Shenk Mullett: February 2010

Winter In Ruins

I planted this little bitty garden last summer and put it on my deck railing. I made a little rock path and added a little ceramic house I had gotten a few years back. I managed to give it a drink now and then.

And it began to grow. And each time I found a golf ball, I'd find a little spot to add it to the garden.

The collection is growing and so are the plants.

Lush and blooming, and I quickly lost count of how many golf balls were in there. I had no idea these plants bloomed, that was a delightful surprise! And then fall...

And then winter. I looked at it the other day and took this photograph. It looks like it's a ruin... a little house reclaimed by the earth and gravity. It's been a tough winter, this is perfectly fitting.

I could pick up the pieces, clean it out and start over in the Spring... but I like it this way. It's very beautiful in it's own ruined and broken way, like an old Scottish castle ruin. Plus... it is authentic.

Spring is coming, it won't be long now... until then the garden is exactly as it should be. And even if I can't put the pieces back together, it is ok, it was only a house.

Thursday Rants

I like to know what is going on in your lives, I like to feel like I make a difference for my players. During the season, I have a real sense of connectedness to all my players. I know who is dating who, who is struggling with their parents, who is struggling with their tennis, and all sorts of other fun stuff that I hear on the bus rides and don't tell you that I know.

During the offseason though, there is a weird disconnect. The only students that I get to know are middle schoolers, which is cool, but I enjoy the depth at which I can talk to high school students. Some of you come to weight lifting workouts (just find me after school if you are interested) and we continue to talk that way, but some of you play other sports, are in the plays and musicals, do other things with your time, and I feel like I have to go through a mini-process of getting to know you again whenever the season starts or camp begins.

So, my rant is against the offseason. It isn't as fun as the season. Do you agree? What do you hate about the offseason?

Wednesday Opponent Overview

All Time Record vs. Rochester: 6-2

Classic Matches:

Bethany Christian 4, Rochester 1; 2003
My first victory ever as a coach, we got victories at every position except #3 singles. We had switched the lineup for this matchup, moving Seth Troyer from #3 singles to #1 doubles, where he and Jordan Mumaw went on to win an individual Sectional title. Two people also picked up their first varsity wins, Jordan Kauffman and Joe Friesen.

Rochester 3, Bethany Christian 2; 2004
An experienced Zebra squad handed us a third straight defeat to open the 2004 campaign. We squeaked out victories at #1 singles and #3 singles (Joel King and Jordan Kauffman), but they showed experience matters by taking the 2 doubles spots easily with teams fairly intact from the year before.

Top Players over the Years: Carson VandenBossche, Richi Notz, Nate Wottring, Chuck Gibbons, Mason Heyde

Last Season Result: Bethany Christian 4, Rochester 1

Returning Varsity Players:
#2S - Aaron Stuart (lost to Seth Krabill, 1-6, 1-6)
#3S - Jacob Schroder (def. Misha Rebec, 7-6 (5), 6-4)
#1D - Phil Keim?/Cody Hershberger? (lost to Kyle Miller/Austin Loucks, 4-6, 4-6)
#2D - Josh Calhoun (lost to Russell Klassen/Nick Rebec, 2-6, 1-6)

Top Returning JV Players:
#1S - No Name Reported (lost to Matt Ebersole, 9-8 (5))
#2S - No Name Reported (lost to Blake Shetler, 8-1)
#1DJV - No Name Reported (lost to Jake Gerig/Evan Grimes, 8-7(4))

Outlook:
This is a really difficult match to forecast, because I'm not really sure that I have the people coming back right. At the Concord Invite, coaches often don't put the year of their players on their scorecards, and so it is impossible to know who is back and who isn't. I know for sure that Stuart and Schroder should be back, as they were freshman two years ago. But we are strong at #1 and #2 singles next year, so hopefully we can pull out victories there. As with many of our matches, the battles will be in the bottom of the lineup. Which is awesome, it gives incentive for our #3 singles, #2 doubles teams to work hard! I can see us pulling out a victory in this match next year, as our experience in this invitational and with Rochester should help us.

