Presidential Inaugeration

America had elected a new president – an African-American president and a new political party was going to be in charge of re-directing our country. Finally most Americans seemed to have gotten the message; times are difficult and they are not going to change next week and times are going to affect you, your family and you way of life.

As the swearing in of our new president was to occur on a Tuesday morning, millions of people wanted to be there to be apart of this historic moment. Millions more were tuned in by what ever means possible to listen or see the event.

That morning my wife had risen early to see the inauguration on television. She had gotten our 8 year old son up early to see this historic event, hoping he would recall it for the rest of his life. I had gotten up to string tennis racquets for some club members and which the event myself.

As with most special events, the actual moment is preceded by lots of ceremonies. The actual event would occur closer to 9 am. My son would be in school, my wife at work at the tax office and I would be on the court teaching my Tuesday morning tennis lesson to Ashton and then to Misha.

My 8 am lesson with Ashton was ¾ complete on court 4 when Misha arrived early for his 9 am lesson. As Ashton and I worked on her serve, I could hear a tv voice coming from a device next to Misha. When Ashton’s lesson was complete Misha came onto the court carrying his iPhone and listening to the presidential ceremony. Misha explained he was listening to the ceremony and the volume was such that I could hear it as well from a good distance.

I often have a student who has just finished a lesson hit with the student who is starting their lesson. This begins a networking process that encourages members to meet each other and possibly set up times to hit with one another outside their lesson times.

Today, Ashton would hit ground strokes to Misha who would be at the net and direct a volley away from her. As she practiced her ground strokes Misha would practice volleys from a realistic situation instead of me feeding balls to him at the net. Ashton would practice her strokes with the pressure of a player at the net like in a real match and Misha would get an unpredictable ball to react upon at the net.

As I fed balls to Ashton on the baseline, she would direct them toward Misha at the net. We continued this for some time. Misha at the net continued to hold his I phone in his non-dominate hand as he would direct balls from Ashton toward the open court.

What was particularly interesting was how well he has able to volley with the I phone in his hand. Successfully defending off balls to both his forehand and backhand, paying attention softly to what was going on around him and still aware of the broadcast of the ceremonies going on at the same time.

Soon Ashton left for her class at Santa Clara University. Misha went to the baseline and began to rally both forehand and backhand ground strokes. Today he contacted the ball well with balance and precision.

I smiled as he played tennis with one hand, directed the ball to targets on the court and listened to the swearing in of our country’s new president. From past experiences I new the position of the his non-dominate hand as he held his I phone gave a position of balance to his body and allowed for a smooth swing of his racquet. His “soft” focus on the ball allowed him to be relaxed and in the moment at the same time. Misha was aware of the ball and his surroundings at the same time just like the pros or an expert in martial arts would be.

Mr. Obama was now President of the United States. Misha had been a part of the ceremony in Washington DC while taking his tennis lesson in San Jose, California and I had given a lesson, learned a lesson and been apart of this historic moment.

Misha left at 10 am but I was aware of how important this moment in history had been to him. Indian by birth and citizen by choice, he was sharing a moment of hope with all of us. Hope that we could all come together in a challenging time in our country, hope that our new leader could unite us, provide new direction, comfort us with possibilities and challenge us to be a part of the solution.

I stayed on the court for about 8 hours that day but I was ever mindful of seeing Misha hitting tennis balls with his I phone in hand, Ashton the young college girl listening to his phone as she shard the tennis court and my own experience of this moment in history I shared that morning on court # 4 at the San Jose Swim & Racquet Club in San Jose, California on that Tuesday morning.

We all shared a moment of hope for our families, ourselves and our country. I hope you had your own “moment of hope” in your life as well.

