Growing in Wisdom - Triton Match

 Video

Varsity Recap
Another night and another exciting opportunity for the Bruins to grow and enjoy tennis.

Tonight's match started with difficulty, as 2 varsity players were sick and out of the lineup. That meant JV players had the opportunity to step up and take the challenge. We called on Elias and Silas to jump into #3S and #1D... and they gave us great effort in their matches.

The Bruins got off to a winning start. Gideon was also playing someone filling in for a sick player, and Gid played great. After an unfocused start, he reeled off 11 straight games. He was especially impressive coming forward into the court. He got the Bruins our first point.

The match was evened then at #1D. The Trojan doubles pair combined tough hard serves with good net play. We couldn't quite rally enough balls in play to control the net ourselves, but we really showed good attitude and effort.

The Bruins earned their second point through Dom and Aaron. The #2D pair started off tight, but relaxed and controlled the net really well through their match. Much like Gideon, they figured out a confident strategy and reeled off 10 straight games to take their win.

At #3S, Elias got out to an early lead and eventually clinched the first set. He was playing with smart shots and forcing errors. His opponent shifted gears at the end of the first set, and Elias struggled to adjust as well. While giving effort, Elias couldn't quite find the energy and conviction to puzzle out the winning strategy. It went three sets but we ended up falling.

Which meant the match came down to Ethan at #2S. Playing up a position for where he normally does, Ethan moved and attacked well. His loose serves and approaches forced his opponent into errors and Ethan won the first set and took the lead in the second.

Then he tightened, and the match became very pushy. The second set went to a tiebreak, but Ethan didn't win. Which meant the 3rd set would determine the team winner. Ethan got bouncy and did his best to stay loose. In the first game, he blasted a deep topspin forehand and I knew he'd be okay. Indeed, he flew through the third set, winning 6-1 and securing a 3-2 team victory!

JV Recap

On the JV side, there were epic matches there as well. People played new positions, like Lucas at #1SJV, but everyone came with effort. Lucas found the consistency of his opponent a challenge, trying to figure out how to be consistent but also how to force errors from a player who mostly just lifted the ball back into play.

Jordan came back, fighting off a match point and forcing a tiebreak that he won. Jordan's match was also similar to Lucas's, with Jordan trying to find ways to be consistent and win points. Much like his match against NorthWood, Jordan found that when he could control the points he would play better.

I love talking to Ayden and Ethan about their matches. These two are really aware of the things that they are making mistakes on, and the ways that they need to improve. I also appreciate that they aren't being to hard on themselves, but just seeking to improve. 

Josiah and Ender continued their winning ways, this time at #1DJV. They had good consistency and their serves are both improving. I loved that I often see them being the team controlling play, either at the net or from the baseline. Finally, Sam and Eli slogged through a distracted match to win their second in a row together. They continued to move well against a team that hit a lot of really random looking shots. I thought this was a different type of mental test, but they did really well!

So great job team, and we'll continue growing this season.

Let's go Bruins!

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

Gratitude

We had a lot of unexpected twists last night. Players who were sick, players playing new positions, long matches under pressure, comebacks, letdowns, great play and simple mistakes. Through it all, I watched people care.  Gideon walked around to encourage and give energy to players if he could, JV guys walked between Elias's third set, Jordan's comeback and Ethan's long match, trying to figure out how to encourage and cheer everyone on. When I tried to gather up players to cheer Ethan through his third set, several told me that they had been over cheering on Ayden and Ethan M. It's awesome to have a team who wants to make sure everyone gets cheered for. 

 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Dom Found His Word!

In thinking about our mental approach to tennis, I've encouraged the players to find a positive word that helps describe when they are playing their best tennis. Dom told me last night that he'd found his word, "Up-tempo," and that it really helped him. This is no surprise. We have to find positive mental practices and repeat them, and they work when we do. It was awesome to see Dom and Aaron lift their mental game and see their physical tennis go with it. Mentality matters, and the mental practices help.

Ethan is Bouncy and Shakes When It Matters!

Ethan's match was full of pressure. He wanted to win. We needed him to win. He had chances to win and didn't quite get there. So of course, as any human would, Ethan began to get tight. You could see it in the end of his second set. It was very natural, but there are ways to counter our nerves in tennis. The best way is to be bouncy, let your arms flow, and to shadow swing your shots with looseness. This is made even stronger when you combine it with a positive mental practice, saying "I got this," or something as you bounce and swing. In the third set, Ethan literally bounced around before the points and got his arms loose. Then he played the more aggressive and loose tennis between him and his opponent. Not coincidence, but simply Ethan taking action on wisdom.

