Real Life, Coming Back…and Doubling Down

Six weeks ago I had to make a choice: accept a huge professional workload that could have a significant change in the course of my career — or stay on my tennis regimen.

This ain’t no fairy tale — I took the business.

But my tennis and fitness did suffer.

I came back six weeks later out of shape and my tennis game was predictably backpedaling like a drunken sailor on leave. But, hidden in the cavernous recesses of my brain, a spark of clarity illuminated a harsh tennis truth:

I had plateaued.

The thought echoed through my brain. It was infuriating, but I knew it was true. It wasn’t just the rust or the fitness — I was playing the ‘best’ tennis I knew how. I wanted to be better — but my wheels were spinning. And to be honest, that realization cast a serious shadow of doubt on the whole goddamn thing.

Could I even do it? Was this a waste of time to continue? A waste of money??

Fuck it. I doubled down.

I reached out to a coach who I’d occasionally play the role of hitting partner for one of his students, and on occasion he’d mention something to me. A little tweak here or there, and it was always helpful. VERY helpful.

So I got myself some damn lessons.

But before I gloss over this process, there is something important here — I shared my story with him to gauge if he believed I could do it. If he’d train me with the intensity that I wanted. Push me the way I wanted.

To be honest, I think he was luke warm, but my tennis and my video had piqued his interest enough to give it a shot.

I wish I’d ‘given it a shot’ the day I started playing again.

I’ve tried going it solo. Sitting, analyzing hours of tape of myself, of the top players, seeing what’s different. Finding flaws in what I’m doing. Trying to fix them.

But that’s an uphill battle. A REALLY uphill battle. And let’s be honest, starting at 28, I don’t have all the time in the world.

Now, in just two lessons, I can honestly say that my game is levels above where it was. He’d say something, and it would just CLICK. It was like discovering the fastpass — once you know about it, why the hell would you ever wait in line again??

But perhaps the best part: after two lessons, I can see his excitement in coaching me rising drastically. My rate of improvement is massive, and he sees it. I see it. And I feel damn good about it.

So do yourself a favor: don’t go it alone when chasing your dreams.