Growing in Wisdom - Elkhart Match

 Video

Varsity Recap

Whoa, this was an intense match, and it didn't even really get to finish. The Bruins went to Elkhart and fell by a 3-1 scoreline, playing well but ultimately losing to a team that bumped everyone down a position as they got their returning #1S player back.

And in that #1S match, Gideon faced a player who has given him trouble over the years. Gideon came out firing, getting the first set with solid play and then holding a lead in the 2nd. His back tightened up, he got a little nervous, and he dropped the 2nd set. In the third set, the Lions #1 roared to life, finding new power and passing strokes as he got back into his rhythm, and Gideon battled hard but couldn't pull it out.

At #2S, Judah faced a player with immense power, especially in serve and forehand. Having played a fairly successful season at #1, the Lions now have a strong #2. Judah battled to a first set lead, but then it seemed like the Lions #2 couldn't put a shot wrong. Judah continued to bring effort and energy, but lost in two sets.

The Bruins were buoyed though by Ethan at #3S, who raced out to an early lead in his match. His combination was smart play on the neutral balls and then forcing his opponent into difficult spots when he had a chance to be aggressive. He took a big lead in the second set as well, faltering a bit before courageously raising his game and putting away a win.

At the doubles, Malachi and Isaya played well against another strong #1D team. Every night, our #1D takes on some great opponents. I was really proud of them as they battled against serves and forehands that were smacked at them, but put many of them right back. Especially early in sets, they put the pressure on, playing loose and aggressive at the net. They ultimately couldn't get the point, but continue to be close to a breakthrough.

Then at #2D, there was a most epic match that didn't get to reach it's conclusion. Dom and Aaron battled a back and forth match, where they never got discouraged when they got behind. In the first set, they came from 5-4 down to force a first set tiebreak. Here they kept it close but ultimately lost the set. In the second set, they went down 5-2 and were down 0-40 with three match points to the other team. But one by one they chipped those away, then won the game themselves. They held, to put it to 5-4, then saved more match points to get it to 5-5. There were incredible rallies as they saved a total of 6 or 7 match points before getting to a second set tiebreak. This time they won it, with a combination of solid volleys and some great defensive play. It was epic, but the light was gone. We had to end that match in a tie.

So the varsity was a 3-1 loss, and we really almost made it a victory against a strong squad. 

JV Recap

The JV again started with an Elias win, but this was something different. Elias was down 5-0, then began a comeback with a combination of solid play and his opponent really starting to miss. Elias won 8 of the next 9 games to take the #1S position for the JV.

Unfortunately, that's the only position the JV got on the night. There was lots of good play, but I didn't get to see as much of the match as I would have wanted to. But, like often, I trust our players to find the good things and they've done and build on them. That's how confidence really begins to grow.

And I hope that's what the whole team does from tonight, find what we can be grateful for. The way we dealt with a challenge. The way we kept our heads up and didn't give in when given the opportunity. The way we hit simple volleys or forehands. The way we blasted overheads over the fence. The way we gathered up behind the last court playing in the dark and delighted together in every great shot. I am grateful for each one of you players, and all you are bringing to this team.

Let's go Bruins!

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

All Together in the Dark

When the last match on the court is close, it's always fun to watch together. The whole team got to gather around and cheer for Dom and Aaron as they closed out the second set comeback. It was a joy to get to lift them up together.

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Simple Aggression

Most of the times in tennis, we hurt ourselves when we try to do too much. When we try to work beyond our practiced skills, when we try to hit the shot that is the exception. Tonight, we saw from many of the doubles positions a great practice of finding the simple shot. Not overhitting the volley but simply finding the middle of the strings. Not overcooking the serve but simply finding it in the box. Simplicity helps us by simplifying our game. We can be decisive.

Wise Quote of the Day

"Every setback is a setup for a comeback.” 

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Point of the Year Contender

I don't know how this point started, but what I know is that Dom got a ball hit at him that he had to scramble backwards away from. In moving for it, he slid and lost his footing. He popped his shot over, but was down and out of the play. Or so it seemed. When Elkhart tried to volley back at Dom, he jumped up and knifed a backhand volley into the open court past the Lion net player. The player leaned back and scooped up the ball, but now Dom had moved forward to hit a backspun volley short into the court in front of the back player. It double bounced for a winner. From on his back to hitting a winner, what a transition!

Awards

Cheerleader: Whole team (Josiah with a shout out from Daniel)

Hustle: Ethan M.

Dig Deep: Dom, Aaron

Prayer

God, tonight was uplifting and agonizing at the same time. So many times, that's true. We are so close and yet so far. But You pull us close, so that we can just be close to You. Help us to desire whatever allows You to pull us close and remind us that we are loved. Whatever allows us to love others better. Thanks! Amen.

Scores

Varsity

#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 - Logan Kelly (11)

#2S - Judah Miller - 3-6, 2-6 - Cameron Miller (11)

#3S - Ethan Claassen - 6-2, 6-3 - Nate Windy (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 2-6, 2-6 - Hayden Holdenman (12)/Adam Grolich (12)

#2D -  Dom Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), DNF - Cortland Keim (12)/Jackson Mitchell (12)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-6 - Lucas Karbalaedali (12)

#2SJV - Lucas Bateman - 4-8 - Austin Linn (11)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - 4-8 - Caden Foster (10)

#4SJV - Ethan Miller - 1-8 - ???

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Jordan Hochstedler - 4-8 - Jackson Sumrak (10)/Brady Cox (10)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 1-8 - Lucas Karbalaedali (12)/Austin Linn (11)

#3DJV - Ayden Lehman/Sam Brenneman - 2-6 - ??? / ???

Growing in Wisdom - Fairfield Match

Video

Varsity Recap

The Bruins took on the third ranked team in northeast Indiana, the Fairfield Falcons. After a rainy day, it cleared off and some great tennis began.

For the varsity, the senior laden Falcon doubles teams were very strong. Big forehands and big serves made it difficult for our team to be the aggressive players that are needed for doubles. But I was proud of how Malachi and Isaya attacked with abandon and how Dom and Aaron handled the pace and brought a challenge. Both teams ultimately fell, but not without big moments.

The singles were close battles. Ethan fell behind in the first set, but then suddenly found his groove. Being confident and aggressive, he pulled himself back into the set, and then despite losing it, he moved out to a lead in the second. Ethan's continuing to learn how to sustain that aggressive, attacking, movement filled tennis even when he begins to feel the nerves. He made it close, but lost in two.

Judah had the opposite pattern. He got out to an early lead, then saw the first set dragged into a tiebreak. He played a brilliant tiebreak, continuing to find weakness with his variety and consistency. He then raced out to a lead in the second set and was able to close out the victory despite some nerves.

Gideon also got down early in his match. But he completely flipped things entering the second set. Still, his opponent had the answers, hitting lines, angles and unbelievable passing shots. Gid hung around, took a lead, lost it, denied 5 match points to force a tiebreak but couldn't get it to a third set.

So the Bruins lost 4-1, but lots was learned. We certainly have opportunities to grow because we brought great effort.

