MESSAGE #809 THE WORLD'S LONGEST TENNIS RALLY…
“Records are made to be broken. If you have a passion and love for the game, trust in your partner and something driving you, you can accomplish extraordinary things.”
-ANGELO ROSSETTI
When I was younger, I was intrigued by the Guinness Book of World Records. I would sit there for hours just reading about all these amazing people and all of their amazing feats.
Well, recently, I met a world-record holder.
When I spoke at the USTA Tennis Teachers Conference this year during the US Open, I met Angelo Rossetti, who holds the record for the world’s longest tennis rally with his brother, Ettore.
Several years ago I was rallying with one of my students and we were able to get 650 shots in a row – it took twenty minutes and we were pretty happy.
Can you guess how many shots Angelo and Ettore hit?
25,944.
It took them over 14 hours and 31 minutes on September 10, 2008.
Amazing, but what I like most about this record is that they did it for charity. Several charities.
I had a great conversation with Angelo and was intrigued by his story. I asked him if he would answer some questions for my blog, which he kindly did. Here they are…
AR: As far as a strategy, we focused on “under the ball, over the net”. If we did both we would not miss. I thought about my family, all of the supporters who were still there and about the 4 charities and the people who face diseases that they try to eliminate. Others have gone through a lot more sacrifice for a lot less reward, so it they can do it so can we. Our sacrifices of lack of sleep, food and water pale in comparison to what the starving, people with cancer and ALS go through. We didn’t let down our fans, friends and family and, above all, the people who are affected every day with (breast) cancer, hunger, Lou Gehrig’s disease and brain cancer. Sometimes you can push yourself further when doing it for others than for yourself. At the net chord at about 12k strokes I was spent. (Angelo)
ER: I felt exhausted – mentally, physically and emotionally. After the hug, I dropped to my knees and buried my face in my hands, overwhelmed by a confluence of feelings: exhaustion, relief, fatigue, dehydration, hunger, pain, joy and sorrow. In that moment, I thought of my wife Soumia, and my two children, Adam and Jasmine, both under 5 years old – and then began to weep for the children around the world who die every day from preventable or treatable causes before they reach age 5. In the developing world, mothers in many countries do not name their newborns for weeks after birth for fear they will not survive. I thought of those unnamed children. I also thought of the late Scott Wilson and the late Tim Gullikson, our honorees, and all of the victims and survivors of ALS, brain cancer and breast cancer. I hugged our Dad and gave a thumbs-up to our Mom, who was still loyally watching from the observation window. (Ettore)
ET: How did you prepare for breaking the record?
AR: One of our keys to success was a training net that attached on the top of the net that helps players hit the ball with a higher trajectory over the net and thus further in the court. It is just as much of a mental challenge as a physical one, if not more so. Doing anything for 15 hours straight is hard to do. We both were physically and mentally training by teaching 12-hour days for more than nine months. I did not eat or drink much the day or so prior as well. We had a handful of 1-hour practices throughout the year prior.
ET: Do you think that anyone can do it?
AR: Records are made to be broken. If you have a passion and love for the game, trust in your partner and something driving you, you can accomplish extraordinary things. With that said, I find it tough for anyone to rally for a longer time period as previous world records were done in half the time. We welcome anyone to raise money for charity and try for the record as we did this year and will do in future years. We secured $1M this year for anyone who could break the record back on August 15. If someone does break the record we would be committed to do it again.
ET: What motivated you to try to break the record?
AR: We wanted to raise awareness and funds for four charities that hold special meaning for us: the ALS Association, Save the Children, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation. The effort was inspired as a way to honor Scott B. Wilson, our fellow USPTA Professional, friend and mentor who lost his battle to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2005 at the age of 42, and Tim Gullikson, who died of brain cancer in 1996. Early in their careers, the brothers worked with Wilson, who was a head pro at the time. The Rossettis, who collected approximately $20,000 to date, aim to raise $25,944 by December 31 to match the number of strokes from their world record rally. Contributions to all four charities are still being accepted online at www.Rally4Charity.org (click the logo of the charity of your choice).
The Rossettis certainly had a great purpose for their goal.
If you make a goal important enough, anything is possible. The Rossetti brothers are leaving a legacy – and they’re just two regular people…and so are you.
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br />Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #748 WE NEED GOALS…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Tina Odisho in Elizabeth, NJ.
In my book, “Game. Set. Life.” I wrote how only about 3% of people have goals. Those are all the successful people in the world.
Imagine this scenario…
You’re getting ready to play a game of soccer. Then, all of a sudden, they remove the goals and the referees say, “Play ball!”
What do you do? Maybe kick the ball around a bit? After a short period of time, you would get bored, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t get anywhere. You’d be running around in circles. You might give up.
