Growing in Wisdom - Jimtown Match

 Video

Varsity Recap

The Bruins traveled to Jimtown on a bright and sunny September Thursday, to take on the Jimmies. A good team with a winning record, we were ready for another close match in this week. 

But I have to say, the Bruins came out ready. All across the courts early, the Bruins took the first leads of the match. Especially fast out of the gates was Elias, who bounced back from a tough #3S match on Monday to play awesome today. His footwork was so much faster, as was his decisiveness. Once again he forced errors from his opponent, and got a great victory on the board for the Bruins.

Right next to him, Judah continued to do what he does. Using all sorts of different shots and an opponent-frustrating penchant for unpredictability, Judah took a close match and pulled away. From 2-2 in the first set Judah reeled off 10 straight to seal a 2-0 lead for the Bruins on the night.

#1D clinched it for us. Malachi and Ethan played beautiful doubles tonight. I loved watching them play the cross courts so well. Their consistency was key in the match. But they also boxed their opponents in and controlled the net. That led to several amazing moments, like Ethan finishing the match by slamming an overhead down into the court and then over the fence.

#2D took a while to get going, but once they warmed up and got themselves humming, they played great. Again, they are starting to really understand who they are as a doubles team - up tempo players, controlling the net, playing with confidence and positivity. It's been fun to watch them continue to grow this season!

The closest battle on the night was at #1S. Gideon played a really talented, power filled player. But Gideon can counter power with his own serve, and Gid is really a top notch returner. His positioning and timing was excellent, and he put a lot of pressure on his opponent's serve while often holding his easily. He broke late in the first set and served it out, then traded breaks in the second set before serving it out with some great decision making. That win sealed a 5-0 victory for the Bruins! 

JV Recap

On the JV, it was a 6-0 sweep. The Jimmies were gracious enough to have their 3 JV players play 3 no-ad sets. But the Bruins took each match. The growth of this group continues to be astounding. Lucas was more consistent and much better at his 1-2, 1-2 footwork. Jordan continues to learn what his weapons are and how to use them, and how to move into the court and finish in different ways. Ayden relies on hustle and a big forehand. 

At doubles, Isaya and Silas had all sorts of great points, struggling some with consistency on serves but then finding great effort and more at the net. Josiah and Ender continued their great run of form, and Eli and Sam got another doubles win as they continue to develop their net and movement games.

And the key to any season is joy, and it was a joy to spend time with the team tonight. And a victory song on the bus is the best way to end an "Away Day." 

Let's go Bruins!

WE CAN BE HUMBLE, BECAUSE WE BELONG: Moments of Belonging

Ease

Tonight felt easy to me. It felt like everyone was getting to play, everyone was comfortable, everyone was ready to go. Sometimes there is a lot of nerves and anxiousness, but I appreciated that there was none of that in this match. I really believe that we are learning that it's going to be okay. That we can do tough things. That our teammates want the best for us. That ease is not too hard to keep when we win our matches, and I pray that the same sense of ease and place can be around if we are dealing with disappointment. 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

When the Pressure is On, Start with Ball in the Court 

Often times, we need to relax under pressure. We can do that by playing with smart aggression, or "smaggression" as we used to say with Daniel's teams. Gideon showed us a great example of this in his close-out game. Struggling a bit with nerves and double faults when closing out the match, Gideon decided to hit aggressive second serves as his first serve when he got to deuce. This meant that he made all of his first serves and got the point started. In a pressure situation, aggression shots that you can rely on are the best choice. 

Playing the Lob Game

At #1DJV, Silas and Isaya did a great job pushing to control the net. About halfway through the match, their opponents decided to try the lob game. Isaya ran down the first lob and lofted his own high into the air and Silas got ready to attack. But again another lob came over from the Jimmies. When being lobbed, the best reply is usually to re-lob. And so Isaya did it again. And then another time. By the time the teams were trading the fourth lob, the Jimmies lob fell short while Isaya had moved up and was ready to pounce. The patience displayed here was excellent.

Wise Quote of the Day

"When you chase perfection, when you make perfection the ultimate goal, you're chasing something that doesn't exist... It's all about your head, man." - Brad Gilbert

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Overhead Smashes for the Win!

Overheads are fun. In the match tonight, two varsity matches ended with awesome smashes. One was #1D, where a weak groundstroke floated in the middle of the net and Ethan shuffled quickly over to slam the ball down and over the fence. He let out a roar to Malachi and then calmly shook hands. I loved that. The other match to end with an overhead was #3S, where Elias scrambled all over the court. Drawn forward by a short slice from his opponent, Elias flicked over a backhand volley. His opponent tried a quick lob by Elias leaped and smacked the overhead away through the middle of the court. He also let out a "Let's go!" and then calmly shook his opponent's hand. A sweet way to end a match!

Speaking of Leaping Overheads

Judah had an unbelievable point in his match. Though Judah often plays with variety and unpredictability, this point really made that fun. Judah played with lots of shots in this rally, a hard serve to start, a looping forehand to drive his opponent deep and then a sliced backhand short in the court. As his opponent moved forward to pick up the low ball, Judah snuck forward to. When his opponent flicked up a desperation one handed backhand, Judah was right there, leaping up to smack the ball away. It was a night for cool overheads!

Making It Routine

It's harder and harder to find these exceptional points, because we are continually making our strengths into our patterns. Malachi slams a lot of balls at the net. Ethan hits great serves. Ender pounds forehands. Josiah hustles. Isaya finishes volleys. Ethan gives his all to get to every shot. Ayden scrambles back deep shots in the court. Eli hits topspin passing shots. Sam hits great returns and simple volleys. Aaron screams his forehand through the middle of the court. Elias lobs. Judah slices. Dom puts the ball away. Jordan hits deep shots onto the baseline. Silas hits aces. Gideon rips passing shots. Lucas controls the points with his forehand. We're turning strengths into patterns - that's a wise thing to do!

Awards

Cheerleader: Ender and Dom

Hustle Award: Elias

Dig Deep Award: Gideon

Prayer

God, I loved so many things about this night. You are teaching me about delight, and how to delight in the work. Tonight, You helped me remain calm and delight in the difficult parts of each match. You protected us from injury or sickness in the heat. You helped us maintain our positive mental strategies. You inspired us to cheer on our teammates. We had a lot of time just hanging out together. Thank You, we are grateful. Amen.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-4, 6-4 - Dalton Cook (12)

#2S - Ethan Claassen - 6-2, 6-0 - Carson Gingerich (11)

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-1 - Ethan Creech (11)

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-2, 6-2 - Bradyn Warp (12)/Leighton Gingerich (12)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-2, 6-1 - Juan Amaya (12)/Colten Allen (11)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 6-1 - Hayden Hines (10)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 6-0 - Alex Ryfer (9)

#3SJV - Ayden Lehman - 6-0 - Jacob Anthony (9)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 6-3 - Hayden Hines (10)/Alex Ryfer (9)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-3 - Hayden Hines (10)/Jacob Anthony (9)

#3DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 6-0 - Alex Ryfer (9)/Jacob Anthony (9)