What do you think? Looking forward to playing the Zebras next year? To the Concord Invite in general? Do you have any great memories from the matches over your years? Just want to tell me how awesome the Rochester logo that I made is?

She is... Growing

Some early shots are back from the photo shoot with Lindsey. I designed her costume, hair and makeup. It all began with a very ordinary long green dress that we deconstructed and then began adding some very earthy elements.

We began with two kinds of mosses, added some silk leaves, feathers, seed pods, twigs...

I tucked some fresh ivy, violets and leaves in here and there.

I had no idea she had those amazing *green* eyes!

Lovely profile shot.

Charles included this photo with the captain: "Mother Nature Calling." LOL!
Her makeup is airbrushed foundation, and natural green oxide on her eyes with some dots and I added a Marilyn Monroe beauty mark. She had green oxide on her arms and shoulders as well to complete the look.

It was a pleasure to work with Lindsey, she and I go way back. It's a gift to have her for a friend. She gets the award for coming the longest distance to model for me. Thanks to Lindsey for being such a great model, and to Charles for the excellent photography as usual.

All images 2010 (c) Charles Garratt Photography
Makeup, hair and costume design by Carmen Rose

"She is... Growing"
Number six in the series "The Art of a Woman"

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

Tuesday Tennis Tip: Shot Preparation

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting tennis tips from the beginning of a stroke through the end. That means we'll start with getting prepared to take up the proper court position, all the way through the swing and follow-through and ending with getting prepared for the next shot. This is a way for me to learn, as I have to look up all these things, and then you can come along for the ride... I hope you learn something!

Tip #1 - Anticipation
Tip #2 - Movement

So far, we have mentally prepared to hit the ball and moved our feet quickly to hitting position. At this point, we begin to get into swing mechanics. I'll begin with overall mechanics, that apply to either forehand or backhand, then move back to the specifics for those strokes.

So today's topic is shot preparation. What do you do to get ready to swing through the shot? As you move toward the ball, one of the last phases of initial movement is to take small, short steps and balance yourself for the swing. Here are the next steps.

1. Early racquet preparation - "Get your racquet back early!" It's the cry of almost every tennis instructor that I've ever had. It simply means don't run to the ball and then move your racquet back. You know whether it is a forehand or backhand as you are moving to the ball. Don't wait for the ball to bounce to start your backswing, instead begin when you begin to take the small balance steps. Take the racquet back to begin the swing.

2. Turn your hips - Power is generated by the entire core of your body, not just how hard you swing. Using your whole core also allows more stability in the shot, thus more consistency. As you find your balanced position, prepare for the shot by turning your hips back slighty, so they are prepared to come forward with your racquet when you swing.

3. Turn your shoulders - Along with your hips, your shoulders have to move back to give you the best ability to generate power and consistency. On groundstrokes, when your hips turn your shoulders turn. It's as if they are connected. In fact, the more that upper body (arm, hips, and shoulder) turn together, the better the shots that you hit.

Simple as that, 1-2-3, get prepared for your swing. Have you ever thought about this before? What type of backswing do you have? Ever notice that you that you don't have enough time to swing? Which players have you played against that make this really difficult? Hope to hear from some of you, and it will be good to see us put this into practice!

Another Sneak Peek

Today's shoot was number six in the series "The Art of a Woman." This is Lindsey, and she is... growing!

And check out those green eyes of hers!

I continue to learn what works and what doesn't and Charles took 180 photographs in pretty short order. Lindsey was loaded up with moss, feathers, pods, pine cones, branches, fresh violets and fresh ivy. It was fun to see it all come together!

Photograph 2010 (c) Charles Garratt

Costume, hair and makeup by Carmen Rose

Happy Creating,

-Carmen Rose

Monday Morning Match Memories

One of the things that I've come to realize as a coach is that 3 strong positions can win you plenty of matches. If you have 3 strong positions you will have a winning record, a season that you can be really proud of, and a good amount of close wins.

