"Hmm" and a nod...

So I recently started taking up tennis. About 5 months ago I did indoor group lessons until the weather got warm and then I began taking private lessons from a kid who runs our park district program. When I say 'kid', I'm saying it in the coolest sense... he's 22, a recent college grad (finance), has decided to delay going into the business world via becoming a CPA to teach tennis. But it's so much more.

We first met Nik when Julie signed Lily up for lessons because the prices through our park district were really affordable - almost ridiculously so. Since then Julie took a private lesson or two, then she signed me up for weekly lessons and now Miles too. Nik isn't shy but he isn't outgoing either. He doesn't stand on his head to entertain or shout to get you motivated. He typically works 8-10 hour days outside in the St. Louis heat with people of all ages and levels - speaking from experience, as typically his last lesson of the day, he gives me as much as he gives the first. He's consistent, fully engaged and inspired from within. He's confident but in a personal way. I guess the best way to say it is he believes.

After my first lesson I was curious about his story because I was once living a similar dream when I was 22, playing professional soccer and coaching. However, the monumental difference between me at 22 and Nik is that I was asleep during my dream and he is wide freakin' awake. So I asked him point blank why he was doing this - he said I just really like to help people get a little better every time. I remember giving a sincere "Hmm" while nodding my head. He fired the same question right back and while my reply wasn't as selfless as his, it was definitely just as personal - I wanted to beat my wife.

As I've gotten to know him over the last couple of months, he just continues to bring out the "Hmm's" in me. He went on a vacation with his family to Disney World and talked about the trip and the rides like he was 13 - I think he said Toy Story 3 was his favorite. A couple weeks later Julie brought him a huge cup of ice from our house and when he returned it to me he made a point to tell me that he even washed it. I questioned him and he replied with a "No, I seriously did." I questioned him again with a little more determination to catch the 22 year old kid in a lie, "You washed it or your mom washed it?" He snipped back that he doesn't live at home and I said, "But you still go on family vacations?" He said, "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" "Hmm" and a nod.

One night Julie and I played on the court next to him during one of our date nights and he said "hi" but didn't talk to us after that because he always gives his full attention to the person he is coaching. However, at my next lesson before we started he, this kid, sat next to me, an "adult", and said how I really need to start playing with confidence... you're better than you think, you just don't believe it yet. He suggested that it is so much better to go down swinging than just trying to keep the ball in play. "Hmm" and a nod.

Last week he brought a demo for me to try out. It's the racquet Djokovic (ranked #1 in the world) uses. At first, I couldn't hit it for shit because the racquet I used before was Julie's spare which is over-sized and meant to help generate power. This racquet is substantially smaller and as Nik says, "as close to wood as you can get". Needless to say, I went home asking Julie to look into other racquets because clearly that racquet was just way too much for me.

I showed up for my lesson last night with Julie's racquet in hand. He missed my non-verbal queue and still brought me the Djokovic. I quickly told him that I think he is over estimating my ability and that I didn't understand why he would recommend I use such a high level racquet. He didn't blink, didn't smile, didn't waiver - again not in a pretentious "know it all" way - but in a sincere believable way he just said, you have a really good swing when you actually swing like you mean it. He reminded me of the earlier discussions on confidence and going down swinging and my big dream of beating Julie and said this is the tool for you. "Hmm" and a nod.

Well last night we hit the shit out of the ball and after a couple of points where I out lasted him, he just smiled at me from across the court. It's not that he never smiles, it's just that this smile different, it wasn't his, it was a mirror image of mine. I was getting it, I was starting to believe - more in him, more in me, more in the racquet, more in my big dream and that made him smile.

So when I got home and finished telling Julie all about how crazy cool that kid Nik is, I texted him:

Thanks for the lesson tonight. I really appreciate your positive spirit and energy especially after a full day. See you next week.

He replied right back:
Not a problem. Its worth the work to see such a big improvement. Thanks!