Today was a big day across the US. We had spots that had a total eclipse of the sun and then other places with a partial eclipse. It is amazing how one person can have such a wonderful experience and the person beside them thinks it should be more or was expecting something completely different. Tonight, I will write about a player who had the same effect on me as the eclipse did on some of the population today. Guenther Fercher was an Austrian player who I inherited when I took over at Florida Southern. He was a tall guy, somewhat goofy in my mind, but a damn smart and caring person.
When I came to FSC I was excited to walk in to a team that had three Germans. Although they were stubborn, I had seen what German players from my past could do and their work ethic was second to none. There was only one problem, I only had two Germans. Guenther spoke German, I made a large assumption, and learned that he was not what I thought but that he was Austrian. Although I had his nationality wrong, I truly think he was German and just didn’t want to believe it. His best friend was German, his mentality was German, and he was stubborn, just like a German.
My first impression of Goony, the nickname that was given to him by Ray Duyungan, was that he was just a goofy dude. You see, I coached against Guenther when I was at Webber. He and his partner, Roman, destroyed my doubles team. Roman and Guenther were about 6’4”, tall, lanky, and the epidemy of business on the court. Guenther had goggle glasses and a weird way of carrying himself. Needless to say, they destroyed us that day but left an impression that I would soon have to work through. Fast forward one year and now he was my player. The goggle glasses were gone, replaced with a more standard looking pair, he was still tall, but now he was my player and he was good. I mean, massively skilled when the practice court called. There were not many guys on the team that could play at the level he could pull off during the early hot fall practices. Speaking of hot weather, when it came to fall training he was a machine. His weird stride and long legs made the lake runs a breeze. He would also almost glide up the hills and the sprints were a piece of cake for him. With that great speed and effort came a massive amount of perspiration. I don’t mean that he sweat like an athlete I mean he sweat like someone followed him around with a hose and just left it on. He would leave puddles at the bench, he would leave wet spots from water coming out of his shoes, and from what I was told, he would have to hang his clothes up outside of his apartment because if he didn’t they would stink too badly.
Guenther is one of the few players that I coached that had a one-handed backhand. It was flat, penetrating, and a true weapon. On the deuce court in doubles he would create some of the nastiest inside out angles with his one-handed backhand. For a long time, I would give him grief because I just thought he was lucky. He proved to me multiple times that he could pull this shot off pretty much at will. With the style that he played there was also much risk. He played so flat that he didn’t have much room for error. When things got tight he would switch from his aggressive style to a more conservative game which included more slices from the backhand side. I prodded, poked, and at times got angry because he would retreat into his shell and stay comfortable. He was so good but just didn’t believe he could pull off those laser beam shots over and over.
Winning is what we are judged on in the competitive world. Being a good person is just a bonus but not a necessity. Guenther did his share of winning but probably could have done more. He was so good at tennis but was even better academically. He graduated early from FSC and stayed and played one more year while doing his MBA. He also helped coach and was a beast as an assistant coach. I remember one day we had split squad running test. The first group killed it and the second group half-assed it a bit. Guenther and Roman were not satisfied and had the second group do the run again. In an amazing twist, the second group completed the run. This little run was a three-mile Indian run and it just happened to be in the rain. The motivation that he and Roman administered was good. They were just such hard workers in the classroom and on the court that they expected the same thing from teammates. Guenther and I didn’t always see eye to eye but my respect for him will never waiver. I know he gave me everything he had even if at times, I wanted more. Sometimes you can get it out and at other times you take what you can get and use that to help the others around him. After college Guenther returned to Europe and has worked in the financial world. He knew what he was good at and stayed within those bounds. It was a pleasure having him as a Moc and now it is a pleasure to speak about the person he has become.
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