Photo Credits: jurvetson

• Ball Machines – Using them for Doubles Practice [/caption] Ball machines are great for practicing your doubles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate from deuce court to......
• This will be my last update from Aussie Land... [/caption] Today was another great day and we finally had sunshine - yeah... I took the tram to Rod Laver and was able to get in straight away. Met with the Tennis Australia group that ran the Australian Coaches Conference and thanked them for making it such a great experience.......
• Drop Shot – The Weapon of Choice With the game going to power, bigger and stronger players, the drop shot appeared to be the forgotten shot in tennis.  At one point in his early career, even Roger Federer chose not to use this questionable tactic in his match play.  Now, it is a signature shot for players......
• Ken's LA – USPTA Report Up at 4:30 to catch my 6 AM flight to LA this Sat. About 3.5 hours of sleep – but sleep is overrated anyhow, too much fun stuff to do in life! Tom Brennan met me at the LAX airport and off to a quick breakfast – if we can......
• Ball Machines – Using them for Singles Practice Ball machines are great for practicing your singles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine only on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate only from deuce court......

• Lessons from the Movie Stranger than Fiction, Live a life of quality {Quite by chance,While going about my business} I was lucky enough to {find,discover,run across} one of my favorite movies at a second hand store. Stranger Than Fiction is one of those movies that just {clicks,works}. Much like Groundhog Day this movie does not translate into conversation well, any attempt......
• Wells Fargo Championship This week in Golf featured a wide variety of big names, most of which are preparing for The Players Tournament, which will be played next week. This week’s tournament was the Wells Fargo Championship, held at the Quali Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some of the big names that......
• Poll of the Day: Which ACORN News Update Is Your Favorite? If you haven't read the "ACORN News Updates" post yet, click here to do so.  It will detail each of the stories below for you.  Cast your vote below! Leave your comments below or send an e-mail to theconservativejournal@gmail.com.  Don’t forget to bookmark The Conservative Journal and sign up for......
• In Tennis, Hewitt Targets an Event in Sydney as His Official Return From Injury Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin......
• Juan Chela Defeats Querrey in Houston At the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas, over the weekend, Juan Ignacio Chela who is currently ranked #82 worldwide came out blazing and defeated Sam Querrey for his first win since 2007 and his fifth title.  He won the $79,900 prize, with Querrey taking home the second......

Getting in Shape

So when I planned to play in the USPTA Nationals on Marco Island, Florida this September I had a plan in my head to “get in shape” and take this tournament serious. That meant I would play against some of the club members – not too much better than me so I could still experience the “thrill of victory” without too much “agony of defeat”.

Thanks to Reno, NT, Ted, John, James and a few of my lessons that I got to hit with during the week. I was ready, ha ha. Surprisingly, I was playing pretty well and with the help of Dr. Omara and the guys at the score clinic, I was able to rid my body of knee, hip and a few other pains. I was suddenly experiencing the ability to move decently on the court and get to balls again.

To be honest, I was playing the best I had played in about the last 3-4 years on a consistent basis – until Tuesday morning when I felt especially fast and decided to go get a shot that I would have in the past not been able to even think about running after. After the 5th step at a speed that was blinding – for me at this time in my life, I felt it – the right hamstring. I hit the ball, grabbed the hamstring and kept running into the next court – only because I couldn’t stop.

Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and Ken. Off to the score clinic to see what kind of damage I had done. It actually felt more like a big time cramp in a specific area than a tear. I had torn the left hamstring earlier in 2009, so I had a reference point.

Poor Dr “O”, he knows when I come in he is in for another – guess what I have. Like most of my members at the San Jose Swim & Racquet Club I wait until I have a big problem to seek help. I get more for my money that way??? And I usually like to wait until I have several aches so I can get them all treated at the same time. Only problem, the doctor doesn’t have all day to treat just me. Why not, am I not important? I mean after all I think I am – it’s broke can’t you fix it – NOW?

In his best doctor voice he says, “Ken, what did you do now?” I tell him my sob story and tell him how well I have been playing, I leave in 3 days to go play, can you fix me, now and sorry I haven’t been in to see you in months. First it is E-Stim, another treatment, some investigative research on the area, some Graston Technique treatment, some stretching and ice. Good news, it is a strain and not a complete tear.