JV Recap

On to the JV, where Elias led us off again with a win. Elias continues to lead a strong effort from our JV team, picking up his 12th win of the season. Last year's top JV record was 11 wins, so Elias eclipsed that tonight. And overall, the freshmen are doing a great job. Jordan had a close match at the next singles spots. And lower at the singles spots Ethan continued to show what he's learning. Sam won with Eli, actually winning 2 doubles matches and showing the power and skill varsity shots at times. I can't wait to see how these 9th graders continue to develop, as a group they have 30 wins on the season, leading a very nice winning record.

Our sophomores aren't doing bad either, with Eli being part of those doubles victories tonight. Lucas and Josiah also were in close matches, with Lucas and Silas being matched up against some really good seniors. Josiah and Ender provided some of the highlights of the whole night, almost sealing two more wins for the varsity. And Ayden played his heart out, getting three singles matches and pushing for his best in every single one. 

It was a lot of tennis for the Bruins, and I love it when we have to push ourselves to raise our level. Hopefully that type of challenge is something we see as a joy, a way to improve and progress. That's a wise way to look at things.

Let's go Bruins!

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

On a Tower

It was fun to listen to the conversation from the tower as we watched Ender, Josiah, and Ethan finish up their final matches. Teammates consoling other teammates. People talking about how they intended to get better. Some wondering how long until matches would end because they were hungry :-) I love just being around when the team is just being the team.  

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Finding a Weakness

In Judah's match, he found what he thought was a weakness in his opponent. He then proceeded to go to that weakness until it could be proved that it was no longer a weakness. Sometimes it looked weird, Judah just hitting to similar spots of the court. His opponent adjusted and then so did Judah, but he really set himself up to have success by identifying a shot that he could use to help him in the match. 

Play to Improve

To improve when you play a good player, you have to play with true belief. You have to put your best game up against their best game, and then you'll know where you have to grow. It takes courage, because we're all afraid our best game isn't enough so we're tempted to be either too timid or too over the top... both of which don't help us grow. Tonight, Dom and Aaron took their best game and competed. They won great points, they withstood great pressure, they kept their heads up and improved with the experience. I'm looking forward to where that will take them.

Wise Quote of the Day

"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome." - Arthur Ashe

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Gets and Smashes

I think the two most exciting parts of a tennis match are crazy "gets" and aggressive "smashes." Josiah and Ender gave us both of those in one point. Daniel had told them at the fence that Josiah needed to be ready to put something away at the net because, "Ender is going to set you up for one." Sure enough, Ender scrambled from one side of the court to the other to flick up some hard passing shots that had gotten by Josiah at the net. But as Ender sprawled to put up another lob, the opponent's scooped a lob right to Josiah, and he sent it screaming through the middle of the court for an overhead winner.

Judah Slice

Judah had an unbelievable point near the end of his first set. With the match really close, his opponent dropped a shot low to Judah's backhand. Judah sprinted forward and did a cross court backhand slice flick, that he hit for a clean passing shot winner. It was ridiculous and fun.

Awards

Cheerleader: Sam and Ethan M.

Hustle: Dom, Aaron, and Judah

Dig Deep: Ayden and Gideon

Prayer

God, help us continue to grow. Help us lean into being people of wisdom, who commit to playing the percentages, letting go of the outcome, and trusting You. Amen.

Scores

Varsity

#1S - Gideon Miller - 1-6, 6-7 (4) - Drew Beachey (11)

#2S - Judah Miller - 7-6 (2), 6-2 - Cameron Cripe (12)

#3S - Ethan Claassen - 3-6, 4-6 - Ben Penrose (11)

#1D - Dom Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 1-6, 1-6 - Brant Garber (12)/Andrew Mathews (12)

#2D - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 2-6, 0-6 - Grady Garber (12)/Brady Park (12)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-3 - Conner LeCount (12) 

#2SJV - Elias Magatti - 3-8 - Ethan Clem (11)

#3SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 1-8 - Andrew Bailey (10)

#4SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 5-8 - Justin Herber (9)

#5SJV - Ayden Lehman - 0-6 - Jacob Mast (10)

#6SJV - Ayden Lehman - 0-6 - Evan Hart (9)

#7SJV - Ayden Lehman - 2-6 - Easton Garber (10)

#8SJV - Ethan Miller - 0-8 - Austin Lehman (9)

#9SJV - Ethan Miller - 1-8 - Darren Moore (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 2-8 - Isaac Mast (12)/Israel Moreno (12)

#2DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 2-8 - Adler Bender (11)/Zach Mehlberg (11)

#3DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-8 - Eli Lehman (12)/Logan Moore (11)

#4DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 8-9 (4) - Liam Fowler (10)/Austin Gall (10)

#5DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 8-5 - Alex Uslaustev (11)/Daniel Stout (10)

#6DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 8-4 - Liam Clem (9)/Ean Shoopman (9)

Growing in Wisdom - Portage and East Noble Tournaments

Video

Varsity Recap
The Bruins varsity traveled to the Portage Invite, and experienced a day of blessings. Blessings that weren't all about the tennis. First of all, we drove through rain on the way, but the tourney started right on time and the sun actually came out as the Bruins began their match semi-final against Merrillville.

In that match Elias got us on the board with a quick match. He got to experience the rare "golden set." Winning a whole set without losing a point! Judah followed off the court, also with a win, as he had an opponent that rallied well with him but couldn't match Judah's consistent placement.

Next came the doubles, who had displayed great footwork and energy in sealing their matches. In many cases, the serves were just too much for the opponents. It was also a contrast in movement, with the Bruins covering the courts really well and exploiting the gaps their opponent's didn't move into.

Finally, Gid wrapped up the first round with a win. All the matches were quick and we had a lot of energy as we stood around and discussed the prospects for the final. We were blessed by family who brought fruit and drinks. It started to sprinkle on us again, but the rain pushed to the east and the sun came out again. This time we faced Portage, who had defeated Marquette Catholic in the other semi-final.

We got out to a lead behind Judah this time. His opponent hit the ball big, but couldn't find any openings against Judah. Judah served extremely well, hitting a high percentage of first serves in and putting the pressure on his opponent early.

Elias followed with another easy win, where he did a good job of staying focused, using his split steps to get his aggressive opponents shots back, forcing his opponent to be consistent, which he didn't do.

#2D clinched the tourney for us, a simple win with simple aggression. They put away overheads and moved in tandem. This group is really starting to dominate together. I love the way that they've been playing. Can't wait to see how they continue to grow!

Then the two final positions won for us as well. #1D dealt with the big serve of the Portage opponents well, and really took any net play away from Portage. Ethan had a great serving day and Malachi cleaned up at the net.

Gideon played with great positivity and power. His serve looked really natural and dominated all day, but it was his transition game that really shone out in this match. He did a great job of making smart aggressive shots and following them in. But he just played really in control tennis, striking from the baseline with spin when needed, coming in when he saw the opportunities.

With that, it was trophy time. The Bruins posed with the trophy, which had an unfortunate accident before we got it. It was all smiles on the day. We had the blessing to enjoy a meal together as well, watching football, eating sampler platters and laughing together. What a day of blessing.

Let's go Bruins!

