Tennis, Indie Film, and Todd Martin's Words of Wisdom

Last Sunday I drove from our family home in Cape Cod
to Portsmouth, RI, where I caught up with my cousin
Ryan and the 11 young people from Las Vegas who are
participating in a program where tennis is used to
teach life skills and help young people get into the
college of their choice.

The group was being hosted by Carnegie Abbey, an
exclusive resort that was founded by another cousin of
mine, Brian O'Neill. The organizers of the tour had
arranged for Todd Martin, a former pro player who was
staying at the Abbey with his wife and children, to
hit with the kids on the tennis courts and give them a
bit of a talk.

Before and after Todd hit with the kids, and boy can
they hit, he delivered a couple messages of advice and
wisdom. I don't know how the kids ingested Todd's
words of wisdom, but what he talked about came at a
perfect time for me and I have been digesting and
applying these principles in my own life and
profession as an independent film producer.

He told them that tennis, or any other sport for that
matter, is not necessarily an end unto itself (aside
perhaps, from the benefit of exercise), but rather a
crucible wherein one could test and learn about life
and how to deal with loss, victory, disappointment and
discipline. Now keep in mind that for him tennis is
his vocation, it is both his daily bread and his
calling. Anyone who had played competitive sports has
at some point identified themselves very deeply with
who they were and how they fared on the playing field.
If you lost, you probably felt like a loser, and if
you won, you probably felt like you were "the man" or
"woman" for that matter. And though Todd was no
Sampras or Agassi, he was most certainly a winner,
someone who had been to 3 Grand Slam finals, though
maybe his humility came from the stark reality that he
did not ever win any of those Grand Slams (he lost to
Sampras in one final and Agassi in the other). But the
point stands - you can lose in a match (or the
workplace) and still be a winner in life, or be a
winner on the court (or in your profession) and still
be a loser off the court. We all know people,
including ourselves, who fall into either category.

On the following day a friend of mine called me to
tell me he had a fairly disappointing day - he had
been passed over for two prospective job
opportunities, and was feeling pretty low. Hmm, I
thought to myself - this is exactly what Todd was
talking about yesterday. I gave my friend the
background on my visit to the Abbey and shared with
him Martin's words of wisdom, comparing it to my own
travails of entering my film into festivals, sending
it to distributors and broadcasters and having it
rejected time and time again. When you're an artist,
and you submit something that you've poured your
blood, sweat and tears into - you can't help but take
it personally when your work is rejected (in that
respect it is a lot like tennis). These are the times
when the phrase "believe in yourself" takes on a real
meaning. If you really belive, you can't give up, you
have to keep on trying. Fortunately for me, I found a
good home for my film on PBS, and though the financial
compensation isn't what I had hoped it would be - I am
one step closer to achieving my goal of having my work
broadcast to potentially hundreds of thousands of
viewers throughout the country.

He commended them for being high achievers and for
working hard, but warned them against the pitfalls of
frustration. "When you make a mistake on the court or
you lose a match, you have to realize that there will
be another opportunity to make it right. "Moreover",
he continued, "as your skills improve on the court,
the guy or gal across the net will probably have
skills equal to yours." What will distinguish between
the two players will be the head and the heart, mental
toughness and emotional commitment. He added that this
explained why Nadal and Federer are above and beyond
their peers, because spiritually and mentally they
have it together. There are many players who can hit
the ball harder and may even be faster - but in match
play, you just can't hang with Roger or Rafa.

I also shared this principle with my friend - and by
the end of the conversation I really got the sense
that Todd's words of wisdom had served both of us in
putting things into perspective. A couple weeks
earlier this very same friend of mine had sent me a
paragraph about how we really need to accept the fact
that God is in control of our lives - this is easy to
say and espouse when we're kind of in a status quo,
everything is cool and copasetic - but when you get
smacked on the head by rejection, it is a bit more
difficult to apply as a principle in terms of how we
deal with this loss or disappointment.

So Todd, wherever you are, thanks for sharing, and
kids, keep on playing.


Jonathan "Jed" Wolfington
Filmmaker/Media Consultant
www.swingstateohio.com
www.walkumentary.com