Ice – ice baby is the recommendation, no rapid acceleration or deceleration and how many times can you get in to see me before you leave on Thursday? I have a day and a half to work that in plus: get out the newsletter, string 8 racquets, get my presentation ready to speak on Hilton Head, pack my suitcase, answer 47 emails, do the draw for the Ace Cancer Tournament and teach 12 hour Tuesday and Wednesday.

Whey, got most of it done, saw the Dr. 2 times and got to the airport a by 6:30 Thursday morning – thanks to my wife, Karen. The leg feels good, even after 9 hours going from San Jose to Atlanta. I am waiting in the Atlanta airport for my last leg of the flight – Atlanta to Hilton Head. I should arrive about 10 pm, get a rental car, find my condo I am staying at and get ready to attend workshops all day Friday and Saturday with a 3 hour presentation I will make on “59 Best Drills and 25 Corrective Techniques”. I hope to practice on Sunday and have the hamstring feel great, fly to Ft Meyers, Florida, drive an hour to Marco Island, get to the hotel at 1 am, I get some sleep and be ready to play my match sometime on Monday as well as attend an 8 hour High Performance Training Course and meet Kameron and Karen who will be arriving from Disney World around noon.

Ah… the life of a tennis pro! Wouldn’t trade if for any other job in the world.

• One Up and One Back Formations When teams play this formation, they can be the easiest to beat – if you play smart. This formation leaves lots of holes in their defense and can make their net player a target for the other team. Don’t be afraid of the net. Reasons for the serving team to......
• A Handful of Strategy… [/caption] When you are involved in a match and need help deciding what to do, look to your hand for the answer.  Make a fist and then follow these simple directions: P = In Play Stick up the thumb - the most important part of the hand which stands for......
• This will be my last update from Aussie Land... [/caption] Today was another great day and we finally had sunshine - yeah... I took the tram to Rod Laver and was able to get in straight away. Met with the Tennis Australia group that ran the Australian Coaches Conference and thanked them for making it such a great experience.......
• The Hour Glass of Momentum in Tennis Imagine you have an hour glass in front of you. The top half of the hour glass represents the momentum in your tennis match when you are winning. The bottom half represents the player who is losing. The person who is winning has a wealth of information available to them......
• Ken at International Hall of Fame No I did not get inducted.  I am here to speak at the New England USPTA Conference on the "50 Best Tips for Players, Coaches and Pros" which is my newest DVD for anyone who wants to improve their game. Got into Providence, RI at midnight and drove thru fog......

• Classic Album Review-Steve Wariner “I Am Ready” Steve Wariner is an interesting artist to look back on. His career lasted from 1980, through 2000, yet he wouldn't really be considered a superstar, despite 48 country top forty hits, including 33 top ten hits. He would also generally be considered more of a “singles” artist, scoring only 2......
• Nadal, Roddick Advance at Sony Ericsson Open Rafael Nadal, the number 2 tennis player in the world, came away from the third-round of play at the Sony Ericsson Open victorious over David Nalbandian in a hard-won 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-2. He's made it to the final after 10 months without a tournament win. He's seeded 4th in......
• How to Correct a Hook Shot Out of all of the blunders you can make on a golf course, a hook shot can be one of the most frustrating. Often, players find that they consistently hook their shots off the tees, and no matter what they try, they can’t get past it. Soon, they end up......
• Breastfeeding: The Home Stretch When I began breastfeeding I never thought I could, or even want to make it the full year. I talked about it, toyed with the idea in my head, but if I am being honest I will admit that I thought I would stop around 6 months….9 months at the......
• 8 Ideas to Improve Your Guitar Playing Here are some things that you should absolutely know and keep in mind when it comes to significantly improving your acoustic guitar playing skills. 1 - Tuning. You have to be extremely careful to make sure that your acoustic guitar is remaining tuned the right way. If your guitar becomes......