Florida Division - United States Professional Tennis Association

SPORTS SCIENCE FORUMLearning to LoseDr. Robert Heller, USPTA Boca Raton, Fla.Some of you may be old enough toremember ABC’s television sportsseries, the Wide World of Sports, withits prominent tag line, “The Thrill ofVictory and the Agony of Defeat.”Vero Beach district golf tournament heldat John’s Island hosted by Tim BrueggemanThe Countryside Country Club inClearwater, Florida recently announcedPage Buck as their Director of Tennis.Buck will oversee all activities at theprivate 14-court, all-lighted tennis facility.Buck comes to Countryside withover 20 years of professional experienceat some of the most exclusiveclubs in the state, including Boca West(the largest private equity club in the country), MiznerCountry Club (an exclusive Toll Brothers community),Cheval Country Club, and East Lake Woodlands. Buckis a certified member of the United States ProfessionalTennis Association with a P-1 rating, a certified USTAHigh Performance coach, and he has coached hundredsof top juniors internationally at ITF tournamentsand nationally as both a Zonals coach and the Intersectionalcoach. He is also USRSA certified. Buck playedcollegiate tennis at Southern Methodist University inDallas, Texas, under former US Davis Cup captain andplayer, Dennis Ralston. While there the Mustangs werethe No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA. After graduatingwith degrees in Philosophy and Psychology, Buckplayed professionally for 5 years and was successful atearning an ATP ranking. Page is the father of four children:Tate (14), Blaire (11), Jessy (7), and Colby (5).Stan Oley’s Tennis EquipmentSales and Service, Inc.Ball Machines, Nets, Windscreens,Clay Court Equipment and AccessoriesCall Stan Oley800-352-6878While much has been written and discussedon the topic of “How to Win,”relatively little has addressed the important topic of“How to Lose.”Sports writer, Jason Gay, wrote an excellent article onthis topic in the Wall Street Journal, titled “A Loser’sWinning Moment”. In this piece, he described and commentedon Rafael Nadal’s loss to Novak Djokovic in therecent Wimbledon finals:He said, “Winning is easy. Everybody adores you! Soakin the cheap applause. Hold the trophy high. Blow kissesto your manager, agent, your parents… But do youreally want to prove yourself, to be an all-time great?Learn to Lose. Lose beautifully, with class and humility.Lose like Rafael Nadal.Without a moment to compose himself, at the conclusionof a convincing loss to Novak, Rafael’s first commentwas: “First of all, congratulations to Novak and histeam for the victory of today and for his amazing season.Well done.” He then thanked the All England Clubfor making him feel at home. He concluded with, “Todaywasn’t possible. I tried my best, as always. Today, oneplayer played better than me. I will try another time nextyear”.How great was that? Spontaneous and unrehearsed.No sulking, excuses or complaints. No self-criticalnessor self-downing. Rather, an acceptance of what is andkeeping the attention and focus on where it belongs, onthe winner. His final comment: a commitment to comeback and try again. Humble, respectful and positive.How refreshing!Dr. Robert Heller is a psychologist, sports psychologyconsultant and USPTA teaching professional based inBoca Raton, where he specializes in working in teachingmental and emotional skills training for sports and life.He can be reached at www.mentalskillstennis.com, viae-mail info@robertheller.net, or 561 451-2731.