The most important thing I learned during this journey is that Time is the most important part of any development. I always did pretty good but once I had a schedule of time with smaller gaps of days off, my game went to places that I really never thought possible. I did not start putting in the time until my college days at Ball State where I was forced. I often wondered where could my game have gone if I had started putting in the time at 12 years old. Would I have gotten burned out? Maybe.
My Advice
No matter the sport, once you are a freshman in High School, it is vital to have a strength and conditioning regiment. “ Condition equals Confidence!” If you are in great shape, you will always have the confidence that you can come back and win. In college I did the conditioning but ignored the strength because I was afraid of being sore. No pain No gain. All sports are different today than when I was playing. Kids are specializing earlier making all sports way more competitive.
Thanks Dan for sharing a bit about your story. After reading your tennis resume, I realized just how good a player you were! You’ve been nominated by the HOF in both your high-school and college teams as well as many other honors I didn’t mention. It sounds as if your Check Your Game moment was realized in college even though it was forced on you; spending more time in tennis. Even though you can’t go back to age 12 make those changes, I know you’ll be an encouragement to others. I’m thankful for your transparency to encourage others to not make some of the mistakes you made or areas you could’ve done better in. And lastly, I appreciate your advice to kids about getting into shape! That is great advice no matter what the sport. It’s easy to talk about and another thing to do, but it’s a necessity, even if you’re an amazing athlete. Thanks again Dan for your story. I appreciate it.