"THE HUG" - REVISITED

After driving all over the Southern Section for the majority of the past 3 months, we were looking forward to a 3.5 WEEK STAYCATION & then we got a call from the TD @ the GA STATE OPEN in Rome, GA on April 3-5, 2015. "You guys do such a great job - please come to our tournament!!" WELL, if you knew how many invitations we receive, you'd understand that this almost never happens so HOW COULD WE SAY NO?? But that's really not the point of this post...

I was minding my own business, probably doing my favorite thing <which is coloring one of our whiteboards, lol> when a woman came running up to me, wrapped her arms around me & gave me a GIGANTIC HUG!! I must confess that I didn't recognize who she was but how could I possibly turn down a much-needed, extra-sweet hug??? Much to my delight, it turned out that

"THIS HUGGER" WAS THE MOTHER OF "THE HUGGER" FROM LAST SUMMER!!!

The reason she was giving me the hug was to thank me <ABOUT A MILLION TIMES--OR MORE> for what I wrote about her son last summer. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't remember exactly WHAT I'd written but who could forget her son & THE HUG??? Not only did she thank me for it, she shared with me that it had been read so, SOOO many times by extended members of her family & that her mom had actually CRIED WITH JOY when she read what I wrote!! How wonderful to learn that we're making a difference without even knowing it!!!  :) 

CAN YOU IMAGINE???

The hugger's mom is shown below on the right <sharing a hug with our most recent HIGH-TECH HELPER, naturally!!> & below the pic is last summer's post about "THE HUG!!" We see soooooo much negative stuff so what a pleasure to share such a precious moment - this VERY BEAUTIFUL Observation from the Trenches - with you!!

As you might imagine, our video cameras have seen a LOT of things since we've been following the world of junior tennis over the past 8+ years-- some good, some bad & some downright U-G-L-Y -- but they have never, ever, EVER seen anything like what happened at the end of the B12 FINAL at the GEORGIA OPEN in Rome, GA on 7/15/14!

The #1 seed from GA (shorter player) was competing against an unseeded player from SC (much taller player). The players had never met & neither player had requested the match on video but you never know what might happen so we hung a camera up there just in case &

WOW O WOW!

Were we, both players & both parents ever glad we did!!! The conditions were extremely challenging & the players battled in what must have felt like a sauna for approximately 2.5 hours. When it was all over, the #1 seed had won a very tough match 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 but you won't believe what happened next...

Instead of shaking hands the way players normally do, the taller boy reached out & wrapped his long arms around the shorter boy WHO HAD JUST DEFEATED HIM IN THE FINAL & he gave him a HUGE bear hug. The reaction by those who'd seen it??? DISBELIEF, SHOCK, RESPECT, ADMIRATION!!! Everyone was talking about how unexpected & wonderful it was!!! It should come as no surprise whatsoever that the taller boy won the prestigious SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD for the tournament of almost 700 competitors. Our cameras have NEVER seen anything like it.

HATS OFF to ZACHARY PRINCE from Columbia, SC!!!

Marshall & Sherry Prince (his parents) must be & SHOULD BE so very proud to see such incredible poise at what must have been a very difficult, very disappointing moment for a young 12-year-old child. Given the disrespectful, bratty behavior that we frequently see from junior players, this was absolutely wonderful to see & I will never, ever forget it or ZACHARY PRINCE. 

I am sure this special child will grow up to be a special adult who will do special things in the world :)