JV Recap

Of course, because I wasn't at the JV invite it's hard to give an accurate impression. But I know from texting with Daniel that we were close to winning it all. There were close matches all over the JV tournament, with 9 tiebreaks being played throughout the day. In some ways, I think the varsity would have loved to have that type of close competition to really get ourselves moving. 

Those tiebreaks really made the difference in each of the three matches. In the Fremont match, the JV came out on top in 3 of the 4 tiebreaks... and actually that meant we won the match 5-0. In the East Noble match, 2 of 3 went to the Knights and they got the 3-2 team victory. Against Oak Farm, the tiebreaks were even, but we still couldn't claw out a victory. One tiebreak could have changed it all. 

And that's okay, it's good to get experience. Not quite accomplishing what we hoped for helps us reset, refocus, and find out how to perform better the next time we get a chance. Let's hope it does that for the Bruins!

I'm proud of how the team competed. Players who were put in new positions responded well, and I hope that continues. Let's go out and compete with great belief Bruins!

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

Back Together

The busses arrived back to the school from our separate tournaments at approximately the same time. And when the players saw each other, they were both drawn into conversations about how the day went. There was genuine interest to hear the stories, the jokes, and the fun that each team had. I'm glad most people didn't hop straight into their cars and drive away, but stayed to get a sense of how each other fared. 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Footwork Makes the Difference

In the Merrillville match, the difference in footwork and commitment to it was visible. The Bruins split steps were awesome, bringing energy and life into the match. And that energy was the difference in a lot of ways. That energy has helped us improve instead of stay stagnant. Each Bruin position is playing better tennis right now because we've committed to footwork. Because we've committed to bringing energy. Because we can see what it looks like when we don't play with good footwork and energy... it looks and feels boring without it :-)

Confidence

We've won this tournament for a couple of years in a row now, and we enter expecting to do well. We get nervous, but we quickly calm down and play. Other teams know that we are going to play well, and so they enter nervous and often make errors against us that they didn't make against the other teams. We have to enter every match with confidence, knowing that we will bring our best. That is all that confidence is.

Wise Quote of the Day

"I always believe I can beat the best, achieve the best." - Serena Williams

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

He Played Out of His Shoes

In the Portage match, Malachi was really trying to patrol the net. At the end of one of the points, a ball was lifted into the middle of the court just behind him. His slid into the shot, moving quickly and his shoe came right off. He had won the point with one shoe :-) 

Too Many to Count

We served well today. There were many aces and unreturned serves. As the season goes on, we should be growing in confidence, especially in our ability to focus and swing through. I loved to see that today!

Prayer

God, thanks! Today was a day of blessings, a day of tremendous growth. The JV got crazy good experience in tight matches and the varsity got a day of good feelings and good play. We pray that You continue to help us focus not on the outcome, but on the growth and the people. Help take every situation and help us be directed toward You. Amen.

Scores

Varsity against Merrillville
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Avion Matthews

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Tristan Thomas

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-0 - Xavier Kumar

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-0, 6-0 - Dariyan Ganaway/Isaac Rodriguez

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-1 - Isaiah Rodriguez/Brian Richardson

Varsity against Portage 
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Kyle Gorgei

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-0, 6-0 - Cole Pollard

#3D - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-0 - Paul Baum

#1D - Ethan Claassen/Malachi Yoder - 6-1, 6-0 - Kayden Loera/Bryson Loera

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-0 - M. Hernandez/K. Kowalczyk

Junior Varsity against Fremont

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 - Avi Patel (11)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 6-4, 7-6 (3) - Garrett Forrest (10)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - win by forfeit

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 6-3, 7-5 - Chris Thober (10)/Tyler Mynhier (10) 

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-7 (6), 6-2, 10-4 - Conlon Smith (10)/Quinten Escelante (10)

Junior Varsity against East Noble

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-10 - Braxton Hardesty (10)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 1-6, 4-6 - Luke Zuehsow (9)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - 6-2, 0-6, 3-10 - Dayde Hudson (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 6-1, 6-1 - Karsten McKinley (12)/Dallas Wilson (10)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-2, 6-3 - Max Benedict (10)/James Deveau (9)

Junior Varsity against Oak Farm

#1SJV - Lucas Bateman - 0-6, 1-6 - Ryan Kochanski (12)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 4-6, 5-7 - Ryker Elias (12)

#3SJV - Eli Steiner - 6-4, 2-6, 6-10 - Fyo Hayden (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Isaya Magatti - 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 - Ivy Witmer (12)/Lilly Moser (12)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-2, 6-1 - Riley Fitzharris (11)/Afron McGinnis (11)

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 - Judah Miller - 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 Pyfer (9)

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

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

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

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

Growing in Wisdom - Blackhawk Christian Match

 Video

Varsity Recap
Once again, senior night proved to be a really fun night! We started out with senior speeches about Dom and Gid, about how much we appreciate them. Then we headed out to the courts to take on Blackhawk.

And starting with our seniors, it was a great night of tennis. Gideon did a great job of serving tonight, and then backed it up by finding a game of consistency and control. He seemed to balance things out well tonight between having consistent rallies and finding the ball to step in on.

Dom and Aaron continue to really impress with great tennis. Once again, they controlled the net. Once again, they played with great attitude and belief. Once again, they were able to force their opponents into difficult positions. They got the win, so both seniors won on their senior night.

But we needed one more spot for the team victory on the night. And actually, the first match off the court was Judah. He had to figure some things out in his first set, especially returning a big lefty serve. But once he got that figured out, he really began to relax and roll.

Ethan got us a fourth victory on the night. He too started slowly and had to figure things out, but then rolled. Ethan used good positioning and aggressive shots to simple spots to put his opponent in difficult spots.

The only position dropped was #1D, but we saw a lot of growth there as well. Malachi and Isaya struggled with consistency against Blackhawk's athletic sophomores in the first set. Once they found consistency, they needed a bit of strategy. They enjoyed really joyful tennis in the second set where they controlled the net, but couldn't quite turn the match on its head.

JV Recap

A 4-1 victory for the varsity flowed right into a great JV night. Elias got things started with an awesome shutout at #1SJV. When Elias is confident and moving lightly on his feet, he is a tough opponent for any singles player. He played with great confidence tonight in his match.

At #1DJV, Silas and Lucas continue to build on their strengths. In this match, Silas served very well and Lucas continue to pressure net players with his forehands. Especially when Lucas and Silas drove their shots through the middle of the court, they present problems to all their opponents. They won 8-3 giving us victories at both #1 positions.

At the #2 positions, matches were tighter. Both Jordan and Josiah and Ender fell behind early in their matches. Then Josiah and Ender put on a run of great tennis, they went from behind 4-3 to leading 7-4. This run was marked by great positivity, not letting poor shots bother them. They finished off the match with some solid play and the Bruins led 3-0.

Jordan hit the ball beautifully, but couldn't find the combinations to finish out enough games. But he showed enough flashes of brilliance to let us know he'll continue to improve.

