Coach's Corner - Josh Goffi

This is a little out of the norm for me to be writing our team blog but I think there is good reason. We lost today to the Florida State Seminoles (FSU) 5-0. That's right Duke fans, 5-0. Shocking. Well that's what the papers say at least.  All you need to know is that the boys were points away from winning that match 4-1. We just came up short in the clutch this time and that's okay. It is going to come, I can promise you that. So here is the thing, I am not going to write to you about what happened today but rather what didn't happen.

Penn State only has 4 indoor courts. So, after we lost a doubles point where we had match points to win, singles matches 1-4 went on and 5 and 6 had to wait for an open court. Unfortunately, we were not able to complete the matches at 5 and 6 because the FSU coaches didn't want their players to possibly get injured so they decided to pull them when the match was clinched. Therefore, they defaulted those spots giving the match the final score of 5-2 with Torsten and Holland picking up the retirement victories. In my opinion, as a coach, that is unacceptable and all four players involved lost an opportunity to become better as a player but more importantly to grow as a person.  

Tennis is the greatest sport in the world for one reason, it is the ultimate teacher. The character that one builds from this game is priceless. The opportunities to grow are endless but they are all disguised as daunting challenges. As players, we have to confront them and embrace them and that is not easy to do at all. Today, Torsten and Holland missed out on an opportunity to challenge their self pride and professionalism. When no one was watching and the outcome didn't really matter, they still needed to perform their jobs with the highest level of professionalism yet that opportunity was stolen from them. 

Try to follow me here because this is where I go off on my rant about a few of the life lessons you can learn through tennis... Humility is an ongoing lesson because tennis is like a roller coaster, the highs and lows are never ending throughout a set, match, career, etc. When you feel on top of the world, there is an inevitable low lurking around the corner and vice versa. If you undertand this then the highs won't be so high and the lows won't be so low.  Another is courage. We encounter self doubt all of the time on the court. When you are uncertain about yourself and your abilities, you still have to push through and do the right thing. Perspective is another. You learn not to panic because nothing ever happens the way you planned, so don't panic…ADAPT! And my personal favorite, it teaches you how to dig deep. Most people don't know how deep they can dig mentally and/or physically and most might not see the relevance this has to life but to me it is extremely important. With this self-awareness, you can walk into any situation and feel like you can find a way to get through it somehow, no matter what. You never panic, you just adapt. I can go on and on with situations that mimic everyday life… 

If you really think about it, how many times have you felt these emotions or been in situations like I just described above? On the court? Off of the court? Personally, just in this past week I encountered all of them and most importantly, dealt with them. If you take the situations that tennis presents to you head on, it creates a confidence (not to be confused with arrogance) that can get you through life. Most tennis players are very successful in life after their tennis careers and I say most because not all fully take on the challenges that tennis presents. 

This sport is fantastic and we are all blessed because every level of playing presents challenges. I know you can relate to these situations on and off the court just like the pros, so dive in and embrace these opportunities. If you are just starting tennis, stick with it because it's the greatest.

Hope you were able to follow me... 

Thanks for reading,

Josh