Angola - Scrimmage

Photos
Click here to see photos from the match
Photo credit to Josiah Schlabach

Recap
It was a really great night. The rain that was predicted moved off. The sun was out. The temperature was perfect. We were excited to play.

The scrimmage format is three rounds of play, where we shuffle the lineup in between each round. In the first round of play, our entire team looked a little tight. It was understandable after such a long bus ride, but still a little disappointing. I have waited 10 months to see this team play, and I wanted to see us playing with the confidence I'd envisioned.

There were many bright spots in that first round, including the fight that we showed at all the varsity positions. Despite everything, we were making the effort. In many of the JV matches, we started off really well. Cameron and Austin took a decisive victory, and Aaron started quickly, getting a 4-0 lead. In fact, we ended up winning 3 of the segments on the JV.

We gathered, we talked. I encourage the team to move from their heads to their feet. There's no way that we can always shut down our inner critic, but maybe we can move it's attention to our movement. Then we can start to feel the flow. And in the second round, that was much more what we did. I started to feel an aura of confidence, none more than from Will and Tyson as they began to take the net and dominate their match from there. Other highlights included watching Caleb emerge from a funk to take control, watching Cameron play some great singles points, watching Nathan's super long deuce battle at #3 singles.

Then we entered the 3rd segment, and that was where the character of this team really shone through. I felt like that segment was everybody's best of the night. Will and Joseph played simple doubles to a 6-1 set win, Tyson and Nathan led their match with great serving and net play, Caleb took a 6-1 set. On the JV side, Austin approached and volleyed and overheaded a great 5-2 win. Josh had a 5-1 lead by winning the big points. Jacob and Matthew looked joyous playing their match together. I could write every name down because we played so well!

And all this happened when we could have been at our most tired. But instead, we were playing with the most joy. This is what we are after. Determination, yes. Perseverance, yes. Joy, yes and yes and yes!

You are accepted.
Before this match even began, I was confident in you. I loved my conversations this week with the team. When it rained on Wednesday, and I was angry because we didn't get enough challenges in, and I didn't have a clear picture of who would play doubles together. In that time, I had four different players come to me and tell me that they would play doubles with whoever I put them with and they'd be happy. It's that kind of acceptance that I love.

You are sustained.
As followers of Christ, we are accepted and that sustains us. But it also means that we get to live life in joy. Our next devotional will focus on that, but each match I'm going to use this space to highlight moments of joy that can sustain us through the difficult parts of our season, the memories of the good! If you didn't get to see or experience these moments, ask those who did :-)

Tonight, we can be sustained by these moments of joy...
1. Aggressive play from the varsity doubles.
I loved to watch our varsity doubles take control of the net. It's point #2 in "Simple Doubles." And when we got there, we dominated. Will hit several people with quick volleys they couldn't react to, Tyson slammed a ball over the fence, and Joseph hit the "Down-the-middle-solves-the-riddle" volleys so many times. There is joy in aggressive but simple doubles play.

2. Jacob Shank and Josiah Schlabach's feet movement.
During the last segment, when people get tired and the night gets long, I looked down to the lower courts and saw Jacob and Josiah dancing. Okay, not really dancing, but moving their feet in getting ready for their point. They were matched up against a good Angola team, but they were determined to be in the point. Throughout the night, I was disappointed with our focus and movement when we were return. But these guys had great movement. It was a joy!

3. A simple and beautiful point from Braden.
I saw lots of great points throughout the team. Those moments of beauty inspire me and keep me going. Josh digging out an approach shot, Nathan or Austin with an overhead, Caleb picking up and approach and attacking. But Braden had a point in his last match that I loved, because it shows me his maturation as a player. He rallied 3-4 balls back with his opponent, deep in the court and moving his opponent around. He is good at this and it was the strength of his game last year. But then the ball fell short. Braden moved up and whipped a deep shot down the middle, slightly to his opponent's backhand side. Then he moved toward the net. His opponent was flat-footed, and attempted a half-lob, half-passing shot that sailed long. Braden's pressure had created a situation for an error. Last year, Braden would never have approached. We are growing, and that joy is sustaining.