The other JV guys challenged each other in matches. There was an intense match between Sam and Ayden, both challenging each other's skills. Eli and Ethan played some singles, and showed off their hustle and improving touch and skill. The JV players are improving by leaps and bounds throughout the season, and I'm still convinced we have a very good team. It was a 3-1 win tonight, a lot of good to celebrate!

And then we celebrated the seniors, eating cake and ice cream and hanging out. I love this team.

Let's go Bruins!

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

Play

Ping pong. Volleyball. Ginormous hot dogs. A whole sheet of cake. Hanging out an hour and a half after the match ends. I love that we love to be together. It was a night of laughter and fun celebrating our seniors, and I'm glad we could do it. You can read more about our seniors here -

Dom Ramer

Gideon Miller

 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Our Strengths are Becoming Routine

One way to focus on playing your best tennis in a match is to try to do the things that you do well repeatedly. We're really starting to do this. Judah's using his variety, Gideon is using drop shots and passing shots regularly, Dom and Aaron are dominating the net. Elias is outlasting his opponents in rallies. Lucas and Silas are attacking the other net players. Ethan is rallying with deep topspin. Malachi and Isaya have great putaways at the net. These skills and many more are becoming routine, things we can count on in our tennis. Now we need to build the rest of our games around that.

Just Re-quoting Arthur Ashe

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

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Favorite Point of the Season

I love points where we scramble then get back in control. Tonight, we had a point where we got lobbed over and Malachi ran it down. Then the ball came back to him and he hit another groundstroke. Then it was hit mid-court to Isaya and he swung but couldn't pick it up from his feet - but Malachi was behind him to hit back. Isaya then centered himself on the net, and put away the comeback shot. Isaya picked himself up mid-point to stay focused for the putaway. Great! 

Jordan's Dropper

Jordan was hitting the ball beautifully but not finding ways to finish points. Later in the match he started approaching the net, and that's when he hit the most awesome backhand drop shot. Jammed a bit by a passing shot, he quick pulled his racket across his body with the most delicate touch. The ball slid over the net and had wicked side spin because of the angle that Jordan had to hit it at. His opponent had no chance!

Ethan's One Hand Backhand

On the JV, Ethan has been working on a backhand slice. When he has to stretch or come forward, he's been using this shot to get shots back into the court. Tonight, he got a ball his wide to his backhand and reached out with the slice. It dropped cross court for an almost perfect winner. He couldn't have placed the ball in a better spot. It's great to see him get winners as he continues to grow and improve! 

Awards

Cheerleader: Isaya

Hustle Award: Josiah

Dig Deep Award: Seniors!

Prayer

God, I am so grateful for our two seniors. I have watched with pride as they've gone through high school, stepped into leadership positions, worked hard and listened well to their teammates. May Your blessings be well received by them. For the rest of us as well, may we mature in our ability to see how You delight in helping us in trouble. Thanks for all you do! Amen. 

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-3, 6-0 - Marshall Treesh (9)

#2S - Judah Miller - 7-5, 6-0 - John Dykstra (10)

#3D - Ethan Claassen - 6-2, 6-0 - Grayson Nigg (12)

#1D - Isaya Magatti/Silas Martin - 1-6, 3-6 - Drake Sefton (10)/Quinton Richard (10)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-2, 6-3 - Duke Faupel (10)/Ryan Dykstra (10)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-0 - Ram Zehr (10)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 4-8 - JD Tilma (11)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 8-3 - Jonny Scheumann (12)/Austin Greenwalt (10)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 8-6 - Warren Tobo (11)/Isaac Tilma (9)

Dom Ramer - Senior Statement

 

Coach's Statement
Dom has been an important part of our tennis team ever since he moved back from Kansas just before his freshman year. As I remember, tennis camp was in the first week or so after the family moved back, and Dom really didn’t know that many people at Bethany yet. But he came and had a great time (I think) and the rest is history. He’s been a varsity player for us the last two years, really hitting his stride in doubles recently. He’s also been involved in the girl’s tennis program, being a manager in the spring for Daniel and the girl’s team. In all of those roles, he’s been so valuable.

My favorite tennis memories with Dom have come recently. In the past two matches I’ve seen him play with confidence and belief that is awesome. He and Aaron’s comeback victory against NorthWood is a memory from this season that I’ll always cherish. It seemed as if they were discovering things right in front of my eyes and I love that. He’s had other matches that have made for good fun to, matches at Northridge his sophomore year playing singles where we all gathered up to cheer him on. Matches where he’s been the cheerleader, encouraging others. But there’s nothing like seeing the confidence he’s brought this month.

Beyond the court, Dom is a determined self-improver. He’s not the type of person to float through a drill or take it unseriously. He pushes himself to become better when he takes on the task. I love that determination. But when it comes to how he interacts with others on the team, we’ve really seen Dom turn into a leader this summer and fall. As a leader, Dom is a “uniter,” someone who brings people together. That’s part of why he makes such a good manager for the girl’s team. For our team here in the fall, he’s someone who has brought team concerns to me, who notices how other people are feeling, who cares about his teammates. He’s a leader for our team, but a leader who clothes himself with compassion. That’s why I’ve chosen the following verse to represent both a feeling of who Dom is but also a prayer about the type of leader he can continue to be in the world.

Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Dom, you have been a great representation for our team this year of wisdom. You have embodied much of what we want this team to be about - creating a place of belonging, humility and accountability. My prayer for you is that these wonderful gifts strengthen and grow in you, and that you continue to carry that wherever you walk in this world. Thanks Dom!

Senior Statement - Gideon Miller

 

Coach's Statement
Gideon has been a member of the Bruin varsity team since his very first match of freshman year. He’s a hard working leader, who throws everything he has effort-wise into every drill. He expects a lot of himself, and has improved on his natural skills with a lot of hard work. He’s worked on quickness, anticipation, and his serve to be able to play at the highest level he can. He’s constantly analyzing and figuring out what tiny tactic he can switch to squeeze a little more out of his game. Sometimes it’s a little too much for his coach-of-a-dad when we’ve had a long 4 hour practice day and he wants to talk about it some more, but it shows how dedicated he is.

I have so many great memories of Gideon on the tennis court. From winning an 8th grade tournament in the spring and then being the clinching point in his first match in high school that fall. The way Gideon holds the record for most unfinished matches, now standing at 3 in his career (because it gets dark or it rains in the middle :-) I love his ability to keep fighting, like his sophomore year when he told me he couldn’t beat the player he was playing so I told him he should just go ahead and come off the courts, then he went on to win in a third set. And one of my favorite characteristics of Gideon’s game is that he always gets better the second time that he plays someone. From early in his career, Gideon was someone who could figure things out.

It’s served him well. Most people know that Noah set the record for most victories last year, but Gideon is going to finish in the top 5, if not higher. If not for the rain outs of tournaments that he has experienced over the years, he’d already be near the #2 slot. Still, his successes are not what make him valuable to the team. It’s his never-give-up attitude that inspires us. I have encouraged Gideon many times over the years with the message - if it’s down to the end, you can outlast anyone. I’ll always put my money on you.

