(12) and Daken Starkenburg(14) are both involved in Physics research this summer, both at Coe and at the University of Iowa.

The pace of the Summer will pick up again rather soon. If Coach Kris is accepted into the Evansville 10K Futures, I will accompany her there. The two weeks following are the big Iowa Tennis events, the Missouri Valley Futures in Iowa City and then the Iowa Open at month's end. All of you are invited to play in both events(if eligible!) and we will make sure and have a Kohawk gathering during the Iowa Open at the Racquet Center.

Until then, take care!

4th of July

Have you been to Peachtree City, GA? The entire city is connected by hundreds of miles of golf cart paths. There are 35,000 residents, and 12,000 registered golf carts.....9 out of 10 homes own a golf cart and utilize it as the vehicle of choice for nearby errands. When visiting, we often take the cart out for evening rides, to the grocery store, Blockbuster, pool, etc.

This evening, thousands of golf carts ventured out, parked around Peachtree City Lake and/or on one of the golf courses to view the Fireworks display. Golf cart traffic on the way home is bumper to bumper; we departed a bit early to avoid the jam, and incoming storm!

Hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July! I certainly did.

Headed North of Atlanta tomorrow afternoon to train with Luke Jensen and several Syracuse graduates. My high school coach, Shelley George, serves as Jensen's Assistant Coach at Syracuse.

Travels.....Peachtree City, GA

Arrived in Peachtree City, GA to visit relatives this past Friday. Wimbledon breakfast (strawberries, cream and waffles) is a tradition in our family that was started by my Uncle Don, who played tennis and football at American University. Thus, I prepared it for everyone yesterday and will be doing the same in a few short minutes - men's final! We attended the Braves game last night. Emmie really enjoyed the game, has the Tomahawk Chop down pat, and loved the Fireworks Show that took place after the game.

Cars 2 this afternoon!

Pictures below.....I have also included a picture of Emmie with two of the camp girls from a couple weeks ago, and one of my favorite pictures that I recently came across. Enjoy!

Oh, I was also accepted into the $10,000 ITA Tournament being held in Johns Creek, GA next weekend.

First of July

Djokovic moves into Wimbledon Final

And the Tour de France gets underway this weekend. Andy Schleck is one of the favorites in this year's event.


And no July should get underway without mention of Baseball! Only baseball & hockey seem to be playing. Football and Basketball are in the hands of the lawyers.....