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MESSAGE #1063 I’m NOT Teaching Tennis Today

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nic Cecan.

Summer Tennis Camp 2010 officially begins today.

Though numbers are down, I am very excited.

I’m sure there will be some new faces, which will bring new opportunities.

I look at every session as a way to positively affect our youth. It’s life lessons through tennis. Sure, the campers will improve their tennis game, but more importantly, they will learn confidence, teamwork, how to perform under pressure, focus and much more.

Honestly, I don’t look at Tennis Camp as a way of making money, or getting a nice tan. I look at it as contribution.

Helping others become healthier, mentally and physically.

Teaching them that effort and attitude are more important than results and materialistic objects.

Making the world a better place.

What if everyone on the planet had this mentality?

MESSAGE #746 A BITTERSWEET DAY…

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“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”-SPECIAL OLYMPICS MOTTO

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Angie Holmberg in Edmond, Oklahoma.

It is a bittersweet day for me. Eunice Kennedy Shriver has just passed away. She was the sister of John F. Kennedy, but more importantly, she was the founder of the Special Olympics.

“She started the Special Olympics Games in 1968 to foster fitness and self-esteem for those with mental retardation. Her concern for the mentally handicapped was attributed to her relationship with older sister Rosemary, who was said to have been mildly retarded and spent the majority of her life in long-time care facility after a lobotomy.

‘I had enormous affection for Rosie,’ Shriver said in a National Public Radio interview in 2007. ‘If I never met Rosemary, never known anything about handicapped children, how would I have ever found out? Because nobody accepted them anyplace.’ “
-Yahoo News

To this day I think that they still are not accepted.

I have been a volunteer tennis coach for the Special Olympics for almost ten years now and it has been one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. One of my good friends, Brad Abouchedid, is a Special Olympics gold medalist. I have learned so much from Brad, and the other special athletes. Brad also wrote the forward of my book, “Game. Set. Life.”

I am one of their coaches, but I have learned more from them than they have from me.

They have unconditional love.
They give it their all.
They smile, even with a last-place finish.
They are polite.
They cheer each other on.
They inspire greatness.

Joey Clawson, another good friend of mine and Special Olympics gold medalist, played on the Ewing High (NJ) tennis team and was accepted to The College of New Jersey, a top school in the state.

If Joey can make the high school team and get accepted into a good college, with a mental disability, imagine what you can do?

Thank you, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, for showing me and millions of others what we all have inside.

Anything is possible – trust me, I’ve seen it.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #699 YOU’RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO LEARN…

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“Knowledge is power.”

Well, I wrapped up Week 1 of my summer tennis camp today.

The campers were on the younger side this week, with the youngest at 7 years old. But I didn’t change much with my lesson plan, not even with the mental training.

Many people think that seven is too young to talk about sports psychology, but I disagree.

I tell a lot of stories. Metaphorical stories with life lessons attached. I talk about how tennis can help you in other areas of life.

And they get it.

Not always, but they get it.

I had one boy this week who also attended my camp last year and remembered some of the stories.

Every day this week I had requests to tell stories with life lessons attached. It was great.

Probably none of the campers this week will go pro. They may not even play on their high school teams. But they will remember the stories. They will remember that tennis is not just about tennis.

It’s about life.

If you can focus, stay positive, go all out and perform under pressure on the tennis court, you can do the same in school, at work and at home.

How do sports help you in other areas of life?


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #439 LESSONS FROM THE PRO TOUR…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the great students in Professor Cordonnier’s Gender and Sport class at Rider University.

Shikha Uberoi is a professional tennis player on the WTA tour. She plays for both the USA and India. Currently Shikha is making a comeback after being on the tour for three years. Her highest ranking was #122 in singles and #80 in doubles. She has played Fed Cup for India.

I spoke to Shikha this morning…

Ed: What do you feel are the keys to success on the pro tour?

Shikha: Discipline, resilience, the ability to be yourself at all costs, and a sense of humor.

Ed: How has tennis helped you in other areas of your life?

Shikha: Wow, making great connections and seeing the entire world. CONFIDENCE. I think I’ve learned a lot of life lessons at a very young age. Pressure – you learn to deal with pressure. You learn what it is and you see what you are made of. And then learn to thrive on it. You see your limits. You learn to push your limits. And you see what happens when you push too hard.

Ed: What advice can you give to my readers who are looking to get to the next level, not only in tennis, but life?

Shikha: Learn who you are. Be yourself. Be true and be genuine. And be persistent.

So there you have it, be on the lookout for Shikha Uberoi…she’s making a comeback!

Thank you, Shikha, and thanks for reading…

MESSAGE #431 LIFE IS LIKE KARATE…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Noah Maxwell.

Master Okazaki is a 9th degree black belt in Shotokan karate. In his book, Perfection of Character, Guiding Principles for the Martial Arts & Everyday Life, he says…

Karate is just like hot water – if you do not give it continuous heat, it will become cold.

I don’t care if you are the world’s greatest tennis player…if you don’t continuously practice and compete, your game will deteriorate, or become cold.

As a peak performance expert and motivational speaker, I make sure that I practice as much as I can and strive for never-ending improvement, because I know that if I don’t, I will lose it, and others will surpass me. Carol Dweck, ph.D., author of Mindset, calls this a growth mindset.

Are you giving your piano playing continuous heat?

Are you giving your sales technique continuous heat?

Are you giving your nutritional plan continuous heat?

Remember…

Success is not doing something once – success is doing something consistently.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #429 PARKOUR IS LIFE

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“It works very much on both your mentality and physical nature. As you read the philosophy for parkour it really does effect how you would respond to obstacles in your life. It’s just a fantastic way to live and really exciting to do.” -Thomas Mizera, parkour traceur

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l’art du déplacement, English: the art of movement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.

Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one’s body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.

-Wikipedia

Watch the video below…

MESSAGE #427 INSANITY…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Richard Hall in the Marketing/Professional Tennis Management program at Ferris State University.

Well, it’s official…I’m insane.

I woke up at 3:30AM with an idea…so I went downstairs and fired up my laptop. I updated by Facebook page, my Myspace page, my Amazon page, my edtseng.com page, my blog on princetonlivingwell.com and linked them all together (thanks, Karin Hiebert), sent out some emails, and now it is 6:06AM.

Now wait a minute, I know what you’re thinking…”All authors are crazy!”

OK, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit crazy.

Crazy about life.

Crazy about my job.

Crazy about helping others.

Crazy about marketing my book.

Crazy about leaving a legacy.

If you look in the history books, every major figure was thought to be crazy at some point in their lives. Do I think that I can make a major difference in the world?…

In a weird way…yes.

Not because I’m smarter, better looking, or more talented than anyone else…

It’s because I WANT to make a difference.

I WANT to help others become better.

I WANT to make the most out of my life.

What do YOU want?

OK, time to start my day…again.

So do yourself a favor…

Go a little crazy today.

Thanks for reading.