years later
Guillaume Gauthier and Steve Deakin met in the finals of the Men’s 40 Singles at the 37th VLTBC Masters Tennis Championships. It was a terrific match, with Gauthier coming out the winner 6-4, 6-4. They both agreed to answer a number of questions and their responses were so thoughtful and elegant we have elected to print every word. This is great reading for our upcoming juniors as well as those still enjoying the game well into their adult years.
MP: Describe your introduction to tennis – was it through a parent, a community program, a school sport, or ?
MP: Did you play other sports first, or during the time you focused on tennis?
Steve: My father introduced me to the sport when I was 4. We actually started playing tennis at the same time. Very fond memories for me. My father bought me an old wooden racket from Woodward’s for $1.49. We would walk down to an elementary school close to our house and hit the ball against the wall. I remember vividly being able to do this very quickly with a great deal of ease. Every outing always ended with an ice cream at the corner store! I really enjoyed those times with my Dad.
Steve: From the ages of 5 - 14, I played baseball, soccer, and tennis. Oddly enough, tennis being the sport I played the least. The schedule to play all three sports competitively was very difficult to maintain for my parents as I got older. I made the decision to play tennis full time at the age of 14 after I won the under 14 Nationals. Instead of training 4 hours per week (2 days), I was now able to train 18 hours per week (6 days).
Guillaume: My introduction to tennis was through my parents who signed me up for a two-week summer tennis clinic at our local public tennis facility located within a short bike ride distance from my house. My parents had asked me to participate in it the previous summer but I was too involved in hockey and had refused to sign up. Although this time they did so without my consent and told me that if I did not have a good time then they would never push me into playing tennis again. I attended the first clinic and to this day I am still in love with tennis!
Guillaume: I was 10 years old when I started playing tennis and I was also extremely involved in hockey. My parents’ house was located within a short 5-minute walk from a sports complex with a couple of hockey rinks. Needless to say I was spending lots of time there playing hockey, watching hockey games, watching friends figure skate, or just hanging out. My focus shifted quickly to tennis once I started getting more involved in tennis clinics, camps, and local junior tennis events.
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C O N T.