Gideon as a person is someone who is full of belief. He believes in himself, he believes in his teammates. That makes me so proud. Gideon carries a deep belief that things can be better, that with focus and perseverance what is broken can be fixed, what is lost can be redeemed, what feels impossible can get a little closer. The next adjustment, the next step of faith, the next nugget of wisdom - that might turn everything around. The world needs that kind of hope. Our team needs that type of hope.

My prayer for Gideon is that he will feel the peace of God. That he will know that he is seen and loved. While there is the opportunity for improvement, Gideon is loved so deeply just as he is. You all are. Here’s a verse that I picked that I hope resonates for Gideon, as it displays both pieces of his character and pieces of my prayer for him.

Colossians 3:15-17
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Finally, as my son, I cannot end this time without saying how proud I am of you. How dear it has been to me to spend these 4 years together, celebrating and working. How much I delight in growing and learning with you (and your brother now too). I love you more than I could ever say in a 5 minute speech like this. I am so pleased with you!

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.

Awards

Cheerleader: Derrick

Hustle Award: Jordan

Dig Deep Award: Ethan

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)

Growing in Wisdom - NorthWood Match

 Video

Varsity Recap
Tonight, a really routine win got turned into a team experience. One that many of the players will remember. I love these types of nights, where players learn things about themselves and their teammates cheer them on.

It started off as rather routine. All three of the singles positions played well, and took early leads. There was some close calls, especially at #2S where Judah's opponent was really playing a smart, low error tennis game. Judah had a slim lead, but continued to focus on being quick and high percentage tennis and was able to pull away, winning 9 of the matches last 10 games.

Gideon served well and played with margin for error. Despite having strong groundstrokes and power, his game operates best when he plays with good setup tennis. Ethan moved through his match the quickest, with his solid baseline game inducing errors from the Panther opponent.

#1D was also fairly straightforward. Playing a talented Panther squad that was serving well and hitting passing shots well, the Bruins didn't seem to find their best tennis. There were stretches of play where we'd string things together, but it usually got us to deuce or advantages that we couldn't quite turn into games. That's certainly the next step for one doubles.

But that was a similar step that our #2D have been needing to make as well. We've often held leads in matches, but not finished the game or the set. Tonight, that was the story of the first set with Dom and Aaron. They held a 4-3 lead, but then saw the first set go the Panther way.

In the second set, Dom and Aaron began to play with more aggression. We developed some new focus points - either play offense or play defense. No in-between shots when we play doubles. This led them to some awesome points. And took the match to a third set.

The Panthers came out as the much more aggressive team in the second set. We were again hanging shots in the middle of the net for them to smash away. NorthWood went ahead 3-0 and then 5-2, serving for the match. In two nervy games, the Bruins broke serve and then held. Now at 5-4, Aaron and Dom just started playing the best tennis I've seen from them. Passing shots, lobs and overheads. Dom controlled the net. And in the end, Aaron finished off the match with a killer aggressive forehand. They'd won 5 straight games to take the match.

It was an exciting night for them as a doubles pair. It's always good to overcome things that are holding you back, and the Bruins did. We celebrated with them, because learning you can play under pressure is a big deal!

So, it was a 4-1 victory for the varsity Bruins.

JV Recap

On the JV side, there were more awesome matches. Elias got us started off with continued dominance. He racked up another quick win with a 8-1 scoreline. #1D also played a great match, getting started better this time and then really hitting the heights as the match went on. Lucas was on fire with forehands tonight, Silas at the net, and it was an 8-4 victory.

The other singles spots didn't go as well. Jordan and Ayden couldn't quite find the consistency or the power to get past their opponents, but they learned things about how to use their strengths. Jordan really did well near the end of his match thinking about the idea of being in control of the point, while Ayden learned to use his rally strengths. Ethan also had a great match, where his opponent really served well to make a difference but Ethan had many great moments of passings shots and returns.

At other doubles positions, we trailed early. Josiah and Ender went down 1-6 in their match. Then solid and focused play led them all the way back, from 1-6 to 6-7. They couldn't quite climb over the hump, but the comeback was awesome nonetheless. Eli and Sam also had to climb back into their match. With quick feet and a focused effort, the #3DJV squad came from 1-4 down to take the win, 8-6, with great quick net play and topspun returns.

Again, the team celebrated, as it was good to see our teammates learn and grow. The JV lost 3-4, but really improved on the night.

And so did the whole team, and that's really a huge part of what we are doing...

Let's go Bruins!

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

Cheerleader Award

On a night where we had such an exciting ending, lots of Bruins were making sure that our teammates knew we were proud of them. Many Bruins gathered to watch the last couple of matches on court, especially Dom and Aaron as they clawed back into their third set. But Isaya really did a great job of making his way up and down the courts and cheering everyone on. He was cheering for Ender and Josiah as they made their way back, echoing #2D from a couple of courts down, being excited in his own match. At the end of the evening, we celebrated Isaya by offering our inaugural "Cheerleader Award," a tradition that Coach Daniel had used with the girls team in the spring. I love the idea of honoring the person who is encouraging while we all play! Congrats to Isaya.

 

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Never Give Up

During my high school career, I saw a quote that said something like, "I believe I can win even if I'm down 0-6, 0-5, love-40. There's still a chance, and I'm going to go for it." I tried to look up who said that, and Google AI couldn't help me :-) But I still love the quote because it encapsulates what I love about tennis. There's always a chance to turn it around. Dom and Aaron, Ender and Josiah, Eli and Sam, even Jordan to a good extent... they all got to see this tonight. Time never runs out, you just keep trying to play tennis the way you can and things might turn for you.

Simple Volleys

This is short and sweet. At all the doubles tonight, I saw our players use the simple volley through the middle of the court to win a lot of points. Love the volley that splits the doubles opponents for the win!

Speaking of Famous Quotes...

On the outside of the largest tennis stadium in the world is a quote by the stadium's namesake, former tennis player Arthur Ashe. The quote says...

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

I love it. It is the very mindset that I love for us to have when playing tennis. There's no excuses in that quote, it's all about figuring out what we can do. That's the attitude I felt from the whole team tonight. What can I do to try to figure this out. No reason to despair. In so many matches, we just started where we were, we brought whatever we could. I loved that wisdom.

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Defense to Offense

When we stick with it, we can often be rewarded. In the #1DJV match, Lucas was stretched way out wide to return a serve to his forehand. He popped the big serve back into the court, just to the side of a Panther net player. The Panther doubles player reached down to scoop it, but fed it right to Silas for a putaway overhead. Lucas's hustle had led directly to Silas's slam. Great teamwork and a great example of putting the ball back in the court and letting something good happen!

Rally Tolerance

At #3DJV, Eli and Sam had a point that just ratcheted up the tension. First, Sam hit a serve in, and then a forehand crosscourt. Eli cut off the next ball with a simple volley through the middle. The Panthers lifted a simple ball to Sam, who crushed another topspin forehand crosscourt. It came back, and Sam hit another one. This one was deep in the court and got at the feet of his opponent and won the Bruins the point. We didn't do anything amazing or complicated, we just play the right balls with the right aggression.

