The 2015 U.S. Open Tennis Is About To Begin. Christopher Chaffee Shares His Love Of The Game With 10sballs _com.

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2015

The 2015 U.S. Open Tennis Is About To Begin. Christopher Chaffee Shares His Love Of The Game With 10sballs _com. |

“A man has to have goals — for a day, for a lifetime — and that was mine, to have people say there goes one of the greatest players who ever played the game-Ted Williams

It was like a fairytale, with a storybook ending. Something that can only be seen through the soul of your eyes and straight into your heart. However, this story was anything but fiction. It was something that dreams are made of and stars wished upon. It was a heroic story where the hero is born, goes off into his journey and eventually triumphs the challenges and adversity in his path. It was a story that will always be remembered and something that will always be cherished, of how this hero defined himself by not only who he was but what he did as he left his mark in this world. Thirteen years ago, this September, one of the most inspiring moments of sporting history took place in one of the greatest cities, New York City, at the final grand slam of the tennis season, the Us Open. The hero was dressed in all white and was facing challenge and adversity. He was being tested. The hero had a quiet gentleman like reserved demeanor. However on the inside our hero’s heart was his strength and he had a burning fire of desire to win. He was motivated and he was disciplined. He was a warrior. A champion who went day in day out as the number one player for six years and who had won 13 majors and 63 titles. Each one of them he accomplished with heart and in a professional matter. He let his racket do the talking, and played with passion, desire, and the love of the game. That is the essence of a natural. Pete Sampras is the hero, the white knight of this story, and tennis is was what he was graced with and shared his ability with the tennis world . He won his first US Open Grand Slam at just 19 years old to his tough rival Andre Agassi which started an amazing career. Now he was faced again with his worthy foe in the same setting this time older and accomplished and although not as dominate as he was in his prime he still never gave up on himself. He always believed in himself and his ability.

Never Forget Who You Are-The Lion King

26 years ago in the fall of September 1990, I was just 5 years old with bleached blonde hair and big brown eyes. I was a little kid, who sat in front of the TV screen with his giant oversized yellow fuzzy wilson tennis ball that was probably the same size as me by me and a black wilson pro staff 6.0 (Sampras weapon of choice) that i could only lift with two hands. My attention was focused on the tv screen as I was star struck with what I was watching. It went from my eyes into my heart and filled my soul with passion and desire. It was the day of the US Open 1990 finals. It was the day I fell in love with tennis. It was the day I was inspired and that moment I was fascinated with the 19 year old serve and volleyer Pete Sampras. He had won his first grand slam at that time and it started his journey to the legend he became known as. From that moment, dreams and aspirations filled my imagination. I was molded by the values, traits, and integrity of this young champion and person who became the greatest of all time. I spent hours in front of the tv and recorded matches of watching him play. I would try to dress like him and play like him and tried to play everyday with my twin brother for hours pretending I was Pete playing in upstate NY. I loved tennis and wanted nothing more than to be a tennis player. It was my love, my focus, my dream. From that moment, I knew I wanted to be a hard working tennis player when I grew up.

