Being a native Floridian, we enjoy our warm weather, beaches, and predominantly blue skies. All that is great, but the weather the past few weeks has been splendid. Lows in the upper 50’s and highs in the low 80’s. It really is quite nice. We are in for a bit of a cold snap later this week, but that too is a pleasant change. Weather and training go hand in hand. The long bike rides, swimming in the open pool or seas that surround us, multiple hours on a tennis court, or logging hours on a training session with your equine. This beauty and normal heat we deal with leads me to my thoughts for this evening regarding another former player from FSC, Greg Heartt.
Greg was already a player when I arrived at Florida Southern. He was a diminutive guy with passion and heart that were way bigger. Being fit was his second nature and he was super clean with his diet, as he knew what he wanted and how he was going to go about doing it. We didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of his habits, mostly due to my naivety with nutrition, but we never disagreed about his desire to play.
During his first season with me there wasn’t much singles play during matches. He was an integral part of our success at number three doubles. He was the free swinging, go for broke guy on the team and his partner was the French-Canadian volley machine. The two of them battled most of the year against the best teams in the country and helped us make it to the Regional finals. The emotions and excitement of that match set a tone and expectation that as hard as we tried, for multiple years, could not be duplicated. The part of his game I loved was his no holds barred approach. If he was in perfect position or on the dead run, he was going to go for it. It worked a lot but to say he never affected my nerves would be a lie.
His senior season was a year of change for him. He lost two of his mates as Knoedler and Laflamme both graduated. Laflamme was his doubles partner with who he had some remarkable success. I knew he was going to play in the doubles line-up, but I just wasn’t sure with whom or in what position. He even had some success in singles but doubles was his forte. During his senior year he ended up having three doubles partners and won with all three. He was the base and just worked with whomever I threw at him. Again, we made it to Regionals but didn’t have the best run when we got there. Greg graduated and moved on to the next step of life.
Alright, that is the tennis side of Greg. The side of him that kept me entertained was his spirit, love of life, and zest for an enjoyable time. It was easy to see where he got it from. His parents were ardent supporters of the program before I came and continued even when I joined. They would come down for matches and loved when we played near where they lived. His dad loved tennis, got to play with a few former pros, and was a great resource when it came to guys on the team. His mom was often there and made sure Greg and the other guys were properly nourished for the busy tournaments and matches. Greg, himself, had an effervescent personality. He had a smile on his face 99% of the time. He was always game for a night out, a run around the lake, or a party at Club Love with the boys from the team.
Once Greg graduated I wasn’t sure where he would end up. He had such passion for the outdoors I just didn’t think a job inside would suit him. He got into doing triathlons to continue his never-ending passion for competition. He got really good, qualifying for some of the higher-level events. Of course he did, I would not have expected anything else from someone with his drive. The job indoors never panned out and he went into the coaching profession at high end tennis clubs. He has busted his butt and moved up the pecking order while continuing his passion for this beautiful game. It has been a pleasure watching him move up, promote the game, and have fun like he did while he was at FSC.
Again, the story is the same. I had great guys who challenged me, made me better, and proved how good they were when they head out into the real world. If you ever need a good tennis coach look Greg up. If you ever want great competition against a guy that will give you everything he has, give him a call as well.
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