Under Pressure

At the end of the third set, Dom and Aaron were tied 5-5 on Dom's serve. It was 30-30. Dom proceeded to hit the serve in, then thump a forehand on the outside doubles line. Then he got a backhand which he ripped through the middle of the court, landing it deep and forcing a backhand from the opponent's back player. The Panther player missed the shot, and we had a chance to take the lead (which we ended up doing). Dom swung with such confidence in these shots, it exuded out of him. I loved that, and I think it helped loosen up Aaron to be aggressive under pressure in the final game, when he slammed the match point forehand through the middle of the court earning a volley error. Confidence grows confidence. Love to see it! 

Awards

Cheerleader: Isaya

Hustle Award: Ender and Josiah

Dig Deep Award: Dom and Aaron

Prayer

God, tonight was a real night of growth. May it continue. May our attitudes become more like Yours. May we be less about proving ourselves, and more about enjoying the challenges together. Thanks that You delight in navigating this life, this tennis season, this match, this point, this moment with us - even when we fail. Thanks for Your grace. In Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-1, 6-0 - Nolan Tompos (11)

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-2, 6-1 - Jack Johnson (10)

#3D - Ethan Claassen - 6-0, 6-0 - Aiden McEndarfer (11)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 0-6, 2-6 - Eli Heckathorn (11)/Ethan Tompos (11)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 - Aiden Boggs (12)/Cody Bryan (12)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-1 - Landon McDonald (12)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 5-8 - Carter Rose (9)

#3SJV - Ayden Lehman - 2-8 - Colton Ewers (10)

#4SJV - Ethan Miller - 4-6 - Robbie Yoder (9)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 8-4 - Sebastian Chapman (11)/Nerick Sanchez (11)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-8 - Jackson Kemp (10)/Sawyer Love (10)

#3DJV - Eli Steiner/Sam Brenneman - 8-6 - Mavox Tompos (12)/Brinqley Parvu-Timmer (10)

Growing in Wisdom - South Bend Washington Match

 Scores

#1S - Elias Magatti - 6-0, 6-0 - Eric Bailey (12)

#2S - Eli Steiner - 6-0, 6-1 - Kumari Stone (11)

#3S - No play recorded

#1D - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 6-0, 6-0 - Christopher Sykes (9)/Jacob Mnichowski (11)

#2D - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-0, 6-0 - Gio Ambriz (11)/Elijah Smith (9)

Growing in Wisdom - Westview Match

  Video

Varsity Recap
Our match against Westview was exciting, nerve wracking and so enjoyable! It started on a bright and sunny day, the tennis was good right from the beginning - from both teams.

Westview has one of the best doubles teams in the area, a team where one of the players was part of an All-District pairing last year. They serve well and challenged Malachi and Isaya. Our #1D's had good fight back, but couldn't put a dent in the scoreboard.

But, on the other side of the courts, Judah was also not allowing the Warrior's #2S player to make a dent either. With quick feet and a lot of variety, Judah broke down the smooth strokes of the Warrior #2 to make sure the team match stayed tied, at 1-1.

In the other 3 matches, #1S, #3S, and #2D, we were in tight battles. At one point, we led all three second sets in those matches. Unfortunately, we couldn't pull them all out. At #2D, Dom and Aaron had stretches of play where they were dominant - and then stretches of play where they just missed the court. Ball in play is the simplest way to stay alive, but a couple of lobs and volleys sailed long and wide, and our slim lead gave way.

At #3S, Ethan moved and swung so confidently to a first set win, then held a lead in the second. With the lead, Ethan got timid and his feet went stagnant. He battled those nerves into a tiebreak, where he was taken to a third set. But with the reset, he came back out and had refocused, he quickly gained a 5-2 lead and then took the victory.

The varsity match then came down to #1S, where Gideon had just staged his own valiant fightback. After falling in the first, Gideon shifted gears and played a different game. He trusted his natural skills and kept the second set tight. Leading 6-5, he saw 5 set points go by. But in the tiebreak, he got another chance and whipped a forehand passing shot by his opponent to send the match to a 3rd set. It was an awesome moment.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, his opponent regrouped and came out swinging in the 3rd set. Gideon couldn't make the impact that he had in the second set, and the Bruins fell 3-2.

But I was so proud of the team. There was no quit in the Bruins tonight, no getting down on ourselves, no making excuses. Even after the match, we owned up to things we needed to work on. Before the year, we said that one thing that would define our team would be accountability... I love how that is growing in this group of people!

JV Recap

On the JV level, Elias got us started with his typical solid form. He used consistency and well placed shots to induce errors. He got us started off with a win, which gives him a team-tying 5 victories on the year! He, Judah, and Jordan are all sharing that right now.

Right behind Elias, Jordan took the court. He struggled with consistency, as his opponent made him hit a lot of shots. He also took a fall and bloodied his knee mid-match, which was tough.

Sam also played singles tonight. Sam has some brilliant shots (like a blistered forehand return I loved) but also needs consistency. And that same story continued to the doubles. #1D played really well, but simply gave too many points away during the beginning of the match. What I love about Silas and Lucas is that after they get down, they fight back. They made the match close, improving as it went along.

At #2D, Ender and Josiah were a great pairing. Josiah's consistency set Ender up for some great chances at powerful finishes. It was wonderful to see!

Finally, Ayden, Ethan, and Eli all played against higher ranked JV players from Westview who were playing for a second time. But that really pushed them and I thought brought out some of their best tennis.

And that's maybe a theme of the whole night. We were pressed by a good team, and we responded with good tennis. We missed some things, we made some mistakes, but wisdom isn't about perfection. It's about the process.

Let's go Bruins!

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

Video Chatter

When making our highlight reel, I can hear players chatting on the recordings. It is amazing how encouraging you all are for one another. Some people are just rooting for each other. Some people are commenting on how good a player's serve is becoming, or how much people are improving. It's really cool. You players are the best!

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Variety

Judah warmed up in his match, sweeping topspin groundstrokes back and forth was his opponent. I was a bit worried, because his opponent's strokes looked really strong. Early in the match that was evident as well. But as it wore on, Judah's began to use a lot of variety in his singles game. High shots, sliced shots, short balls, deep rallies, powerful passing shots - Judah really used each of the tools in the tool kit. This variety is a wise choice to change the pace for your opponent.

Commitment to Volleys

In the #2D, Aaron and Dom really made a commitment to volley. Time and time again I saw points ending at the net, whether for good or for bad. And honestly, those points were heavily tilted in our favor. In doubles, it is good to be able to hang in cross court rallies. But honestly, we want to get to the net and finish those rallies with volleys. It was good to see them committed to doing that in this match.

Fast Feet

The Westview coach commented that he loved watching our team and our commitment to footwork. I noticed it too. In Judah's match it was very evident, but maybe even more so in Ethan's. When Ethan was light footed and quick, he was powerful and consistent with his shots. When he became nervous and flat footed, he pushed his shots out. That was true of Gideon in his comeback as well, #2D in taking the lead, #1D when they were pushing back. It was true at the JV, where we really are committing to footwork but not always getting the positioning right. But I love the commitment. It is something that gives us strength.