In 2005, we had 3 very strong positions. Joel King was a senior, and had a 15-4 season at #1 singles. Wes Klassen, a junior, was filling the #3 singles spot in only his second season on the tennis team. However, he had a strong season going 13-6. Also, our #1 doubles was strong, with Jordan Kauffman and Mike Steury picking up 12 wins.

However, the other two positions ended up with losing records on the season. They were very close to .500, but couldn't quite make it over the hump in the big matches. A great example of this problem comes from the Bremen match in 2005.

In 2005, Joel was a dominant player. Honestly, his only close matches were the ones that he lost to quality opponents. When we played Bremen on senior night, he made quite quick work of a very young Joe Rallo. Rallo was only a sophomore and went on to be one of the best players in the area. But Joel won this match 6-2, 6-0.

Wes moved through his match with ease as well. At this late point in the season he had become fairly comfortable with the #3 singles spot, and won 6-3, 6-1 in this match over another inexperienced Lion sophomore.

#1 doubles, Michael Steury and Jordan Kauffman, had a history throughout the season of making matches close and interesting, and then pulling them out in the end. They faced up against two seniors, Marcus Manges (Thomas Manges!) and A.J. Sime. In a typical Jordan Kauffman match, the first set went all the way to a tiebreaker, which we won (Jordan is our all-time leader in tiebreakers won). We went on to pull out a close second set as well, which gave us the three positions for the win.

Relying on those positions, we won several close matches throughout the year. NorthWood was a 3-2 match where we won those same positions. The Laville tournament was a place where we won those positions. The Lakeland tournament, the Prairie Heights match... all matches where we rode these strong positions to victories.

But at the other two positions, we struggled throughout the year. #2 doubles especially lost some heartbreaking matches, and it was the same in this match against the Bremen Lions. They lost 4-6, 5-7. There are numerous reasons they lost these close matches: lack of experience, lack of chemistry, sometimes lack of skill or smart play. But for whatever reason, they couldn't seem to pull the close ones out. And the same was true at #2 singles. In this match, Mark Bauman fell 4-6, 4-6. We just never seemed to win these positions in a close match.

But with three strong positions you can win a match... and so we beat Bremen, a close and inspiring win. It felt a lot like the Triton match this year, or the Jimtown match. It was awesome.

Three positions can win a match. But you cannot win a Sectional.

That's also a lesson from 2005. Even with the great talent we had, you have to be solid at 4-5 positions to truly win a Sectional. When this 2005 team made it to Sectional, we were drawn against the team that really had what it took to beat us, an awesome #1 singles and #1 doubles. Jaren Vest of Jimtown was one of only three people to beat Joel all year, but he beat him twice. Once in the Sectional. And Chris and Mike Landis advanced to Semi-State in the doubles competition, starting with beating Michael and Jordan. So our Sectional rested on #2 singles, #3 singles and #2 doubles.

And Wes came through, but the other two positions couldn't. And so despite winning a lot of awesome 3-2 matches during the season, posting a 14-7 record, and having a lot of thrilling experiences, we fell short at the end. A Sectional is won with a complete team, and a complete team only.

That's what we've got to keep in mind this season. We've got the strength of Ben Mast, Seth Krabill, Kyle Miller, Russell Klassen returning to our lineup, but to win a Sectional, they probably won't be enough. We need Evan Grimes to work hard, we need Blake Shetler to step it up, we need a Matt Ebersole, Abe Thorne, Ryan Minter, Han Gil Lee, Ike Lehman, Parth Patel, Wade Troyer, Josh Helmuth... someone to step up and put in the work. Because we can't expect to dominate a Sectional with a weak position. We need everyone working hard.

And so what are you doing? How are you encouraging the others that might have a hand in our Sectional fate? What do you have to say to them?

