San Fran, Ned, and the
NBA
The one regret I have for the past weekend was that I did
not get to spend Father’s Day with my daughter. But, to her (and my wife’s)
credit I had a legitimate excuse. I was asked to accompany Ned Mylod to a high level under 19 junior event in San Francisco. It
was a golden opportunity I simply could not pass up, and one my family wouldn’t
have let me either.
Ned, who turns 17 next month, has been a member of the DAC
for about 3 years now. Coaching him has been a pleasure, not just because he is
very talented and loves the sport, but also because Ned is a terrific young man
with his heart and head in the right place. Yes, there are ups and downs, the
virtual rollercoaster ride of being able to play like Ramy Ashour one day, and
then like you don’t know which end of the racquet to hold the next is normal in
every development. The trick is to train the mind as much (if not more) than
the body. I don’t care how skillful one is, without the appropriate attitude,
it’s all for naught. Ned, incidentally, is well on his way.
I am sure many of you know the city of San Francisco. I did
not – which was another reason (albeit selfish) I was rather excited for this
trip. Perfect weather for the two and a half days we were there, I did get a
chance to walk down by the Piers and ogle at the views, the people (!), and the
hubbub of a busy city. Most conversations one overhears from passerby’s are not
in English, and when I reached Pier 39, I must have inadvertently entered a
worm hole into the touristic world of Hell. It did remind me a little of the
‘city’ of Niagara next to the Niagara Falls. Endless souvenir stores; a 7D theatre… (what, pray tell, are the seven dimensions??); inexhaustible
amounts of fast food, snack stands, ice cream stores, restaurants where one
could literally eat themselves into oblivion and by the looks of many of the
patrons, it was a challenge well accepted; and my favorite, the “Zoltar the
Fortune Teller” machine from the movie ‘Big”. A Scottish tourist asked me for
change so he could actually waste his money on it. I hope he didn’t request the
same as what Tom Hank’s child character did in the movie, “big” would have been
a kind description of the man.
 |
| Alcatraz. Island getaway. |
It was all wonderfully fascinating, and to my surprise when
I reached the eventual end of the Pier, I was confronted with the island of
Alcatraz and a decent view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I blended in with the
flock of buzzing tourists and took advantage the photo opportunity with gusto.
But to business. Ned. Seeded 4 for this tournament, the goal
was to at least reach the semifinals. His first match was Saturday morning
against an unknown quantity. From the get go, it was clear that Ned would not
have much trouble, the key would be to get comfortable with the court and work
on the timing. It was a quick 3-0 win, not too much energy was spent which was
important considering he had 2 more matches to play this day.
Ned’s second opponent had a tougher time in his first match.
He fought through a close 4-setter, and since I had the chance to watch quite a
bit of the match, I knew that this was going to be a trickier challenge. He was
quick on the ball and was rather feisty, but with that being said, I did
believe that Ned was the stronger of the two. It could have been a danger match
though if Ned got sucked into the ‘contact’ game. Which he didn’t. He remained
calm, took advantage of the more tired legs of his opponent, and after taking
the first 11-7 and holding a significant lead in the second, his opponent
appeared to lose the interest to fight anymore. Ned rolled through the rest of
the match, which again was helpful in conserving the energy. He had attained
his goal of reaching the semifinal but we were not resting on those laurels at
all, now was the real challenge of tackling the number one seed and time to
push ahead.
 |
| Ned Mylod returning his first serve of the tournament. |
It was a difficult assignment. This lad is ranked 13 in the US,
a strong hitter, smooth mover, and possesses a killer drop-shot on both side of
the racquet, and from both ends of the court. Ned’s natural game is angles and
misdirection, an effective counter attacker. The first game was dominated by
the higher ranked player as Ned struggled to find the back corners. Anything
off the wall was swiftly dealt with, with a cutting, accurate drop into the
front and being stuck behind the striker when that happens is not a recipe for
success.