Just Re-quoting Arthur Ashe

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Wicked Dropper

So many times when we really hustle, we are rewarded with good outcomes. Our focus shouldn't always be the outcome, but the effort and attitude that we're bringing to the matches. In Elias's first set, he had a point where super hustle was rewarded. His opponent came to the net and hit a short ball, a drop shot basically. Elias had to sprint and stretch to get to the ball, but he made an all out effort. Elias slid his racket under the ball, sending a weak, floated, defense shot over the net. It was all the Elias could do with that point. His opponent saw it was at an awkward height, so decided to let it drop before he could calmly stroke it past Elias. But when the ball bounced, Elias was rewarded for not giving up on the point. The ball bounced straight sideways, diving to the right with tons of spin. The Trojan #3 lunged for the spinning ball, but it was out of reach and Elias took the point. 

Loosen Up :-)

In tight games and matches, it sometimes only takes one point to loosen things up. In #2D, Dom and Aaron started out the match playing poorly and were down 2-1 with Dom serving. The game went into a crazy amount of deuces (10?) and began to feel more and more important. Dom and Aaron instinctively noticed this, and while they were hitting okay, you could feel them tightening and being more nervy. At another one of those deuces, Dom lifted a plus-one ball (the shot after the serve) deep into the Trojan #2D backcourt. The Triton duo retreated a step and tried to lob over Aaron. It didn't get deep enough and Aaron pounced, sending the ball down into the court and then bounded up, off the top of the fence, and out into the grass. He let out a roar, and it seemed that the entire #2D team loosened and were ready to go. Dom and Aaron won the next point finally, and seemed to really relax into their best tennis. It was an important shot and an important point!

JV Simplicity

At the end of the day, tennis is actually kind of simple. Hit the ball off the middle of your strings, hit the ball in, hit it to the easiest parts of the court. We sometimes complicate it. But tonight on the JV matches, I saw several examples of this simplicity. First was Sam at the net in #2DJV. Playing the net on the right side of the court, his opponent floated a backhand volley to Sam. Instead of overhitting, Sam struck a clean volley back to his opponent's backhand, and they slung another passing shot over. But this went right to Sam and he volleyed simply, flat, and clean - right through the center of the court and between the two doubles players. Simple and very effective.

At #1DJV, Ender and Josiah were facing an opponent with a weaker second serve. As the serve brought them toward the net, it was always in their minds that they could attack that serve. Sometimes they tried to crank the ball, but that didn't work. Ender began to use wisdom - to strike a solid return but to really put it right at the serving partner who was at the net. Without a lot of space between where Ender was hitting the return and where the player was positioned at the net, Ender was able to rush the net player and take away his time. The Trojan player repeatedly couldn't get a racket on the ball. These were just two examples of simple JV tennis that relied on wise, high percentage plays rather than on fancy spins or risky power.

Prayer

God, thanks for a beautiful evening. I am always struck at Your provision for us, in times of need. When I needed calm tonight, the skies were beautiful as the sun set and the color of the world was highlighted with its rays. That beauty is such a blessing. There is a beauty too in our team and the way we are approaching challenges. Help us to continue to grow in this. Give us the wisdom to see You in all of it, bringing You both hopes and fears. I do that today. Amen.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-1, 6-1 - Max Ritchison (11)

#2S - Ethan Claassen - 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-1 - Colton Large (11)

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-4, 2-6, 0-6 - Levi Mcfarland (10)

#1D - Isaya Magatti/Silas Martin - 1-6, 2-6 - Brayden Nifong (10)/Max Johnson (10)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-3, 6-0 - Clayton Andrews (10)/Camden Large (9)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 3-8 - Brayden Nelson (11)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 8-7 (4) - Jackson Faulkner (10)

#3SJV - Ayden Lehman - 4-8 - Brady Heckaman (10)

#4SJV - Ethan Miller - 2-8 - Kayden Hummitch (10)

#1DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 8-2 - Oliver Ickes (11)/Criss Stoddard (10)

#2DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 8-3 - Aiden Emkow (10)/Juddah Stephenson (10)