Life is the same way – are you just going through the motions? Just kicking the ball around? Goals will give you a purpose; they will keep you motivated.
Figure out what you truly want to accomplish in this world – what you want to leave behind.
Be specific.
Take action.
Start today.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #744 EXCUSE ME, DO YOU HAVE THE TIME?
“Lost time is never found again.”
-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Craig Brotman, racquet stringer for the pros, in Sarasota, Florida.
Have you ever noticed that the greatest athletes in the world are able to slow the game down to their speed? Don’t they make everything look effortless?
We all know that there are 24 hours in each day, but why do some people feel like there aren’t enough hours to get everything done? Why do some people always seem like they are in a rush?
Well, there are many reasons, but time really is subjective. Most of us don’t appreciate time. When we are experiencing something unpleasant or difficult, time seems to go by so slowly. But if we are having a blast, it flies by. But there is also something called, being in the now, where time seems to stand still.
I know in my own life, once I started having gratitude for all the big and little things in my life, time started slowing down. Once I started setting goals and making the best out of every day, my world changed. Time changed. Let me put it another way…
“If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with US currency in the amount of $86,400, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use, what would you do? Of course, you would draw out every cent of the deposit!
Well, time is such a bank. Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost whatever of those seconds you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries no balance forward to the next day. It allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the record for the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposit, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. You must live in the present – on today’s deposit. Invest it so as to get the most in health, happiness and service.”
-Source unknown
So what are you doing with your time? What are you going to do today?
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #660 WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
“Don’t confuse activity with progress.”
-author unknown
I have a feeling that someone reading this message has a busy life.
You’re always on the go.
You feel that there are not enough hours in the day.
You don’t seem to be getting anywhere in life.
Anyone can be busy doing a lot of things, but that doesn’t necessarily help them get to where they want to be. I have certainly been guilty of this.
See, here’s the thing…
Whatever you do, make sure it’s towards your ultimate purpose. If you want to be the best plumber in the world, don’t go out and get your real estate license. You have to keep heading in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to say no to people.
And another thing…
Do what you need to do, whether you feel like it or not. Like your taxes. Like your laundry. Like paying your bills. Like pulling weeds.
These things are not fun, but they need to be done.
I’ve been putting off exercising, meditating and organizing every morning, but today I decided to get back on track and do those things for 21 straight days. They say that if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. That’s my goal. Today was day one, and as soon as I got up, I went for a walking meditation and when I finish this blog, I’m going to go up to my office and do some organizing.
I feel good, but I’ll feel even better after 21 days. Then it will be part of me.
Anybody can do something once – the great ones do things consistently.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #567 MAKE TODAY ON PURPOSE…
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed at work, at home or at school? Do you sometimes feel distracted and pulled in many different directions? There will always be distractions, but there’s something you can do to limit the number of them.
Have a purpose. Create the life you want. Make the actions you take today help create your future. The future that you want. Many people wake up in the morning and say, “Let’s see what today brings.” This mindset relies on a lot of luck and these people are just spinning their wheels. Instead, say, “What do I want to accomplish today that will help me get closer to my goals?” If you have a true purpose in life, everything you do should go towards that purpose. If you have options or decisions to make, think about if taking on those tasks are in line with your goals. You may have many external distractions, like what people are saying, what people are asking of you, the economy or society.
A good friend once told me that you should be like a hurricane…there can be all these distractions going on around you, but on the inside you need to be like the “eye” of the hurricane-calm and focused.
Figure out your purpose.
Keep your actions in line with your purpose.
Create the life that you want.
Help others.
Leave a legacy.
“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose-a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”
-MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLY
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #440 YOU HAVE NO LIMITS…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Marty Burch.
“I realize that I don’t have limits. Limits are always influences that come from outside, from people who don’t believe in themselves and their abilities. I firmly believe in myself. I know that I can do whatever I want and that I’ll always reach my goals.”
-Madonna
This mindset helped Madonna become who she is today. Most people don’t set their sights high enough. And most people have low self-images.
Vince Lombardi said to strive for perfection and you’ll run into excellence.
If you strive for mediocrity, you will never achieve greatness.
YOU CAN DO IT.
You don’t have to be great at the start, but you need to start to be great.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #417 THE QUICKEST WAY TO REACH A GOAL…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Sergeant Longo.
I always tell people that the quickest way to hit a target is to start shooting and make adjustments. That’s how you reach a goal; you need to take action and make adjustments instead of just “thinking” or “talking” about it.
I asked Sergeant Christopher Longo of the Lawrence Police Department if hitting a target at the shooting range was the same way. “Well, I won’t just tell you, I’ll show you.”
So yesterday, Sergeant Longo took me to the shooting range and I shot a .40 and .45. handgun. Guess what?
I hit the bull’s eye on the first round. Watch the video below.
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