| 21 March 2010
Sam said, "The creativity was working. It was happening slow and in the moment, surprising just how well it was working. Sometimes when you have patience you’re waiting for something to happen and today I was seeing the product manifest, seeing that I could be creative. It was exciting to see that being unpredictable was helping me be competitive with a very good player." Sam's comments are right on from my point of view. He was in every game of the match. I've never seen him play with as much focus and freedom. On the ride back we talked about how his creative play extended the length of many rallies. In fact, most of the longer points went Sam's way. And the points that he lost usually came in the first shot or two off of his racket (an error). We talked about "cleaning up," those errors and looking to extend points. Through this spotlight on creativity and unpredictability, my goal for Sam would be to know his options. I think he's on the right track, because after discussing this he added, "Knowing when to hit a shot and when to save that shot for later.” Sam is beginning to embrace and understand his own creativity and just how powerful and effective it is. Not only that, but to know that there is NO right answer; what may work one moment might not work the next. We'll practice on court today for a few hours between raindrops. We'll find out what's distracting him when the points start - eliminate 30% of the short-point mis-hits before Tuesday. Maybe some indoor workout at the gym and then some dinner with Sam's grandparents. Monday to watch the quallies for the Miami Open.
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