From bumping bass drops to calm vibrational medicine, John Stuart has a varied life. But, one of these jobs affected me in more way than he will ever know--his job as a tennis coach. Tennis and I have a special connection and Coach Stuart only added to my passion.

I will never forget tryouts junior year: my first true encounter and conversation with him. After he assured me I was on the team during judging drills, we started talking and strategizing.  While talking, I thought, Wow this guy is really cool! It is like he is my friend as well as my coach. The combination of the laid back style, wearing all the latest styles, and not to mention the classic flat cap on his head made him a unique and outgoing person.
In addition to him being a friend outside of tennis, he was the best tennis coach I have ever had. He pushed me as far as my will would stretch and forcing me to improve faster than I ever thought was possible. One example of this is with my two hand backhand. I never got taught how to hit a two hand backhand before John. Because of this, I resorted to a weak one hand. This was the weakest part of my game. John saw this and helped me through it and even stayed after practice with me to give me one on one coaching. Now I have a consistent two hand backhand and it is a go-to shot of mine. I have John to thank for that!

John also taught me meaningful life lessons. He had this innate ability to stay positive even in the most dire situations. This rubbed off on me and changed my life in more ways than I will ever know. During one match, I was down 1-4 after losing the first set. But I was able to stay positive because of John coaching me from behind the fence with his positive attitude. I came back to win in a tie breaker! I never would have won that if it was not for John being upbeat, positive, and infectious. Another example of his impact is his viewpoint: he encourages me to have an open mind. Before we started playing, we would do the five tibetans. This is a yoga routine that preps your mind and body to play. To be honest I did not enjoy doing this instead of running. Me and my closed mind thought that it did nothing. Next thing I know, I came around on the routine and by the end of the season, even looked forward to yoga. This open mindedness stuck with me like a bur on dry sweat pants and improved my life in countless ways.

He knew what to say all the time. “Life is just like tennis.” This quote from him helped me overcome my biggest downfall: getting mad over my mistakes. Anytime I would start to get flustered, he would talk to me and do what every great coach would do. He would say “it is in the past and get out there and show them how well I could play.” This resonated with me. That along with “life is just like tennis” made me apply that same thought to life. I believe that this is the reason why I live life the way I do, with an open mind, and have found great success.
It is obvious that John has taught me so much in both the world of tennis and life. I will never forget what he has taught me. Saddly John no longer lives here. He got a job out of state and he will be missed this season. The thing that I will miss the most though is the knuckle bumps he would always give. To his students, it was more than just a common gesture, it was a way to say go get them, and everything will be all good at the same time.

John has been as helpful as a dictionary on a spelling test. For all that John has done for me and everyone else on the team, thank you for being our coach.