She is... Organic

Some early shots are back from the photo shoot with Diana. I designed her costume, hair and makeup. This costume idea started when I came across some leather scraps in a large bin in a fabric store. I picked up a piece of cow and a piece of buffalo leather, then I came across the feather trim (necklace and arm band) at the same store and that became the top and belt of her costume.

The skirt and cami are hand dyed in a combination of browns and grays with a touch of orange thrown in.

I used some hemlock from the tree in my back yard and some seed pods from the rose of sharon bushes by my house for her top over the layers of leather and fabric. I used a small oak leaf to airbrush some organic shapes on her skin. Her eye makeup is a combination of airbrushed color and mineral makeup in an earthy green to match her eyes.

I cut some pieces from the hem of her skirt to layer with the leathers on the bodice, I don't think I have any photos of the hem of the skirt yet.

I think this one is my favorite photo from the shoot so far.

I wired and glued some things into a branch from my dogwood tree for her hair.

Diana was a riot to work with!

"I am woman, hear me roar!"

It was a fun evening and we got some great shots. Thanks to the amazing Diana for driving over to work with us and the talented Charles Garratt for the photography. All photos 2010 (c) Charles Garratt.

She is... Organic

#5 in "The Art of a Woman" series

Happy Creating!

by Carmen Rose

Catching Up on Friday

Catching Up with Our Current Schedule

Open Gym:

- Tuesday, February 23, 7:00-8:30
- Thursday, March 4, 7:00-8:30
- Thursday, March 11, 7:00-8:30
- Thursday, March 18, 7:00-8:30
- Tuesday, March 23, 7:00-8:30

Weight Lifting:

- After school, every day, 3:45-5:00

Outdoor Open Courts:

- Coming after Spring Break!

Another Sneak Peek

The lovely Diana, She is... Organic.

Model #5 in my "The Art of a Woman" series and I used the airbrush and a leaf to create cool camoflage patterns on her skin. More photos coming.

I dozed while the olympics were on and then once I turned off the tv I perked up a bit and could get a little work done. Now I'm finally headed off to bed. Pleasant Dreams Blog world.

-Carmen Rose

Sneak Peak

A quick photo from Thursday's shoot: This is Ashley and it was a pleasure to work with her. More photos coming when I get a chance. It seems like I've been fighting off a bug for a few days now so I'm trying to take it easy on myself, eat right and hopefully I'll be feeling better soon. So with that in mind I'll be going to bed very early tonight (again!)

Nite nite,
-Carmen Rose

Thursday Rants

A response to Emma Gerig's Reflector article "Under Pressure"

2 Peter 1:5-8

"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Emma's article the other day really made me think. First of all, I believe that she is right. Most teenagers hate conforming to what adults want them to do. And my first response to the article was anger. As an adult who cares about the teenagers I interact with, I don't ask them to do things for no reason. I ask them to do things, to be things, to believe certain things because I know those things will be for their good. And it drives me nuts when no one listens.

Recently, I have noticed that maturity has a lot to do with rebellion. That is the same solution that Emma came to in her article (nice job, Emma!) Except, I think that very few people actually talk about the maturity process. And so, with the lead from Emma, here's a view of that process.

The verses that start this post is where I ground my view of the maturation process. This first begins when we decide that we are truly committed to goodness, rather than, say, selfishness. A huge first step in the maturation process is deciding to seek the good in a situation rather than whatever you want. That means that even if the best solution came from someone else, you take that solution.

This is a step that many of the students I see here at Bethany never take. Often in Bible classes, I will assign a group project. I like students to start to understand what it takes to work together. I hate group projects in middle school however. Because students have just barely begun the maturation process, most of them only want to do their ideas. So, the group process becomes a fight. Everyone likes their idea the best. And the winner is usually the one who complains longest and loudest that they want to do their idea. So it has nothing to do with who has the best idea, it is all about who is the most selfish!

In a team situation like tennis, I also see this difficulty in the maturation process. Many people can only think of their own success, and have difficulty realizing what might be good for the team. Players in tennis become obsessed with their position, whether they like playing singles or doubles, whether they should have another chance to play a higher ranked teammate, etc. They forget to think about what might be best, what might be good, for the team. This shows a lack of maturity.

