Former Clipper Cristiano Borrelli '04 (right) and girlfriend Sonaira (left) with Roger...

The End...

Well folks, that's all she wrote for the fall semester as far as tennis is concerned.  According to NCAA legislation, Rule 17.1.6.2.5 in case you were wondering, just a small paragraph of the ridiculously cumbersome and over-bearing 358 page finely printed 2012-2013 NCAA manual, countable athletically related activity (CARA) must cease after 11/30/12, yesterday.  Essentially, the NCAA decrees that no supervised athletic activities in our sport may take place from one week prior to our final exam period through the end of the semester.

Of course, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remember my college days but as I recall, I was a pretty decent student.  I approached my studies, and especially final exams, seriously.  Further, we expect our student athletes to succeed in the classroom as demonstrated in both teams achieving ITA All Academic status last season.  However, I am pretty certain that I did not completely cease all other activity so as to prepare.  In fact, I thought is was important to continue with my conditioning and/or athletics to clear my mind and to relieve any stress that may have accumulated.  Well, sadly, the NCAA feels that 6 weekly hours of plyometric conditioning out of 168 total hours in the week is unreasonable and far too taxing.  Oh well...

That being said, our conditioning segment was quite successful as the players have performed well and have shown  measurable increases.  The team surely understands that their fitness is, and will be, vital next semester.  We will play top competition and need to be ready physically, mentally and emotionally for the grind which hopefully culminates in Surprise, Arizona and near 100 F degree temperatures.  We are still learning and thankfully it is only December.  I like my team this year and think we have a chance to be special in May if we prepare properly.  

Some of the key notions that have been stressed:

• the importance of playing every point hard / not taking points off
• closing time / finishing strong
• never quitting 
• playing for each other and being an unselfish teammate 

A special shout out to Clipper alum Doug O'Connell '89.  My good friend and former teammate has challenged himself to train side-by-side with the fellas and has represented the 45 and overs well.  It has been a pleasure to have him with us and he has added something special to the sessions.  The team looks forward to having Doug involved in the spring.  I think they especially like hearing some of the old stories of my playing days including my always respectful behavior and interactions with the coach...

Other notes:

• I received a call from former Clipper Henning Ruenz this week.  Henning is back in Germany and currently working for Volkswagen.  He sends his regards to everyone and looks forward to returning to campus in the near future.

• The team looks forward to the arrival of 2 players next semester.  More on that to come later...

• Our women's team will also have some key additions.  Announcements forthcoming.  I have had so much fun coaching on the women's side and look forward to advancing our ranking.

Well, that's all for now Clipper-nation.  Check back frequently for updates and by all means join this site as a follower for improved access.  

Nuff said...

Summer Greetings...

I hope that all of you are enjoying your "summer break". I certainly have been enjoying a bit of the small ball as I have been privileged to get out on the golf course several times with former Clippers Rohan Malhotra, Neel Roy, and Doug O'Connell. Unfortunately, my game has not rounded into form just yet but it is nice to have the opportunity to enjoy the out of doors and catch up with members of the Clipper nation.


In other news, Tomasz Olfans has joined us in Bronxville and has attended summer orientation. Tomasz is really going to be a factor in NCAA II and he is ready to contribute immediately.

Also, Coach Neil continues his recovery and has now been removed from his cast and placed into a less restrictive brace that allows for more movement and the introduction of physical therapy. The somewhat apprehensive patient will be sure to progress quickly and hopefully be weight bearing fully in the near future.

In other good news, all tennis coaches have taken and passed the NCAA Recruiting Exam for the 2011-2012 season. This is good to get this accomplished on the first trial.

With any luck the players are looking to improve on their season ending NCAA II National Ranking of #4. For this to happen there needs to be plenty of hard work including summer fitness and on court improvement. If the players have been and continue to do so, good things will happen for the team. If not, well...not good for anybody.

