Welcome Back to the Zoosse Chronicles.

Hello again.  You'll notice if you look at the record here that I have fallen silent for almost a year here.  I went quiet at about the same time as we brought a whole new development team on.  It got very exciting around here, and we have been working 24/7 on the development process  - a new site, new potential partners, new technology, new strategic directions...

So now that things have settled down a bit, I am getting back to the social media process, starting with our blogs.  And I have some catching up to do.  So...without further ado, I wil kick off this blog again with a story I told someone last night, that seems very poignant in many contexts.

I met Andre Agassi a few months ago.  Someone asked him a question.. “when you are playing in a match, what point is the most important point? The first point?  30-30? Deuce?  He said “No.  I was down 2 sets to 0 in a match, and was down, 4-1 in the third in the finals.  I remember asking myself “Why am I out here?  What can I do, I’m getting hammered!  Then I remembered something my coach Nick Bollettieri always said: The most important point in the match is This Point.  It doesn’t matter where you are in the match, just win this point.  I focused, said that to myself, and made every point in the rest of the match This Point.  It was the turning point of my comeback, and in my life.  So my answer is “The most important point in tennis is THIS POINT.  I think in life too.”

There are many times when you think that you're in too big of a hole, that there is no way to dig yourself out of it.  There are times when you're ready to pack it in, either in a match or game, or with a relationship, or in business matters.  When I am in this kind of situation (and it seems I have had more than my share of them recently), I take this stance, and remember Agassi's words.

For what it's worth..I hope it helps.

Notes From The Nationals

Everything I expected from the Nationals turned out to be right: The tournament was run perfectly, old friends and competitors were there (so it was great to catch up), the legends of the sport were there, the competition was intense, and my boys really enjoyed the whole scene. That was the coolest thing: They really got into it, watching the greatest players in North America playing their hearts out, hanging out with them, making friends, and sneaking on the courts, especially the really COOL glass courts.
I did acquit myself well, winning my first match against one of the best players in Canada, and then coming up against one of my college friends, and a legend of squash for the past 30 years, Will Bigelow.
I won the first game handily. Huh? I said to myself, that shouldn't have happened! I lost the next game in overtime, with a couple of chances to win that one as well. The third game was not quite as close, but it was long. Very long. The fourth game, with Will up 2-1, was like I came up against a buzz saw! Before 5 minutes were up, it was 8-2, and of those 8 points, he had hit 7 outright winners. I picked up my game a bit, and held up my side of the court, changing to a high game, trying to keep him away from this streak of shots, but he slammed two overheads into the nick for winners. I kept trying to keep him deep, but he would have nothing of it. I hit what I thought was a good cross court to his backhand, shoulder high, one of the hardest places to hit anything from, and he hit a cross court drop into the right wall nick, rolling on the floor. He won the last game, 11-4, and the match, 3-1. Gracious to the end, he tried to tell me how he thought he was a goner there. Yuh!
In all, the Nationals were as always a landmark in my life. This time, it marked my first time back in national competition in 12 years, the first chance my kids had to see top squash, and a great place to make new friends and build lasting memories. Hats off to Coach Assaiante and Trinity for such a wonderful facility, and to US Squash for hosting such a great event. I'll be back...and Will, watch out next time!

ZOOSSE VISITS TRINITY COACH PAUL ASSAIANTE

While at the US National Squash Tournament at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, I had a quick chat with Paul Assaiante, the Trinity Squash coaching legend-in-his-own-time, who has led Trinity to 11 straight undefeated seasons, 11 National titles, and 202 team wins in a row. This is a record for intercollegiate competition in all sports, and proof that Coach Assaiante’s recruiting and coaching strategies have been immensely successful. The small coach’s office was very orderly, with a shelf full of trophies. On it were 11 rings; one for each of the team’s 11 National Titles.

This is how the conversation went:

Hey Coach, great event. Congrats.

Thank you, and thanks for coming. It’s great to be able to host the Nationals here.

What you’ve been able to do with Trinity, starting with a run-of-the-mill program, to 11 titles, has been absolutely amazing.

Thanks…I have been so lucky…

Undefeated in 202 matches, 11 National titles in a row.. Wow!

Eh, that’s just a matter of time. We WILL lose, so I try to get them not to focus on that. We almost lost one this season, it was really close, could have gone either way.

Your recruiting program has been able to bring in players from all over the world. Although this has given you an incredible pool of talent, which has been a key driver for your success, it’s caused some big hassles for you in the squash community. Obviously, you’ve proven that the strategy works.

It’s been great, to work with these kids, to see people who only had squash in common become a team, and real friends. It’s like our own little U.N.

But when you first started it, you were getting killed by everyone about it. They were calling you un-American, saying that you shouldn’t even compete in the U.S. Nationals because none of the kids were Americans, etc. What’s it like now?

Every day, I hear it. Still. Phone calls, articles, conversations with parents of kids who aren’t getting playing time or didn’t make the team…Every day. It’s horrible.

What do you say to them?

Look at what we’ve done. It’s not a slam against the American kids, it’s just that we don’t have the depth of talent in the U.S. We just can’t compete. That’s changing, with the urban programs, like City Squash ,Street Squash, and the like, and more courts around. But it’s still a country club sport, roughly speaking, so not enough people are getting into the game.

How do you see that progressing in the future?

There are definitely more public facilities, that are available to everyone. That will give many more kids the ability to play the game, and start much younger… like the one out by you, Southampton. How’s that going?

It’s been great.

So what’s going on out there?

(Wondering who’s getting interviewed) It’s going great! We have all the local schools getting involved, both public and private, and all demographics. And it’s only a year old. We have Sayed Selim from Egypt, and he’s running a great program. We’re really psyched about it.

That’s what’s going to make the difference. I see squash now like what tennis was in the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. It’ll graduate out of the private clubs, and become a real great game for everyone. There are courts popping up all around the country. And then we’ll have many more people playing, and the level of play will just explode.

So there’s hope for us..

Oh yeah. And if it goes to the Olympics, it would add much more to the game here in The States. We could someday be well represented at the top of the game.

Then you’ll have more Americans on the team?

Of course, if it works out. But I have no problem with these kids; they’ve been absolutely wonderful. It’s been a really great experience.

Great, Coach, thank you.

Coach Assaiante was a great presence at the event. Along with overseeing the event from the College’s side, he also played in the 55 and over draw. He had a great match on Saturday, and it was great to watch. Almost his whole team was there to root him on, with yells and chants of “Coach, Coach, Coach”. Although he has been a controversial figure for internationalizing the game here in the US, he has obviously proven the wisdom of his strategy, and more than that, he is really loved by his team members.