Unbelievable

Cal came home from tennis practice last night feeling sick.  His sinuses were killing him and his body ached all over.  We filled him with Singulair, Ibuprofen and Benadryl.  I wasn't sure that he would make it to school today, but he did.  He texted me afterward saying that he needed a long sleeve shirt for his match.  Knowing that it was 80 degrees and he was still cold I figured that there was no way he would play.  I was bummed for him as his match was against Elkhart Memorial, one of the weaker teams in the NLC.  I thought he would be able to win tonight if he felt 100%.  Doug ran home to get him a shirt before his soccer game and I headed to the courts after dropping Meg off at soccer practice.

Cal was warming up wearing a long sleeve shirt, his tennis shirt, shorts and his tennis warm ups.  I gave him his drinks and I heard his coach ask him if he was playing.  Cal instantly said, "I'm good."  The match started off very slow for Cal.  He missed shots he normally would have made and wasn't moving very well.  I prepared myself for a loss.  I felt disappointed for Cal.  I know he wanted to compete, but just wasn't physically able.

Cal lost the first set 6-2.  Jayce and Parker hung out with me in the upper deck hoping he would be able to play better, but knowing that he looked like he might not even be able to finish.  All of a sudden Parker said, "Can't you see that?  There is blood all over."  As far away as we were I had no idea he had a horrible nose bleed.  The manager ran downstairs to help him clean up.  There was blood all over his face, shirt and hands.

The coaches asked him if he could continue, and he said he could.  The second set started off much as the first, but at 0-3 something inside of Cal came alive.  He started hitting winners where he was missing before.  Serves fell in and Cal started moving to the ball better.  He rallied in that second set and before I knew it, he was in a tie break for the second set.  Everyone that had been watching with me had left by that point - Parker and Jayce had to go home for dinner, Dad and Cameron went to Meg's game, and Amanda headed over to the volleyball game.  I texted everyone to give them an update - Cal was heading into the third set.  His coach told him to take a ten minute break as that is allowed by the USTA rules, and Cal grabbed a drink.

As the third set marched on Cal and his opponent remained on serve.  Cal would stop in between points to bend over just to catch his breath and bide some time.  The Elkhart Memorial team started to chant loudly after each point trying to pump up their teammate.  This gave the sophomores, juniors and two of the seniors an incentive to gather by the fence surrounding Cal's court.  All other matches had finished and once again all eyes were on Cal.  Cal's fan support grew louder and louder as the points grew more intense.  Finally, Cal broke the Chargers serve and he was up a game at 5-4.  Cal's friends remained ever faithful and when the last point fell in his favor everyone cheered and charged the court.

I have never been more impressed with a high school student's determination.  Cal willed himself to stay in the match even though his body wanted him to quit.  I was incredibly proud of him.  As I snapped a picture of the group surrounding him on the court I could see a broad grin on his face.  It was his moment and he deserved the accolades.