Tonight Cam had a match in Fremont, Indiana. He was really looking forward to it except for the hour and fifteen minute drive to get there. As we pulled into the town close to both the Ohio and Michigan borders I heard him say to himself, "I didn't drive this far to lose." I then secretly said a prayer that his statement would come true or that it would at least be a competitive match for him at #3 singles.
Cameron and I arrived before the bus, but since several other parents had driven their boys as well he was able to start hitting right away. I was glad for that as I knew it would help with his nerves. Doug was at Fremont a little earlier than we were as his drive from work was a bit shorter. We watched the boys warm up. I was impressed that even though their coach had not arrived yet, they all wore masks while on the court. It was a sharp contrast to the players and fans from Fremont.
Cam and his opponent started their match well after 5:30. From the start it was a back and forth battle with multiple deuce games and a lot of net play. Cam played very well hitting multiple winners and serving extremely consistently. The first set ended in a tie break with Cam winning 7-5. There was one tense moment when a long ball call to the end the match was challenged by Cameron's opponent's father. Both Matt and the Fremont coach said that the call stood as Cameron saw it. I was glad that they were there to witness the event. The Fremont parent had been intense throughout the match and had at times been coaching his son from afar which is against any rules of competitive tennis. His behavior and that of the junior varsity players on the court beside Cameron's didn't do much to turn us into Eagles fans. I did appreciate the moment when Josh said to their #1 JV singles player, "Dude, why are you getting so stressed out. It's just a tennis matter. It's no big deal." Maybe he should have said that to Cam's opponent's father as well.
The disturbance in the crowd or the busted lip from his own racket didn't shake Cameron's focus and he jumped out to an early lead in the second set. Cam was tired, but he hung in very well and finished the match with a back court winner and a 7-5; 6-3 victory. He was extremely proud of his victory as he walked off the court to greet us. We were as well. He had fought hard and stayed on top of his nerves throughout. Cam and Doug stayed to watch the rest of the match. Even though varsity lost 2-3, he was still pleased with the night. The only criticism that he got from coach Andrew was that he should have thrown the second set and won in the third. That way he would have had a chance for the longest match in Bethany history at three hours and forty-five minutes. We were alright, however, with the two hour and ten minute two set victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment