You have to know me only a little
bit to know that I am really a closeted introvert, even though I have lived much of my
public life as a professional extrovert. Credit that to a life as a USPTA tennis
teaching professional, active USTA volunteer and tennis club manager. My four amazing children, my infatigable wife and a host of mentors and friends also figure into that mix. I have
tried to carry the lessons, disciplines and joys learned as a tennis professional
to other parts of my life. Conversely, I have tried to bring the joys of my personal life and faith into my professional career.
Even though this statement is likely an invitation for psychiatric examination, I tend to trust a newly met person who
identifies himself as a tennis player. That person becomes a friend quickly. I
tend to be "aggressively friendly" with that guy sitting next to me
on the airplane who is wearing a Wilson logoed shirt or the young lady in front
of me in the grocery store checkout wearing the red clay stained Nikes. That
person becomes part of my community, the tennis community. Equally important, I somehow become some small part of their community.
Is this a universal trait among
tennis players? Do we recognize and trust each other quickly?
Are we mystically connected as tennis
players, even though we may have barriers and chasms of language, culture, race, age, religion, politics and interests? Or, is this just another of my lifelong optimistic illusions?
Those are
the central questions I will explore on my slow-paced tennis jaunt through
Europe this summer. With hat and racquet in hand, I will knock on the doors of
tennis clubs in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden asking for
their guidance in getting to know their areas, but really trying to determine
if we share the DNA of a worldwide tennis community.
What are
your experiences with the "tennis community?" Does it really exist?
Do you tend to trust tennis players more than, heaven forbid, golfers? If you aren't a tennis player, do you recognize similar traits among those in your field or area of interest? Do meeting planners, history teachers, cyclists, runners, marriage and family therapists, physicians, linguists, preachers, bloggers, web designers, postal clerks, contractors and research scientists consider themselves part of a special community that binds them together?
I would
love to get your input prior to the June 9 start of my trip.
Tennis is such a small world, especially among teachers of the game. I do find common, comfortable ground with the fellow tennis player in almost all locales. The you play, I play, so let's play has always endeared me to the sport even before becoming a teacher. I hope you find that same kinship across Europe. Keep us posted.
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