Winning Ugly Part 3:
First
Lesson of 2000
by
Steve Jamison
Angst, anger, and cheerlessness are so common on the faces of amateur and professional
tennis players today (Rusedski, Kefelnikov, Rios, Krajicek, and John
McEnroe in his prime and now) that I wish to invoke a simple lesson offered
by a 4.0 tennis friend of mine.
Win or lose,
always a smile.
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Helmut Schmidt plays tennis with a zest that sprays off him like a rambunctious
puppy shaking itself after running through a water sprinkler -
unbridled
and infectious enthusiasm and exuberance. He's so eager to play that
I mentioned him in WINNING UGLY (Simon and Schuster) as an example of the
so-called 'fast-play' artist who speeds things up for a psychological edge
(once we were standing in the parking lot next to the tennis courts when he
spun his racket to see who served first!).
Truthfully, Helmut isn't looking for any edge. He's just looking to play tennis;
as much as possible, as soon as possible. Changeovers usually amount to
nothing more than jogging from one end of the court to the other.
"Enough standing
around. Let's do playing!" he will announce joyfully in his slightly fractured
English. Boy, does he ever love tennis. It's going to be very tough for
me to get used to saying, he did love tennis.
Last week Helmut died.
A few months ago he had cancelled a match to
have a bump
on his wrist checked out. Cancer. A lot of us attended the funeral - his wife, Carmen, Helmut's three children,
his business associates, relatives, and, of course, his tennis buddies.
Everyone will miss him in different ways, but friends from tennis are
special.
Dr. George Sheehan, called the philosopher of fitness, wrote in his seminal
work, RUNNING AND BEING, that our true challenge in life is to find that
which liberates our spirit. He knew that participating in sports could do
it. And, of all the sports, I believe tennis does it best - freeing our spirit,
replenishing our zest for life, and unleashing an inner joy that is palpable.
Forget about the exercise, the competition, even the money and titles.
This great game offers the ongoing opportunity to reconnect with your very
soul.
Steve and Helmut
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You and your tennis partners - I and mine - engage in what can be a deeply
enriching experience when we take racket in hand and start chasing that
fuzzy yellow ball. It is a sacred encounter which can free our true selves
from the routine, tedium, soul-deadening 'procedure', normalcy, stress and
all else in daily life that destroys the child's genius for playfulness
and
creativity within us. Tennis offers you back the best of your childhood. This
is a gift of the highest order. It not only nourishes during participation - if you avoid the trap of thinking
that winning and great shots are the only thing - but it then soaks into
your being for hours, even days, afterwards. Even if you're just a hacker
like Helmut. Or, me.
Two days after the funeral I went to gather up Helmut's tennis gear from his
locker and return it to his family. As the club manager opened locker #27,
I stood before it almost reverently and considered how much pure fun these
'tools of the trade' - a battered racket, scuffed shoes, socks, a sweat stained
tennis shirt, some tennis balls apparently gathered up after his final
match - had given Helmut and how little he knew of his fate when, for the
last time, he placed them neatly in the locker, closed the door, and walked
off to his destiny; filled, once again, with the bubbling joy that tennis
had provided him.
Helmut isn't here as you head into the new year, new century and millennium,
but his example of how to play tennis and what it is all about is well
worth remembering as you strike that first ball in 2000. To see him running
and grunting, grinning and groaning during a point was to witness someone
completely caught up in the joy of being - being a tennis player and,
thus, being more truly alive. What magic tennis offers those who understand
this principle enough to act on it. It's a blessing to be able to play the game. At any level. It's a blessing
to be a tennis player who can enjoy the joy inherent in the game. Do that
and you'll be a winner every time you play in the year 2000.
Steve Jamison is available for personal appearances at your next event.
Contact www.winningugly.com.
 Winning
Ugly T-shirts make great gifts for that special tennis player in
your life and for sportsmen and women in general.
Looks great on the court or on the town. Available in Sizes M -
XL*
Click
here to order.
*Winning Ugly hat sold separately. |
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