After I process these selfish actions, they cease to make me angry. I realize they are part of the maturation that we all go through. Like Emma pointed out, I had to go through them as well. I simply think that it is important to start thinking about our actions, and attempting to move through the maturity process.

Maturing takes action. It doesn't just happen. Ever met a 35 year old who is still as selfish as a teenager. Chances are they've never given their maturity any thought. Any teenager's natural instinct may be to rebel, to not listen, to do what they want regardless of the consequences. And this won't just naturally change as you get older. So I encourage those who read this to begin to contemplate your actions, begin to mature. Begin to add the qualities mentioned in 2 Peter to your life in increasing measure.

Seek the good.
Seek knowledge.
Seek self-control.
Persevere.
Seek godliness.
Show kindness to all.
Show love to all.

As you do, you will grow, both in faith and in life.

She is... Mysterious

Some preliminary shots are back from our photo shoot with Barbara, what a fun woman she is!

I designed her costume and did her hair and makeup. Barb brought some things with her, mostly vintage things. The top she had and I pinned the flowers on it. I'd found these great pearly flowers and pulled them apart, and glued them back together in a way that all of them could be different sizes. Then added a large pearl in the center of each one to finish it off. I also added some beaded pieces of beautiful lace to finish the line of the flowers.

I think this must have been an early shot because she's not holding anything

and the key on her neck ribbon is missing.

I love the far away look.

Skeleton keys, they are full of potential for adventure and mysterious possibilities! And I can't believe how much fun that necklace was once I put it on her, it was a perfect fit and she had those great ostrich feathers in her collection.

I think that may be the only prelim shot where you can see that skirt I hand dyed in various shades of gray. I love how it turned out!

Now these two are my favs:

With a smile

and...

And just Barbara being her really beautiful self!

That's my favorite.

Thanks to my great sidekick Charles for the excellent photography!

Thanks to Barbara for being such a beautiful model!

All photos (c) Charles Garratt 2010

Wednesday Opponent Overview

All-Time Record vs Concord: 0-10

Classic Matches:

2008: Concord 3, Bethany Christian 2
Playing Concord for the second time, we pulled our closest match as far as score ever against the Minutemen. Daniel and Mikey posted a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory at #2 doubles, and Jared Schwartzentruber won 6-2, 6-2 at #2 singles. Unfortunately, the 3 positions that Concord won were not that close.

2008: Concord 4, Bethany Christian 1
This was actually the match we were closer to winning. Jared controlled his match the same as before, winning 6-2, 6-1. At the same time, #2 doubles had not yet started their dominant run, and suffered their first loss of the season, but in a 10-point tiebreak. Luke Hostetter also lost to Concord junior Andre Ziebold in a 10-point tiebreak. If those tiebreaks would have gone the other way, we would have picked up our only win ever over the Minutemen.

2005: Concord 4, Bethany Christian 1
This was the famous Joel King match. Playing against Austin Conrad, Joel deeply desired to beat the school whose district he lived in. He knew many players on the team and wanted to prove that he would be #1, even at that big school. After losing the first set, he began to cramp. But he won the second 6-2, to force a 10-point tiebreaker. At one point I told him that if he cramped again he was done... so when he cramped again he just didn't react, so I wouldn't know. He ended up winning, but literally couldn't move after the match was over as his whole body cramped. Arms, legs, chest, almost everywhere.

Top Players over the Years: Jason Denton, Andre Ziebold, Andre Moore, Jared Queener, Austin Conrad, Josh Moore, Bryan Colburn, Alex Kiefer...