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Sam's Returns

Sometimes return can be the hardest shot. Staying active with our feet, moving our bodies forward to the ball, making sure to not take too big of a backswing. But Sam has such a compact stroke, that the return is a real strength of his. Twice in this match, Sam struck sweet topspin returns for winners. Once from a forehand and once from a backhand. That was awesome.

Big Energy

At #2D, there were some big energy points. After encouraging them to dominate the net, Aaron pounded an overhead past the feet of the net player. Soon after that, a point was played where Dom and Aaron were near the middle of the court. An opponent's shot clipped the net, and Dom's sprinted forward to clip it up over the net. The volley coming back hit the net and the Bruins stole the point, thanks to the energy and attention.

Gid's Amazing Passing Shot

At the end of the second set, Gideon had so many chances to take his match to a third set. Each time, his opponent came up with a ridiculous shot on the line to steal it away from Gid. But Gid didn't fold, he fought back to take a lead in the tiebreak. Up 6-5, needing 1 point to win the set, Gid's opponent did it again - ripping a forehand on the line and following it to the net. This time, Gid pulled out his own line painting shot. He ripped the ball cross court on the dead run, leaving his opponent without even time to make a swing. It bounced inside the line and elicited a big cheer from the crowd. It was exceptional!

Prayer

God, You have given us a team full of amazing people. People who really care and really want to bring their best. I am like that too. Help all of us remember that tennis is so fun, that playing with heart and effort is enough. That the outcomes are not as important as the conversations, moments, and memories that form us along the way. Thanks! Amen.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 1-6, 7-6 (5), 0-6 - Kaden Hostetler (11)

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-2, 6-0 - Ethan Miller (11)

#3D - Ethan Claassen - 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 - Jaxon Miller (10)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Isaya Magatti - 0-6, 0-6 - Kaden Grau (12)/Luke Stults (11)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 2-6, 4-6 - Hudson Yoder (10)/Pierce Yoder (11)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-4 - Avery Christner (9)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 2-8 - Ethan Fry (11)

#3SJV - Sam Brenneman - 2-8 - Grady Yoder (9)

#4SJV - Ayden Lehman - 1-6 - Blake Hostetler (9)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 4-8 - Blake Hostetler (9)/Evan Roth (9)

#2DJV - Ender Finnigan/Josiah Aguilar Clark - 8-4 - Aaron Roth (12)/Lex Thompson (10)

#3DJV - Eli Steiner/Ethan Miller - 0-6 - Evan Roth (9)/Ethan Fry (11)

Growing in Wisdom - Prairie Heights Match

 Video

Varsity Recap
In our first match for a week, the Bruins varsity got off to a rusty start against the Panthers. Nerves, lack of practice time, opponents playing great tennis, and slow feet were the mixture of difficulties for the Bruins. 

But to play great tennis you have to be a problem solver. And the Bruins did a great job figuring this puzzle out. At #2S and #1D, it was a simple problem. The opponents hit hard shots, but made mistakes if the points were drawn out or if we were in control of the net. Judah, Malachi, and Ethan did a great job of getting their feet going to control the points and make their opponents hit extra shots. A big part of solving problems is focusing on your strengths. #2S and #1D did that, and that was enough to get the Bruins two points.

At the other positions, we had to figure out more difficult problems. At #2D, we were missing a lot of easy shots. Aaron used a great technique to figure out the puzzle. He thought to when he played well, and that was while doing drills in practice. In thinking about what he wanted to play like, he began to play like that. It carried over to the whole team, and after a close start, #2D cruised.

Elias and Gideon had similar puzzles. Their opponents made a lot of shots and made it difficult for them to win with straight forward games. Both Elias and Gideon made a lot of errors early in their matches. Gideon figured the first piece of the puzzle for him was finding a rhythm, especially with his footwork and not his swings. Also, removing simple errors was important. Then taking short balls to attack, not trying to hit winners from the baseline. Then the puzzle fell into place. Gideon came from 2-4 down to win the next 10 straight games. 

For Elias, it was all about recognizing the patterns that forced his opponent into errors. Elias began playing a style 0, making no errors, but his opponent was better at that. So Elias started playing 4D tennis, cutting the ball at tight angles, dropping it short, moving his opponent. Elias stormed back from 1-5 down in the first set to force a tiebreak, which he won. He continued the patterns in the second set to sweep up a 6-1 win, and 5-0 varsity victory for the Bruins.

JV Recap

At JV, Jordan started us out by picking up his team leading 5th win of the season. In singles, he was followed by Josiah, who also battled and figured out the puzzle as he went. Like our #2S on varsity, Josiah played to strengths of movement and consistency to win. Both doubles teams played well too, Eli hitting great forehands, Ender growing in consistency, Sam with excellent topspin, and Ethan with great reflexes and groundstrokes.

The Bruins finished things up with some JV intra-squad matches. The intensity in these matches was high, but it was good to see the high level of tennis that was displayed as well. Lucas, Isaya, Silas, and Ender all had moments of beautiful and joyful tennis, serves and returns and putaway volleys. Ayden played a great singles match, with wonderful effort and speed.

Great to see everyone begin to problem solve and compete tonight. On to the next puzzles!

Let's go Bruins!

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

Welcoming Back Our Teammates

Noah stopped down to watch the team on Tuesday, bringing along one of his classmates from college. It was great to see him (I mean, he's not that far away, but...) It was also good to see people who were eager to share and hear what he is up to. He's not the only former teammate to stop by, as players from 2021's team and others have checked in. I love that we welcome back everyone!

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Rhythm

The most important thing to do in the first couple of games of a match is find a rhythm. It can be tempting to go out in your match will all guns blazing, trying to fire winners and slam putaways. This is especially tempting in singles, when you are playing consistent opponents. Typically, this rushed approach to the game produces errors. Tonight, that's how a lot of our singles started from Gid and Elias to Jordan and Josiah. But each player pulled it back in and found their rhythm, finding shots they were confident in and repeating them, before they began to attack. It was a great mental response.

Mental Practices

Last week, we emphasized finding mental practices that would let us respond in matches. Tonight, we needed to practice some of those. Many players (Aaron, Gid, among others) were using positive self talk to identify how they played at their best. Many players were using body anchors, small movements of positivity after their points (Judah). Even when we weren't playing well, many players were keeping strong, positive body language and being great sports, encouraging their opponents and teammates instead of wallowing (Malachi, Ethan, Dom and Aaron - plus the JV intra-squad group of Isaya, Ender, Lucas, and Silas). Continuing to build these practices will make a huge difference in how we play.

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Getting Back an Amazing Shot and Finishing the Point

At #1D, Ethan was really playing with some great angles. In one point, Ethan went to finish a floating ball at a tight angle. The volley took his Panther opponent off the court, but he got there, and the Prairie Heights player hit an amazing "around the post" shot back into our court. But Malachi calmly swept that up and put the ball in. The Panther's next shot floated to Ethan again, but he put it away with strength at the same tight angle as the first time!

Continued Net Presence

Loved a specific point in #2D, where Dom hit his return in and then Aaron's poached on the next shot to get a leaping overhead. The Panthers were able to track down the overhead and shovel it across the net. Aaron cut it off with a backhand volley in the middle of the court while Dom came to the net beside him. Again at the stretch, the Panthers flicked up the volley but sent it right to Aaron's overhead, which he put away with power.

