I believe strongly in fairness and justice. Anyone who works hard and puts in the hours and effort should be rewarded with success or improvement. Those who don’t haven’t really earned success, or learned how to appreciate the meaning of their success. This applies just as much to tennis as to classes and life.

Examples: (off court) Learning German. I came to Germany without speaking German had to pass 13 courses and had to learn German asap. I bought books, sat at my desk hour after hour, day after day, and month after month, and taught myself the language. Granted, my friends here might still argue that anyone would have learned the language being here for a year, however, I find it hard to believe that without hard work and effort I would have learned as much as I did. I certainly would not have passed my classes. Most people wished they could download the language into their brains and just speak it, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to teach myself the language- the actual process.

(Running distances is another example. There is no way to shortcut fitness- its not possible. Hours of training and planning are the only way to reach running goals.)

Your personal energy and dedication will stimulate and greatly inspire others.

I’d like to use tennis as an example for this statement, however, that seems a little presumptuous. That said, I think the most fitting example, is still my relationship with sports and enthusiasm for athletics and those involved. I’ve been encouraging housemates, classmates and friends to get fit or be more active since I’ve been at Smith. I love going on my daily runs, but love bringing new people on runs even more. I love inspiring people to become more fit by showing them new running routes, encouraging them, explaining exercise philosophies, fitness information, and whatnot. Their fresh enthusiasm is contagious and rejuvenating, which pushes me to continue reaching out to people who want to become more athletic.

In the fall of 2005, I ran my first marathon in Cape Cod, MA. Three tennis teammates came with me, joining my family and family friends as support. After running the marathon, for which I’d trained religiously along side classes and tennis (which always came first!), everyone expressed their congratulations. A handful, however, responded by explaining that they never thought it was possible for people they knew to run marathons and declared themselves inspired enough to begin training for one. 3 friends have since successfully completed their first marathons.

Adversity is you asset.

Conflict brings the best opportunity for change, competition pushes us to improve. Confrontations and difficulties present the best test of character and show you an inner part of yourself, through learning more about ourselves we can improve ourselves. Adversity sparks change and brings light to new areas, exposing them, whereby we see what we can improve.

Tennis revolves around confrontation, and competition. This is a sport where adversity must be embraced in order to thrive. The entire ladder system of competition among teammates, taking on stronger opponents, experiencing health set backs, etc, all demonstrate what we can overcome, which emotions we can rise above, and what we can achieve despite frustrations. Adversity shows us how much we need our teammates and how a strong team community can help everyone involved be stronger individuals.

By hopefully being able to embrace this theory, I hope the team would be able to overcome differences of opinion, competition (negative, emotional competition) between teammates, and frustrations on the tennis court and score-sheets. Embracing adversity me ans it no longer threatens you, you no longer fear mistakes, frustrations, failure, and whatnot, as they are all opportunities to improve and grow as tennis players and people.

Little things make big things happen.

This is one of my favorite statements, as it’s similar to the theory that something as small as a smile can start a sequence of events that influences numbers of people. Tennis training is all about detail and working on perfecting the little techniques, fitness points, mental strategies and whatnot. Changing or improving one thing can start an entire sequence of improvements. More importantly though, I feel that the little things that make big things happen in regards to tennis, are the things that don’t necessary have to do with the game technique itself. Little things like watching teammates, bringing snacks, encouraging comments, supportive listening, little extras or surprises help create an atmosphere, in which we can all thrive and stay motivated to the highest degree. This motivation makes a world of difference, especially in the sports world.