Last Season Result: Concord 5, Bethany Christian 0

Returning Varsity Players:
#3S - Jason Denton (def. Nick Rebec, 6-0, 6-1)

Top Returning JV Players:
#1S - No Names Reported (def. Matt Ebersole, 8-1)
#2S - No Names Reported (lost to Jake Gerig, 3-8)
#3S - No Names Reported (def. Evan Eby, 8-4)
#1D - No Names Reported (def. Evan Grimes/Blake Shetler, 8-1)
#2D - No Names Reported (def. Ike Lehman/Himal King, 8-4)

Outlook:
Concord brings back very little experience next year. What they do have is a great coach who will work with their JV talent to get them prepared for the next varsity level. I expect Jason Denton, who went undefeated this season, to be one of the better #1 singles players in the area. The rest of the team will have to step up in order for Concord to have success in their conference and in their Sectional. We'll see them early in the season, before they've had a chance to become too experienced. Let us hope that we can play confidently and take advantage of the fact that we have 5 returning players to their 1.

Bird Watching in the Snow

Another low key day here, I am enjoying some alone time. I wrote to a bunch of State delegates, senators and the governor this morning for my boss, that was fun. Later on I drove up to the 'Burg to meet an artist to touch base on a project we are working on, only she didn't show. Silly me, driving all that way to be stood up. I made it back in time for band practice at church. There were two guys on guitar, a guy on drums, and me playing the keys. The leader and I have voices that really work well together, so it's fun to harmonize with him.

I sent some freshly dyed skirts, cami's and scarves through the wash, I ironed them when I got home this evening and I'm pleased with how they turned out. I'm curled up watching some Olympic figure skaters. The costumes interest me sometimes as much as anything. It sure is a sequin and sparkle kind of sport. I am loving the feathers on the hands of the one contestant.

I have some more costumes to get finished up before the photo shoots later this week. I need to find a few more models also. I was delighted to hear that a local paper has expressed interest in a an article on my "The Art of a Woman" That should be fun. (Photos from earlier in this week when I was bird watching in the snow.)

Tuesday Tennis Tip: Movement

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting tennis tips from the beginning of a stroke through the end. That means we'll start with getting prepared to take up the proper court position, all the way through the swing and follow-through and ending with getting prepared for the next shot. This is a way for me to learn, as I have to look up all these things, and then you can come along for the ride... I hope you learn something!

Tip #1 - Anticipation

Once you have anticipated the path of your opponent's shot, you are ready to move to that shot. Movement is critical in varsity level tennis. Our Sectional championship team committed to having the best footwork and movement that they possibly could, and it benefited us immensely. Remember how effortlessly Jared Schwartzentruber moved around the tennis court. Truth is, he had to put in lots of mental effort and practice on his split-step and constant movement in between shots.

So it will take some concentration. But it is worth it. The only way to compete with powerful players, talented players, the best players, is to get to their shots in time to put the pressure back on them. So movement is important.

So what are the basics of movement? Here are the key elements.

1. Ready Position - Mentally you are intense and focused, balanced on both feet with racquet head up. Your movement is relaxed but you are moving! Usually players will balance and move with a gentle bounce on the balls of both feet. If you only practice the ready position between your shots, your game will improve tremendously.

2. First Step to the Ball - Fast and strong, or as I like to say, explode. This is why we practice the sideways cone drill and explode forward. This step is made with the foot closest to where the ball is going.

3. Adjustment Steps - The goal in tennis is to hit every forehand with the same form, every backhand with the same form, etc... including where your feet are in relation to the ball. Adjustment steps are the small, quick steps you make when arriving near the point of contact that set your feet into the proper stance for hitting the shot. These are short steps, almost like shuffles, slowing you down and moving momentum into the shot.

4. Recovery Position - The end of the swing should bring a player back into the balanced and ready position.

5. First Step of the Recovery - A strong crossover step should be used to get back and cover the open court. This strong step leads to the final shuffle steps and getting back into ready position. If you have not moved much from the center of the court, then you would move right into shuffle steps.

6. Shuffle Steps - These final steps slow your momentum and restore your balance. Mentally you stay alert and ready to move to the next shot during these steps, in case you can't recover all the way to the middle of the court. They are quick, balanced slides back into ready position.

