Tennis Quote of the Day: A Compliment from America's Top Half-Miler

"I love watching tennis players. I think those guys are probably the greatest overall athletes in the world, just given their stamina, power, durability . . . [t]heir hand-eye coordination . . . those guys are able to play four-five hours, the kind of focus that that takes is impressive."

Nick Symmonds, America's Top Half-Miler
U.S. 800 Meter Champion, 4 times
NCAA Outdoor Titles, 7 times

34 Reasons to Play Tennis

From "Tennis - for the Health of It!" (A USPTA Initiative with Jack Groppel, Ph.D.)

There are 34 powerful and compelling reasons to play tennis, according to an initiative by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), "Tennis - for the Health of It!"

Noted tennis researcher and USPTA Master Professional Jack Groppel, Ph.D. writes: "According to world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines, there is no doubt that tennis can improve your overall health, including your mental and physical fitness."

Among the documented benefits are:
*Tennis players who play 3 hours a week at moderate intensity cut their risk of death from any cause in half.
*Tennis players score higher in vigor, optimism and self-esteem, and lower in depression, anger and anxiety.
*Tennis players benefit from a lifetime of brain development since the game requires alertness and tactical thinking.

Check out all the 34 reasons to play tennis with the USPTA!

Best,
Gary

Tennis Quote of the Day #1: A Game for Life

"When I was 40, my doctor advised me that a man in his 40s shouldn't play tennis. I heeded his advice carefully and could hardly wait until I reached 50 to start again."

-Hugo L. Black (1886-1971), Asscociate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Tennis Quote of the Day #2: Tennis Creativity

"It's difficult for people to imagine the creative process in tennis. Seemingly, it's just an athletic matter of hitting the ball consistently well within the boundaries of the court. That analysis is just as specious as thinking that the difficulty in portraying King Lear on stage is learning all the lines."

-Virginia Wade, British Champion, 3 Singles and 4 Doubles Grand Slam Titles

The Three Tests of Tennis Athleticism

Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney

Watch this video of the 3 tests of tennis athleticism, as explained by Coach Pat Dougherty of the Bollettieri Academy.

1. Low "ready position" with wide base
2. "First-step" reaction
3. "Look to move", with an elevated split-step

Best,
Gary

Video: Are you a tennis athlete? Three Tests
By: servedoc

Tennis and the Biocentric Universe

"The only thing that we perceive is our perceptions."
George Berkley (1685-1753)
Irish philosopher and empiricist

What is reality? What is it that we can truly be sure of when it comes to objective "reality"?

Is there really a "there" out there? Or is what we perceive just electrical-chemical impulses sent to a dark portion inside our brain from our five human senses?

And can any one of us ever be sure that any "thing" actually exists, or any other person is really alive or conscious?

Berkley's quixotic quote suggests that our perceptions are all we can truly be sure of.

Our perceptions, of course, presuppose that the individual person doing the perceiving is alive and conscious. Under this view, it would thus follow that consciousness is the fundamental matrix of the universe.

Biologist Robert Lanza in his book, Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, developed this concept further into a stunning new theory of the universe - the Biocentric Universe.

Consider this classic question: If a tree falls in the woods without anyone to hear it, does it make any sound?

Lanza would answer that the tree never actually fell and would never fall, if no one conscious is around to perceive it.

In contrast to the classical model that the objective universe came first and created life, Lanza proposes the opposite: namely, that life - particularly consciousness - literally constructs the universe.

And that the universe, and everything in it, even time itself, could not exist without us.

In other words, ours is a Biocentric Universe. And we literally engineer the universe as we go, in a participatory way.

In short, Lanza proposes a paradigm shift in scientific thinking of the highest order.

Quantum physics which applies to sub-atomic particles, Lanza points out, supports his theory. Experiments under quantum theory reveal that sub-atomic particles such as an electron only exist in a blurred and ambiguous state, sometimes even in two places at the same time.

Quantum physicists call this a "superposition" of undefined probabilities, until a conscious observer makes a measurement. And obviously everything in our universe - objects, living things, stars, galaxies - is made up of atoms and sub-atomic elements.

Hence, everything might only be a superposition of probability until we observe it.

How does all this relate to our humble game of tennis?

Tennis is undeniably part of our world - and any Biocentric Universe, if the theory holds true.

Consider how the conscious biological observer, namely the tennis player himself or herself, is the key component in the game's equation.

1. *The player and his or her perceptions - not the court, racket, equipment, conditions, luck, or even the opponent - dictate the game.
2. *The player and his or her internal skills, technique, and deliberate-practice results - not other things - generate the blueprint of play.
3. *The player and his or her knowledge, play style, tactics and strategy - not other things - shape the flow of the game.
4. *The player and his or her beliefs, such as fear, being intimidated, or being confident and relaxed - not other factors - create victory or defeat.

In the Biocentric Universe, we - as the player and conscious biological observer - create the game, and it's shape and result.

In an ultimate sense, consider this: we are our tennis game, and our tennis game is us.

Best,
Gary

Sources:
1. Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the Universe, Robert Lanza, M.D. (Biology) & Bob Berman, (Astronomer) (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2010)
2. Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness (2nd Ed.), Bruce Rosenblum, Ph.D. (Physics) & Fred Kuttner, Ph.D. (Physics) (New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2011)
3. The Conscious Mind, David J. Chalmers, Ph.D. (Philosophy) (New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 1997)

Video: The Biocentric Universe

Tennis Quote of the Day: Jose Higueras

"Tennis is a game of errors. A good player learns how to minimize them, and properly understands when it's time for offense, and when it's time for defense."

-Jose Higueras, USTA, Director of Coaching
USTA Magazine, May/June 2011, p. 28