You are significant.
You are significant in the ways that your greatest joy meets the world's greatest need. It flows out of your acceptance. So in this space, I want to highlight ways that guys use their God-given gifts to serve someone, whether team or opponent's.

Tonight, I have to highlight Josiah's laugh. It is his great joy, it is unique and it is loud. And while we were at Pizza King, it was sounding again and again. This team needed that. We can be a bunch of dedicated guys, really serious about getting better and doing things right. But we need to be reminded of the joy of tennis. The joy of friendship. The joy of acceptance. The joy of swinging at a moving target. The joy of pizza. Tonight, gathered together at one of our favorite traditions, Josiah's laugh gave us that joyful start to the season.



You have achieved.
You played with joy tonight. That was an achievement.
You won more matches than you lost. That was an achievement.
Your work in practice matched how you played in the match. That was an achievement.

Prayer
God, as we kick off this season, help us to stay committed to receiving our acceptance from you. Let us not be deceived by the backward pattern of trying to achieve in order to be accepted. Let us live out of your love, and our love for each other. Thanks!

Scores
Session 1
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 5-5 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 5-3 - Ted Brandon (12)
#3S - Josh Cartwright - 3-3 - Jacob Pontorno (10)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Tyson Miller - 1-6, 1-2 - Isaac Wyatt (12)/Brad Boyd (11)
#2D - Will Nisley/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 5-4 - Jaeger Berquist (12)/Marcus Miller (12)
#1SJV - Aaron Shenk - 4-4 - Trevyn Towers (11)
#2SJV - Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 5-3 - Connor Libey (10)
#1DJV - Austin Shenk/Cameron Heinisch - 6-1 - Aiden Koch (10)/Tyler Walker (11)
#2DJV - Chris Craw/Kameron Branum - 4-3 - Lucas Nelson (11)/North Contrin (10)
#3DJV - Xudong Sun/Jim Lyu - 2-4 - Thomas Newburg (9)/Jack Smith (9)

Session 2
#1S - Braden Bohn - 3-4 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Caleb Shenk - 4-2 - Isaac Wyatt (12)
#3S - Nathan Oostland - 2-2 - Ted Brandon (12)
#1D - Will Nisley/Tyson Miller - 3-2 - Brad Boyd (11)/Marcus Miller (12)
#2D - Joseph Mounsithiraj/Theo Siemens-Rhodes - 2-2 - Jaeger Berquist (12)/Jacob Pontorno (10)
#1SJV - Josh Cartwright - 4-3 - Connor Libey (10)
#2SJV - Cameron Heinisch - 4-1 - Lucas Nelson (11)
#1DJV - Chris Craw/Matthew Dyck - 2-3 - North Coltrin (10)/Thomas Newburg (9)
#2DJV - Jacob Leininger/Breece Erickson - 2-3 - Aiden Koch (10)/Trevyn Towers (11)
#3DJV - Kameron Branum/Jacob Shank - 2-1 - Tyler Walker (11)/Jack Smith (9)

Session 3
#1S - Caleb Shenk - 6-1 - Hayden Boyer (12)
#2S - Braden Bohn - 4-3 - Jacob Pontorno (10)
#3S - Aaron Shenk - 3-4 - Ted Brandon (12)
#1D - Nathan Oostland/Tyson Miller - 3-3 - Isaac Wyatt (12)/Marcus Miller (12)
#2D - Will Nisley/Joseph Mounsithiraj - 6-1, 0-2 - Jaeger Bergquist (12)/Brad Boyd (12)
#1SJV - Josh Cartwright - 5-1 - Trevyn Towers (11)
#2SJV - Austin Shenk - 5-3 - Aiden Koch (10)
#1DJV - Chris Craw/Breece Erickson - 2-6 - Jack Smith (9)/Tyler Walker (11)
#2DJV - Matthew Dyck/Jacob Leininger - 4-2 - Connor Libey (10)/Lucas Nelson (11)
#3DJV - Jacob Shank/Josiah Schlabach - 3-3 - Thomas Newburg (9)/North Coltrin (10)