A more methodical approach would be needed. And when Ned was
consistent with his straight lines and length, the match suddenly changed to a
more even status. With no room to work the drop in, Ned’s opponent was no
longer as comfortable. The highlight of the match came when Ned was set up in
the front right corner and faked the drop, dragging his opponent early and far into
the corner, and at the last moment the flick into the back left that fooled
him, the referees, and all the on-lookers. Spectacular as it was, one shot
doesn’t win a match. Sticking to the correct game plan most of the time, rather than all
the time, in the end let Ned down. The final two games were 11-8 and 11-9.
Close, but not close enough. But, on the silver lining, we know he can compete
at that level. More Discipline. More Consistency. And above all – believe. Not
the result we were after, but plenty of positives to take away from it.
Ned still had to contend with the 3rd / 4th
play-off the following day. It was against a familiar opponent, Ned had played
him a couple of times in the past but without success. Once again, he would
need to step it up – especially after the loss the previous day. From the
get-go, the match was close. Ned’s opponent is a grinder, never gives up, but
prone to the occasional loose shot which is where Ned could do his damage. Ned
would have to bide his time and be patient for the opportunities. He was
unlucky to lose the first in a tie break, a couple of unforced errors his
undoing, but Ned collected himself well for the second and rolled through 11-4.
The third was similar to the first, the two were neck-and-neck into the tie
break again but this time Ned was able to pull it out 13-11.
Starting the fourth with confidence, Ned shot to a 6-1 lead
and was looking well in control. However, maybe he was too much in control and he let the foot off the gas ever so
slightly which opened the door for his opponent. Plugging away at the lead a
point at a time, Ned started to create doubts and suddenly the momentum
changed. The game slipped away and they were heading into a 5th. Now
it was mental. Tough it out. The game did not start well, Ned was 1-4 down in
quick time and appeared a little lost. But slotting a winner in the next rally
perked him up and he was back in the game. That little confidence goes a long
way and once again we found ourselves in a tie-break at 10-all. Channeling his
inner Shabana, after a lengthy exchange, Ned whipped in a short forehand cross
court that bounced 3 times before the t-line, stranding his opponent who was
standing a good 5 feet behind it. Perfect timing. Ned’s next serve was then
severely butchered into the floor – an odd ending, but one we’ll take all day
and a victory well deserved. Ned ended up 3rd for the tournament, a
very good result.
 |
| The first tip-off of Game 7 |
To finish the weekend, Ned received an amazing surprise –
tickets to Game 7 of the NBA finals. A once in a life time opportunity, we
could not been more pumped and excited to witness history. It was almost an out
of body experience for me, feeling the energy quivering through the Oracle
Arena, around 20,000 fans – 99% of which were Warrior fans of course – all at
ear splitting volumes. Now, I am not a Warrior fan but being in that situation
you have to go with the flow and Ned and I found ourselves cheering for the
home crowd as much as anyone else. I am also not a Cleveland fan, and even less
a LeBron James admirer, based mainly on his televised “announcement” all those
years ago when he moved his talents to Miami. I thought turning that move into
a reality tv show was the height of absurdity, especially since he knew the
pain it would drench on the Cleveland faithful. It wasn’t the move itself, it
was how he went about it.
 |
| Me and Ned before the Game! |
We all know the result of the game, I don’t have to write
about that. What I will say, however, is no matter what you think of LeBron,
one must tip their hat and respect the man. He is a beast. And he knows he’s a beast. To be the best
player in the world – and you would be hard pressed to convince many people he
is not – you have to believe you are
the best. Arrogant? Yes. But what stood out to me was that LeBron gave the
impression that he knew they were
going to win. The Warriors, on the other hand, looked as if they were hoping
not to lose. Silly mistakes at the end of the 4th quarter cost them,
unnecessary mistakes. LeBron, on the other hand, had that posture of
ascendency. Attitude counts, the expectation of success no matter the
circumstance. When you have 20 thousand people screaming obscenities at you,
desperate for you to fail, it is probably rather difficult to keep composure. We
could all learn from that. It would have been nice if the Warriors had won though,
to enjoy the atmosphere of the victory rather than the morose feeling of a
horribly history defining defeat. Nonetheless, Ned and I were floating on cloud
nine having just beheld such a spectacle.
What a weekend.