These are six steps that I think most serious tennis players know. What separates good from average is our ability to convince ourselves to do them. Of course, each of us will have different blessings from God in the areas of speed, strength, and conditioning. But using and concentrating on proper footwork will increase all of these.

What do you think about movement? Is it difficult for you to concentrate on? Is it difficult to motivate yourself to practice? Do you remember any players that were exceptional movers, and therefore were difficult to play?

Monday Morning Match Memories

My favorite players in the game of high school tennis come from Bethany. I have deep respect for all of you who play or have played for me, or carried the tradition before I started coaching. But every now and then, a player comes along from another school who earns my respect and admiration as well. Often, I don't get to see them play more than one or two matches, but in those matches they show me something. Of course, it's about their tennis games, and not their character in life, but still, it can teach me a lot about what it takes to be successful in tennis. Today I'm going to write about something I learned from an opponent.

In the 2008 season, we were supposed to play in an awesome tournament at Warsaw. Included in that tournament were the 3rd ranked school in the state (Park Tudor), the 17th ranked team (Canterbury), and other challenging opponents such as Warsaw, South Bend Adams, and more. I remember being angry at God as it rained and rained the morning we were supposed to play this event.

But it provided for us to play in a new tournament. Concord quickly put together a little tourney that involved us, them, Westview, and Lakeland. Westview was another team projected to compete for their Sectional title, as was Concord. Lakeland wasn't as good that season.

We smoked Lakeland, 5-0. Then we got to play Westview. They had a all-district #1 doubles team who were about the best we saw that season. They also had a very solid #1 singles and #2 singles. I felt that we held the advantage at the other two positions.

Things played out pretty much as I thought. #1 doubles put up a really good fight, but eventually fell. Jonny Shenk breezed through his match at #3 singles, and the same could be said for Daniel Buschert and Mikey Kelly at #2 doubles. Surprisingly, Jared Schwartzentruber lost the first set to plucky sophomore Steve Blinco. He won the second set dominantly, but fell in a tense 10-point tiebreak.

The match came down to two seniors, Luke Hostetter and Westview's Steffen Good. Good had been part of Westview's dominance for a while. Playing #3 singles the year before, he had helped the team dominate northern Indiana and pull off a bid in the Semi-State. The team had fallen one match short of the State Finals. But Good had won just about every match he played (actually, I'm pretty sure that he was undefeated, but I don't have their statistics).

Now, Good stood against Luke at #1 singles with the match on the line. The first set went into a tiebreak, Luke unfortunately couldn't get anything going. In the second set, Luke played great tennis. He really ramped up his groundstroke game and took the set 6-3. This forced one of the dreaded 10-point tiebreaks.

In the tiebreak, the lead of the match went back and forth. No one ever led by more than a point. Luke was still playing his stellar ground game, and it forced Good to do what you should in a high pressure situation. Attack. Good attacked the net point after point. He would win with a volley. He would get lobbed over and lose. He would force Luke into a passing shot error. He would watch Luke pass him down the line. But he was going for it.

Luke was too. He wasn't holding back on any of his baseline shots. He rattled a couple of passing shots so hard I thought for sure they would be errant. But they weren't. The score just kept going back and forth, ramping up the pressure.

With the score 7-8 in favor of Good, he was serving. He missed on his first serve, just wide or long or something. For his second serve, he does a massive topspin kick serve. It requires the server to swing hard to get the proper amount of kick. He swung hard, and missed the sweet spot of the racquet. In fact, he hit the frame and the second serve flew over the fence and down onto the band field below the Concord courts.

I was shocked, but excited. Now Luke would win. My figuring was that the only way Good was staying in the match was by being aggressive. Making such an aggressive error on a big point would make him embarrassed and timid. Luke should be able to win.

But it was as if Good forgot the error completely. On the next point, he continued to attack. On the final point, he hit a huge forehand forcing Luke off the court and attacked the net. He put his error, even as embarrassing as it was, behind him and continued to play aggressive.

