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 1st game, experienced a mental/physical breakdown on the court. Upon tossing the ball to serve at the outset of the 2nd 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 7th 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!
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