Champions and legends come around once in a while. Each one different. There will never be another stoic Pete Sampras. He was unique, he was a rare breed who believed that being a role model for tennis players young and old to look up to meant more than than being on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. Pete Sampras started playing tennis not by his parents or his friends or by anyone one else but he found the love of the game himself. It started when he discovered an old wooden racket in his garage and couldn’t get enough of hitting against the garage door. From there on his parents, who were blue collared and hard working middle class, witnessed one of their childrens desire grow. It took a lot of sacrifice from his parents and from an average childhood life on Pete’s part, but it was something that just felt right. Sampras’s journey began. He sacrificed the childhood dances, dates, girlfriends parties and choose to have a strict diet, and constantly work hard to improve on and off the court. His talent was evident, but he quietly worked extremely hard every day. He made it look easy, but it was anything but. All the hours of hard work were paying off. He approached his life and his game as someone who was always positive driven and live and let live, embracing the outlook as always looking forward. Sampras was reserved but his will was like iron. This was on full display in some of Sampras’s remarkable wins in the 1990’s. In a Davis Cup match, he battled for a 5 set win, cramping in both legs to help them beat Russia. Then who can forget the time he broke down emotionally and through tears beat Jim Courier in Australia when his coach Tim Gullikson was diagnosed with brain cancer? That same year Pete won Wimbledon and put his trophy in his beloved coach’s coffin. He played through dehydration, heat stroke and getting sick on the court to come through with a win against Alex Correjta at the US Open. He played through pain and injury in the 2000 Wimbledon, where he broke the record at that time of Roy Emerson Grand Slam wins and then like a storybook ending, he climbed into the stands to show his love and appreciation, sharing the victory with his parents and wife. Sampras was a fighter, he would always find a way to win. He managed to call upon this ability throughout his entire career. He knew how to dig deep during his matches, when he had nothing but his heart left. Sampras believed in himself. When others doubted him. He never gave up and always had a strong family foundation and support from his parents, siblings and his wife Bridgette. They were his rock, and always believed in him. But, just like every journey, a hero goes through struggles, filled with adversity and challenges. During Sampras’s time of struggles he always stayed true to himself and never forgot who he was. He had to accept losing, but still kept coming back even when the critics thought he had gotten soft and washed up. Legends find a way to come back and get up and keep fighting and that is what Sampras did. Sampras believed to ,”Be present–be in the moment, let go of the past, and not worry about the future. To seek clarity in moments of doubt, stay calm, and have complete faith in your abilities. Be true to yourself journey reward.

Today I am molded of the what Pete Sampras brought to the game of tennis on and off the court. How he acted, how he performed, and how he is as a person, a tennis player, role model, father, husband. He is someone who has class, sportsmanship, discipline, determination, and professionalism. He never forgot who he was. Tennis has given me many things and shaped my life. It has taught me many life lessons. I always want to strive to be the best of myself and always look to get better. Sampras lived by the saying “I have this theory you wake up every day with certain amount of energy to do certain things. Mine was to get better, to train, to practice, and to win tennis matches.I let my racket do the talking. That’s what I am all about, really. I just go out and win tennis matches.Your need the game, you need the mind, you need the heart. Never stop believing in ability and yourself. “ This is a theory I hold close to my heart and had acquired through my childhood hero. Sampras is defined by a natural talent who worked for everything he wanted and believed in. He earned it, and it was worth all of what he sacfircied. Pete says, “It takes dedication and hard work and keeping a good head on your shoulders, conducting yourself in a positive way, being stoic and enjoying the game.You work so hard for it, grind out those hours in the gym and on the practice court, push yourself to your limits-. I did it my way, and I have no regrets. When I look back on my career that was just a big focus for me. “ Now Sampras is still having goals to stay in shape, go to the gym, play tennis, but also to be as good as a husband to his wife and father to his kids.

Inspired greatness by the daily grind and letting the measure of will and character is what Sampras brought with his graceful presence. Someone who was always striving to be the best version of himself. He was stoic. He is the essence of a champion. You may or may not remember Pete Sampras. If you do remember him, you know his greatness. If not, then after this article you I hope you will. I tell whoever I coach whether it be clients, teams, friends, family, kids, people young and old about his journey. I even close me eyes and remember how I am inspired by this great athlete. Pete Sampras’s Hall of fame speech was a classic summary of the heroic champion. It was how he lived his life and played the game. It was from the heart. He said, “Tennis has — has represented a big part of my life. It’s — It’s given me a lifetime of memories and lessons, all of which I will carry with me forever. At the end of the day, the thing I’m most proud of is — is — is I never strayed from — from…my core values. From the attitudes and philosophy passed on to me from my parents, and men like Rod Laver, I embraced the quiet way, and I walked the best — that the high road as best I could. Above all, I wanted to represent myself, my family, and the game in a way which we could all be proud of. So as I take my place among the greatest players of all time here in the Hall of Fame, I stand before you both humbled and grateful.I’m a tennis player: nothing more, and nothing less. It’s more than enough for me. It always has been.

Topics: Christopher Chaffee, New York City, Pete Sampras, Ted Williams, Tennis, The Lion King, US Open, US Open Grand Slam andre agassi