I woke up this
morning and turned the TV on to the Tennis Channel to watch the French Open.
Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray were battling at 5-5 trying to take the
precious first set. While Gasquet was preparing to serve straight behind him
the camera was capturing the French Federation president bracing himself in the
seat in total agony living every point to the fullest. The interesting thing is
that his job doesn’t depend on the result of this match or the outcome of the
tournament. When you watch this man’s behavior during the match you come to
realize that his agony is part of his passion and this passion is being shared
by the entire grandstand. The passionate agony is soon supplanted with joy when
Gasquet finally wins the first set.
Passion can not be
taught or faked. Passion is the result of many experiences over time that lead
to truly loving what you do to the point of feeling something deep in your soul
about it.
The French Federation
has attained this national love for tennis not by hosting the French Open, but
by empowering and encouraging every little, medium or big club in France to
develop a love for the game. Every player matters, every club matters, hence
tennis matters.
At BTC we are
starting with our small club. We are trying to teach our youth and adults to
learn to love the game so that at some point they will be passionate about it.
In the US we own the big tournaments. We have the US Open, Indian Wells, Miami
and countless mid size and smaller tournaments. We , however, have forgotten
the small clubs and how to teach the love for the game. Join us at BTC as we
work hard to bring back the love for Tennis.
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