Wendy and I just returned from our vacation in California. We had a great time at a health retreat in Hot Desert Springs. Wow! Was it hot there! More than that, the retreat was hard work! Nonetheless, it was absolutely beautiful in the early mornings, evenings and at night. It was great kicking back in the hot natural springs and looking up at the myriads of stars.
Then we went to the city of angels. Once there, we got to play tennis. I know people think I play tennis all of the time, but as much fun as I have coaching tennis, it’s work! I rarely get to kick back and play. We met a lot of great people playing tennis. They would say to us, “You and Wendy bring so much energy to the classes! The two of you hit the ball so hard and play with such high intensity. We never play this hard when you’re not here. You have to come back!”
In between playing tennis and taking short road trips visiting various places, Wendy and I would frequent seemingly ordinary places: a movie theater, an organic grocery store and a cookie store. It became quite clear that there was nothing ordinary about these places. As a springboard dive coach and a tennis coach working hard to stay on top of my game, my mind is always open and taking in everything we are experiencing. I have often told my athletes, “Excellence inspires. Mediocrity doesn’t.”
While on vacation, whenever we crossed paths with a business or an individual that inspired us, Wendy and I would always talk about it with one another. It was fascinating for me to see how some people with a dream and vision were able to take an ordinary business and make an exhilarating experience out of it. We paid more money for the movie tickets, but we had an experience that was better than being in our home. We randomly walked into this cookie store and immediately was impressed with the energy and excitement of all of the clients waiting in line to purchase the great looking and tasting cookies. Finally, I know that many people don’t get too excited about organic grocery stores, but talk about separating oneself from the crowd! This place was/is everything that Whole Foods has always hoped and dreamed it would be. This place is at the cutting edge of organic and raw foods. It was beautiful, clean and full of great energy. Each of these places were always packed. There was nothing mediocre about them. Excellence at its best!
Again, someone had to have the dream and belief that they could create a great experience that others would want to be a part of. For me, as springboard dive coach, I have wanted to create the absolute best dive program where seemingly average athletes would be inspired to want to be as great as they could be. Thus, I have coach scores of All Star Champions, Virginia High School State Champions and All American Divers. Likewise, I have always wanted to create an exciting tennis program for adults like myself. I am not going to be competing in the U.S. Open and I don’t have the time to train like a young athlete. I just want to hit a ton of tennis balls and be surrounded by other like minded athletes who want to practice and play hard. I want my time and money to be respected. More importantly, I want to be able to seriously improve upon my tennis game and have a great time for the hour and a half that I am participating in the clinic.
As good as the RJ TENNIS BOOT CAMP® program has become, I am always working to make it better. I want it to be the best and most exhilarating tennis experience possible. That means I have to work every day to be better than the day before. And that’s exactly what the owner’s of the movie theater, organic grocery store and the cookie store, have all been doing. It takes hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice to make something great come to life. At RJ TENNIS BOOT CAMP, that’s what I am working to do.
As noted above, The Four Seasons Tennis Club is closed for annual maintenance this week. Regrettably, there will be no RJT clinics this week. However, we will be starting with the fall program on Monday, September 14. If you haven’t done so already, please take a look at the fall schedule: http://www.rjtennisbootcamp.com/1940-2/
Please let me know if you’re interested in participating in any of the fall classes.
For those of you have have sent me your registrations and I haven’t gotten back to you, thank you for your patience. The last week of our vacation was extremely busy trying to get everything we wanted to do checked off out bucket list. Thus, I wasn’t able to get to my e-mails. I appreciate your patience and understanding. I hope to get back to everyone within the next 48 hours.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve you. I am looking forward to a great fall program.
Respectfully,
Rob the tennis coach, springboard dive coach and life coach
RJT client Nancy Melnick & RJT Coach Jahan at The Citi Open
Eugenie Bouchard, Jordan Tenebaum (an RJT Junior Coach) and Christina (My wife’s daughter), at the U.S. Open after Eugenie’s last victory prior to her injury.
