Mental Skills at Randy Ross Tennis Center
January 14, 2021
Mental Toughness Training with Steffie Hi, I’m Steffie Skarwecki, Sport Psychologist, Tennis Professional and certified Mental Toughness Trainer. In my experience with tennis players of all levels and ages, I have found a common theme: players know very little about the mental side of tennis and even less about how to train for mental toughness. […]
No fear
January 14, 2021
I’m sure you’ve seen video clips on the news lately showing people getting vaccinated for this nasty virus. If you’re like Sally and cowboy, you are thinking to yourself…do they really need to be using needles that long? And, is it true that shots are now being administered at Brakes Plus? Let me assuage your […]
Blessings
January 14, 2021
A little morsel for you spawned whilst driving to the river Monday. Our minds are like radio channels or frequencies. We control the channels that stream to us. There are some frequencies that are static free and play the most beautiful songs 24/7. They put us in this peaceful place where no worries intrude. There […]
Reflection
December 18, 2020
‘I looked around and began to realize that there is a lot less time ahead of me than what’s behind me.’ Barry Gibb
Panic in the suburbs
December 16, 2020
A very young and tired cowboy was about two Ahhhhmen breaths away from la la land last night when rudely awakened by Sally. She was, and I’m not exaggerating, in a frenzied state of panic screaming ‘THERE’S SOMEONE IN OUR HOUSE.’ I jumped from my bed unfortunately neglecting to grab the Louisville Slugger baseball bat […]
Table for two
November 26, 2020
Thanksgiving during a pandemic…my, oh my, have things changed. And still we’re hopeful…still optimistic that next year will bring the world back to normal. Health, happiness, and hope to you all.
Rock Stars!
November 22, 2020
Blake and Taylor love to dance. They love their dogs, Halloween,and spending time with their cousins. The two sisters sure impressed a very young cowboy today on the tennis court as they raced from sideline to sideline. As they say…’we love to compete with our feet’.
Rare gifts
October 4, 2020
Who knows where our talents come from? Whether it’s music or athletics, or comedy or art, it is enough that we take time to be grateful for our own gifts and to marvel at those of others. We’re proud of our daughter Carly’s gift in art. This is one of her recent creations. Rock on, […]
Ellie
February 28, 2016
A very young cowboy finished twenty-six holes of golf and was famished. A Mexican chicken salad sounded great and Cafe Rio was only five minutes away. Two twelve year old girls were laughing non stop while deciding what drinks to select. The taller youngster looked at her friend and said, ‘Ellie…I love you, you make […]
Morning Pages
January 3, 2016
Well….a new year is here and another birthday too. Sixty-nine and all is well. The cup is full to overflowing still with barely a thought about the normal maladies that come with the territory. A very happy young cowboy puts on a favorite hat and watches yet another sunset. With eyes closed and a deep […]
Perseverance
January 11, 2021
‘Not every day is a good day…but there’s good in every day’. Captain Chad Fleming, US Army
Holy Schmole
January 10, 2021
How is it that I’ve lived these many years and never heard of Tommy Emmanuel…or explored the genius of Roy Clark? The people I admired most resided in the world of sports…Dr. J, Pistol Pete, Magic Johnson, Jenny Finch, Michael Jordan, and Sandy Koufax. Well, time to add three more…Eva Cassidy, Tommy Emmanuel, and Roy […]
Emotional mastery
January 3, 2021
The Head football coach for Ohio State made a revealing comment on tv last night. He said, ‘You have to play with emotion…but not let emotion play with you.’ How many tennis players do you encounter who let their emotions play with them?
Favorite Sounds
December 29, 2020
My good friend Hodgie encouraged me to try a little experiment. After relating a story about his family’s pet owl that lived in their house, he suggested identifying my top 5-10 sounds of all time. A very young cowboy loved the idea and decided to share it with friends. Here goes… The sound of kids […]
Opportunity
December 27, 2020
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” Helen Keller
Passion in Action
December 13, 2020
‘The purpose of life is a life of purpose.’ Robert Byrne Dedicated to Wendy Oakes
Recycle Tennis Balls
December 8, 2020
I ran into Richard Oliver last Sunday on the tennis courts. He mentioned that he is involved with an organization that recycles used tennis balls. Richard said it takes over 200 years for discarded tennis balls to erode and his group recycles and puts the materials to good use for schools and other worthwhile projects. […]
Wish I’d met you, Mr. James
December 5, 2020
A very young cowboy viewed a somewhat dated fishing video yesterday featuring a well known guide and author Ian Colin James. He and another angler were fishing streamers in very low water in Canada. Mr. James was utilizing a technique I’d never seen before. I decided to try to find him online to forward a […]
A big time hero
November 26, 2020
Alex Smith is smiling again. Tonight, he quarterbacked The Washington Redskins to a convincing win on the road against The Dallas Cowboys. What an incredible comeback story. On November 18, 2018, he suffered a compound fracture of his leg. Alex has had 17 surgeries since that fateful day and developed a sepsis infection that threatened […]
Reflection
November 24, 2020
A very young cowboy’s Alma mater…Mesa College (now Colorado Mesa University) has come up with a terrific idea. It’s called The CMU Center for Reflection. A sanctuary where students can go day or night to get their thoughts together, find some peace, and remove themselves from the hecticity of their world. During these covid times, […]
What You’re Saying