All Out Sprint

At #2SJV, Josiah had an amazing point. His opponent flopped a framed shot over the net and it was spinning wildly and was not going to bounce back to him. Josiah set off with a full sprint to flip the ball back into the middle of the court. His opponent moved to it nicely and now Josiah was at the net. With a passing shot, Josiah's opponent aimed for his backhand. But Josiah watched it right in the the "W" on his racket, sending a backhand sharp angled winner off to the side of the court. 

Prayer

God, tonight was a lot of fun. I never want to forget to praise You when we get to enjoy our gifts like tonight - gifts like the community of people that you have surrounded us with. Tonight, as the matches ended and players wanted to go play more tennis... I love watching that. So thanks. You are good. Amen.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-4, 6-0 - Landry Keipper (12)

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-1, 6-1 - Braeden Morr (12)

#3D - Elias Magatti - 7-6 (5), 6-1 - Sean Bontreger (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Ethan Claassen - 6-0, 6-2 - Keegan German (12)/Brady Strater (12)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-3, 6-0 - Koltan Vaillancourt (12)/Luke Johnson (10)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 6-1 - Landon Wylie (10)

#2SJV - Josiah Aguilar Clark - 6-3 - Landon Wylie (10)

#1DJV - Ender Finnigan/Sam Brenneman - 6-0 - Miles Travis (9)/Alex Weller (9)

#2DJV - Eli Steiner/Ethan Miller - 6-1 - Miles Travis (9)/Alex Weller (9)

Growing in Wisdom - Concordia Match

Video

Varsity Recap
Concordia is a new match on our schedule this year. It's always exciting to get to play against new competition, because we don't know quite what to expect. So we drove to Ft. Wayne, warmed up in a new environment - with singles courts and behind a large football stadium - and we then got rained off the courts. We scurried to the bus to give it ten minutes and see if we could play.

It actually stopped raining and the courts began to clear. As it dried, we started warming up for our matches, got a few points in... and then it rained again. 

We halted, waited six minutes, then restarted. It was already an hour after our starting time, and the rain continued to spritz every now and then. Finally the sun came out and we really played. And the Bruins played well. 

It started from our #1S court. Gideon stayed focused and energetic during the rain delays, and really took it to a hard-hitting opponent. Handling his opponent's big serve and big backhand, Gid played with angles and precision that helped him establish control and win the match.

Both doubles followed a similar pattern, establishing themselves early with angles and strong net play. The serves and net patrol of Malachi and Ethan was simply too much for their less experienced opponents. 

Dominic and Aaron had a goal of being aggressive and getting forward, and they really put the pressure on. These were good matches, because we had to play points well to win them. Concordia's players had good instincts and athleticism, which made for some really fun points. In the end, both doubles went the Bruins way.

At #2S, Judah worked his way through an aggressive opponent. The Concordia #2 really tried the typical tennis strategy of sweeping the ball to the backhand and getting to the net. But Judah simply didn't make that easy for him. Judah used all kinds of variety - slice, pace, lob, passing shots - and pulled away to win.

Isaya really worked hard in his #3S match. Playing against a typical #3S senior, he was required to hit a lot of balls in the court. He did a great job, and we learned a lot of things, but the key is going to be finding what works.

So the varsity won 4-1.

JV Recap

The JV absolutely swept through their match. They were playing much less experienced players - and as I've said before, I think our JV is generally going to be very good this year. Coming off of a match against Oak Farm's varsity, this match was a change of pace.

Not everyone felt like they played well, but there was great consistency and finishing showed by the Bruins. I loved the team spirit of this group, determined to find what they need to get better.

But for tonight, we feel content. The rain passed us by, the sun was shining, and we ate Subway and sang together on the bus ride home. Things were good!

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

Judah's Match Ends

I don't always see our players as they come off the courts. I am often off coaching or dissecting another match, and giving the players a little space to celebrate or be sad together. Tonight though, someone took a video of Judah coming off his court. There was a little walkway in between all the courts, and the team was gathering to finish watching Isaya, Silas and Lucas who were all still playing. Every single person who walked past Judah gave him a fist bump. It was great. A simple acknowledgment that we care.

WHEN WE ARE WISE: Wisdom is Playing the Percentages

Crosscourt Aggression

In several of the matches, it was remarkable how well the Bruins used our crosscourt angles to create aggressive shots to safe spots. The first place I noticed this was on the opening point of Gideon's match, where he went wide to the forehand to stretch his opponent, got a shorter ball and went back crosscourt again for an angled winner. But I also noticed this at #2D, who were returning the weaker serves of their opponents with great crosscourt angles. All of the percentages get higher when the shot is hit crosscourt, so it was good to see these angles. 

No Let Up

Jordan finished his match before I even had a chance to get down to him. He was the much better player, but I loved his efficiency in finishing his match. In tennis, the thing to do is simply to play your game and let your opponent have to adjust. If they don't, you just keep playing your game right to the finish. Jordan didn't try to mess around. He hit balls in, he hit balls hard, he won the points. Just playing his game. 

THEN WE ARE STRONG: Exceptional Outcomes

Droppers and Angles

Gideon played some outstanding points tonight. He made excellent use of his touch and his angles. A favorite of mine was match point, where he came forward to get a mid court ball and approached hard up the line into his opponent's forehand. The approach shot was untouchable!

Overall Aggression and Control

One of the things I loved tonight is that we played like we were in control. I have multiple examples of this. Judah using short balls to attack the net. Dom ripping backhand returns. Silas stepping up to a high bouncing serve and hitting an overhead as his return. These points speak of a confidence we should take into any match.

Overhead Over the Fence

My favorite point of the night goes to Isaya. He approached the net when his opponent left the ball short. Coming forward to his opponent's weaker backhand, he earned himself a lob, and a chance at the overhead. He didn't miss, nailing the overhead down into the court and then bouncing it up over the fence and the alley between the two banks of courts. It was an assertive point!

Prayer

God, thanks for tonight. It was beautiful to watch the rain dance through and then the sun to come out. The temperature was magnificent for playing tennis. We were able to not arrive back at the school too late. I really enjoyed the bus ride and the team camaraderie. Thanks. Nights like this are a blessing and we are full of gratitude.

Scores

Varsity
#1S - Gideon Miller - 6-1, 6-2 - Hudson Kraft (12)

#2S - Judah Miller - 6-1, 6-0 - Neil Jain (9)

#3D - Isaya Magatti - 5-7, 0-6 - Adam Bible (12)

#1D - Malachi Yoder/Ethan Claassen - 6-0, 6-1 - Jude Peters (11)/Joey Beights (12)

#2D - Dominic Ramer/Aaron Hochstetler - 6-0, 6-1 - Akar Shein (11)/Brody Groheen (10)

Junior Varsity

#1SJV - Elias Magatti - 8-0 - Ben Hemsoth (12)

#2SJV - Jordan Hochstedler - 8-0 - Liam Herman (10)

#1DJV - Silas Martin/Lucas Bateman - 8-1 - Ben Hemsoth (12)/Liam Herman (10)