When cultures collide it can be beautiful, chaotic, or destructive. Sometimes it can be all things and still somehow co-exist in a teeter-totter type of existence that becomes normal and expected. This is exactly the relationship I had with Jose De Sario. The recent graduate caused me grief on a normal basis but had a passion and love that I wished more players, heck more people, had about things happening in their life.
Jose was one of the guys that came to me like many players do. Some other players had fallen through and I needed a solid player to fill the line-up. I was out of time when I got a call and email from a coach in south Florida. He had this kid that was pretty good and really needed a place to land. When a player is looking for a school at the last minute there are a couple of things going on. One, they aren’t really that good or two, they are bad news. I did my homework and found out that Jose was a national finalist in singles and doubles while a freshman in junior college. He played 4 singles and number 1 doubles while in junior college and had an amazing freshman year. He didn’t have such a great sophomore year but I know the level of the top juco’s and if he lost in the national finals he has some talent. I got a video from the coach and watched it. My first thought was, “This cannot be the same kid. He is a little fat and really doesn’t look like a national caliber player.” My other thought was; “well, he won’t be a number one but he is steady enough to be a good 5 or 6.” After some contemplation I thought, “What the hell, let’s go for it.”
His arriving and being ready to go were not the smoothest of scenarios. Between transcripts, I-20’s, schedules, flights, and every other thing that goes into bringing in a player it was a mad rush. You see, none of this started until the 1st of August and we started school in the middle of August. We had to rush everything but somehow, we made it happen. When things go this fast the player better pay off. I knew it would, or at least that is what I told everyone I could tell. Well, the fall did not set the stage for the talented player I thought I had stolen. At this point I thought that all those red flags truly meant something and I was just too naïve to believe them.
After a lackluster fall, he had lost some favor with his teammates and a little with me. Although his teammates felt that I was giving him preferential treatment I believed I would get from him what I needed. He was a smooth talker and I truly enjoyed speaking to him about life, politics, and other things that had nothing to do with athletics. The problem with all of this was that I needed him to perform and not be my best friend. We started the season against Stetson and Jose started the season at number 4. Just above where I thought he would play. I say that but I am going to conflict myself and tell all of you that I thought he was good enough to play number one. I just didn’t see the desire for him to try any harder so I put him where I thought he would have success. All of that changed after the first match. He won in straight sets while the rest of the team lost. We had a fairly substantial break after our first match so I did a little sleight of hand and moved him to number two for the second match. He lost that next match but then he started winning. He went 15-6 on the season and 13-4 at number 2 for the year. He had some huge match wins and some tight situations that as a coach were not always my favorite. The one thing that I could never doubt was his desire to be on top of the situation. This was also the flaw that haunts him today.
Continuing that first season was his ability to play doubles. His personality was hard and there was only one player that could put up with him and his demands. His partner that season was Brian Slivonik and he will have his own story a bit down the road. The two of them started the season at number 2 but finished the season at number 1. They amassed a record of 15-10 with a 9-7 record while playing number 1. They played the toughest teams and never found themselves out of a match. They were both so arrogant, proud, and damn tough that they just didn’t think they would lose. Jose was named to the Sunshine State Conference All-Conference team in singles and doubles. He was also named the MVP for the team that first year. To say it was all roses would be a lie but he put in the work when the work was needed.
Moving into his senior season Jose would come back in the same position that he left. Jose also had other things that were weighing on his mind as well. You see, Jose is from Venezuela and if you haven’t been living under a rock you understand that things in that country aren’t really going that well. The economic situation was causing a burden to his family and the fact that they were there and he was at FSC didn’t help the matter. He had a great professor around him that is politically savvy. Dr. Anderson kept a leash on Jose as best he could and between school, internship, and tennis his fall was filled. He actually played some this past fall but still didn’t play as much as I would have liked. Once the season kicked off Jose started at number two singles. The problem with doubles was that he and his partner just weren’t seeing eye to eye and I created two pretty good teams without him involved. There is always more to the story and this is one of those times.
Jose was a high-flying singles player who dominated the court with his explosive forehand. He used his two-handed backhand to maintain the point but would laser one if the mood hit him. The problem started when he developed a wrist injury in his left hand which would not allow him to hit his two-handed backhand. Not to be deterred he just simple started hitting a one-handed slice and occasionally ripping topspin one handers. This was great for singles but caused a huge weakness in doubles. When you have a player that is this talented it purely sucks to not have them on the court so I devised the idea of putting him at number 3 doubles. I was sure that I could find someone who could play to his level and put up with his shenanigans to give us three amazing doubles teams. This experiment went on for almost the entire season and statistically was a rousing failure. I tried six partners and not one panned out. A lot of it was his fault but a lot also was the fact that the guys he played with got so tight they could not even play their normal level. Luckily the top two teams pulled the weight and Jose was still tough as nails in the singles. Even with the bad wrist Jose still had a winning record at number 2 singles for the year.
As much as I lost sleep with Jose on the tennis court I truly enjoyed my time with him at FSC. He was a big-hearted guy who lives in a 24/7 passionate state. He is addicted to his phone, loves his country, and wants a lot out of life. When graduation was approaching we had many conversations about what was next. He was going to have to take some classes over the summer to get his diploma so we were trying to figure out how to get that done in the least painful way. He wasn’t sure if he was going to get his MBA, go home and fight for freedom, head to Europe, or become an entrepreneur and dream about success. Well, he headed home against my wishes but is back in the states currently. He completed his necessary classes and received his diploma in July. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do but I know at some point he will figure that out as well. He pained me a lot but if he ever shows up we will talk for hours because I liked the depth of our conversations. He was a great training partner for me and I will believe this forever because I can never be proved wrong; he could have been top 20 in the country if he truly wanted it. He didn’t because he wanted something else and he is still looking for it but what he found was a place where he could be free if even just for two years.
I hope one day he finds joy on the courts again, a country he can raise a family, and a passion for his career like he had to get to the level he was at when he was playing for himself. It is always better when you do things for yourself.
A great story! Thanks for sharing!
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