Senior Statement: Liam Bradford

Liam has always been a talented tennis player. He has really awesome skills that many tennis players don’t have. He has the ability to shift from style to style within the same point, lofting a lob to the backhand and then spinning a forehand quickly down the line. The way that he is able to get so many powerful strokes back across the net is a testament to his skill. The fact that he is playing #1S this year and will end up with a better record than our #1S position last season also shows that he is a very skilled player.

But I’ve learned a lot about Liam as a competitor as well through the years. When he cares about what he is doing, he competes fiercely. And over the past several years, he has showed us that he cares about winning matches for our team. I’ll never forget his matches last year against Fremont and Blackhawk Christian, matches that came down to whether he won his long, three set match our not. And Liam played with great effort in those matches, pulling them out for us in two nail-biting tiebreaks. This season, at the Marian tournament, Liam played a player who he had lost to last season 6-1, 6-2. But this year, with the match resting on him, Liam pushed that same powerful player to 3 sets before succumbing. Their is great desire to win inside Liam.

Sometimes that desire to win has come out in frustration at himself, slamming a racket against his foot or hand. But this is actually something else that I have really respected in Liam. He works through these things and addresses the problem. Whether it is learning to redirect frustration or keep working on a new stroke, Liam has become a person who does one thing at a time to keep getting better. We talked about learning to hit his backhand, and throughout the year he has done it more and more. Anytime we talk at changeovers about new strategies, Liam is willing to try it, and puts it into practice.

And Liam has taught me a lot too. Liam has taught me the value of patience. When I am teaching, coaching and parenting, I say things and want to see them get better right away. With Liam, that hasn’t always been the case. But he has always starting working on things right away. He has made those things important. And because of that, he has matured into a wonderful player and person who can carry a lot of responsibility. It didn’t happen overnight, it didn’t happen in one conversation, and he hasn’t become fully matured and perfect yet... but he is always listening and taking steps in the right direction.

I am grateful for Liam, and the person that he has been on this team.

Ephesians 4:2-3
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.