This match still breaks my heart. I think we were better than Westview during the 2008 season. I think we probably should have had a more impressive record on the year, like 19-2 instead of 15-5. I hate the fact that Luke played so good and so hard and yet lost. It is disappointing in the worst way.

But I did have a deep respect for Steffen Good. He had looked embarrassment in the eye, and continued to be aggressive. That's what I wanted for my team. That's what I want from my players.

And we learned. Look at Mikey and Daniel in the Fairfield match. Johnny and Jeremy in the Sectional Final. And Luke in the Sectional Final. We need to have this attitude this season.

Home Alone

Finally, and ready for some peace and quiet. So once I got home from work I curled up on the sofa to watch the snow fall and the birds eating birdseed from the planter I set out. It was a peaceful afternoon, and good for the soul.

Take some time to recharge your batteries, or eat some birdseed... whichever comes naturally.
Grace,
-Carmen Rose

Dinner Time

A friend of mine mentioned Chicken Chipotle Bacon Chimichangas this morning... and suddenly I was hungry. So I found and printed out a recipe and stopped by the store on my way home and picked up some chicken. I popped six large chicken breasts in the slow cooker and turned it up on high. By afternoon the house was starting to smell good and I sauteed up some onion, garlic and some beautiful long skinny red peppers I found at Martins on Sunday. I threw in some seasonings and shredded the chicken and threw that in. I rehydrated two ancho chilies and chopped them up and threw them in.

I stuffed eight big tortillas with the chicken mixture and some monterey jack cheese, brushed them with canola oil and popped them in the oven. While that was baking I made some Spanish Rice, some guacamole and some pepper gravy from the leftover chicken broth. The house really smelled good at that point. I broke my garlic press, so I'll be keeping my eye out for one that isn't so difficult to clean.
I'm not a big fan of food in general, just good food. Simple, honest ingredients and simple techniques, sometimes it takes longer to make but it's always worth it. It seems that good food that is hot and fresh and full of great flavors is far more satisfying. And then one doesn't need as much, isn't that interesting?

The Chimichangas were ready, the rice was nice and hot and the gravy and turned out nicely. The guacamole was fresh and I pulled the sour cream out of the fridge and popped some of that on top.

And it was gooood. I couldn't even eat the whole thing though I gave it my best shot. I like cooking these days. Far more than I did when I was young, I cooked for my family and later on I cooked professionally and never liked it much. But these days I really enjoy it. It's like I've discovered food all over again.

As Paula Deen would say: "From my kitchen to yours, Best Dishes!"
-Carmen Rose

A Sneek Peek...

A little sneak peek at our second photo shoot. This lovely woman is Barbara and she's most comfortable in vintage clothing and since that seemed so perfectly "her" I went with it. (Though nothing in this shot is actually vintage except for those amazing gloves.) Each woman in the series has a different phrase and hers is: "She is Mysterious"

She brought a lot of herself to this project, and brought along some great props as well. I think this photo may have been taken while she was waiting on me to finish up the necklace she wore for the shoot. More photos to come!

I'm still looking for six more models for this project and the publicity stunt in March. Everything is "weather permitting" around here since we're gotten so much snow and more is in the forecast for tomorrow. *Please* let there be school tomorrow!

Looks like I've been nominated to be on the board of a local gallery, that's interesting. We'll see how that goes. I'm also doing makeup for a local theater production of "Saving Grace" which is a cute little show that will be put on in March by Waynesboro Players. The cast is only five people and it should be fairly simple as far as the makeup and hair goes. It will be fun.

I ran across an interesting quote and am curious what you think of it:

"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night." It's from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet and I stumbled upon it here. Perhaps it is an overstatement of a principle that we should not ignore. Interesting food for thought, right?

I'm loving what I'm doing right now with this project, it's work that feels right to me. Wishing you the work that feels like play to you. This project is just playing "dress up" for adults, and who wouldn't love that?! (More photos coming!!)

With Gratitude,
-Carmen Rose