Share the good! Feel free to report any good things that are going on with you. Share your comments in the comment section of any blog posts, send me an email at danabolics@aol.com, send me a tweet on twitter, or send me a facebook message.

Have a great August and be well.

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Macho Man

A long, long time ago, members of the men's tennis team at Concordia College were quite involved on campus. The following is an excerpt from a college "lip-sync" which was a popular phenomenon back in the 1980s.

Perhaps you will recognize some of the participants...



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Happy St. Patrick's Day...

Hold on to your hats Clipper fans, the season, and the hunt for my last piece of the puzzle...the NCAA National Championship is about the resume next week. As a result, see below for the upcoming match schedule:

Thursday, March 25th vs. Fairleigh Dickinson University 3:00pm

Friday, March 26th vs. Caldwell College* 3:00pm

Saturday, March 27th vs. Philadelphia University* 2:30pm

Sunday, March 28th at Bloomfield College* 11:00am

* - CACC (Conference) Match

The good news is that God has blessed us with some beautiful early spring weather which is much appreciated by tennis players and also those enduring the damaging storm that downed trees, power lines and sent my neighbor's patio furniture to my front lawn. With any luck, the tree that fell onto the third court outdoors will be removed shortly. In addition, I understand that former Clippers and current neighbors Sergiu Barbu and Rohan Malhotra have no power service yet and that my favorite German Shepherd Matrix is wearing a sweatshirt about the house.

In some other news...

A very Happy Birthday to former Clipper Vish Varghese aka Charlie, aka Charles, aka 56. Congrats and be well.

A second Happy Birthday wish to my niece Abby who is a St. Patrick's Day baby.

Lastly, wishing you all a very Happy St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy the spirit of the day and be safe. As for me, I gave up the green beer a long time ago...I will be wearing my green Kentucky Basketball shirt today however...Go CATS!!!

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A blessed man...

If you are a loyal reader or frequent visitor to this blog, you will know that I attended the wedding of Vish and Michelle Varghese this past Saturday. Outside of mentioning that the extravaganza took place during a substantial winter storm, yet turned out to be marvelous and special, many other thoughts were traveling through my head.

Now, most of you who know me well probably would not describe me as a sentimental man (although I really am at times) so this read may surprise some. Of course, I was heavily involved in tennis through college and a few years thereafter. However, I set the racquets, that are now antiques, down somewhere in the basement, or gave them away to friends when I decided that I no longer enjoyed playing and saw no future in tennis as a career. After about a decade away from the game, I came back to tennis and started to coach and implement strength and conditioning programs for the clippers. I started this as a way to honor my parents who were involved with the college and to give to a program that provided for me. However, sitting there at Vish’s wedding, I realized something else...

I am a very blessed person! I have the opportunity to meet and be apart of so many people’s lives from all over the world. Who knows if that is a good thing for them, but I know it is for me. In any case, let me continue. There I was enjoying a Greek beer (perhaps enjoying is a gracious term in describing the beverage experience) and my delicious dinner as my attention turned to the folks both at my table and the table adjacent. Seated were many former players, most of whom I recruited to Bronxville, and gentleman that I now call friends. Some came alone and some attended with spouses, significant others and/or friends. Regardless, I watched as everyone genuinely enjoyed themselves, and most notably, each other. For me, it was very gratifying to see so many make great effort to travel in terrible weather conditions and from far away places like Spain, Brazil, Morocco, India, and yes, Bronxville to be together and celebrate...together. Interestingly, it also seemed like, even though some had not seen each other for over a year or even longer, that no time had really passed. Friendships just picked right up as if they had seen each other the previous day. I felt a sense of great joy and comfort seeing this closeness and also that these guys had grown up from madcap college guys to mature young men, husbands, fathers and successful business people. In addition, the bonds that they have formed with each other are something special that I hope will never be broken.

At the beginning of each tennis year, we ask the players to submit a list of personal goals for the upcoming season and semester. In addition, the players are given a list of the Coaches goals. One coaches goal that often gets a funny look is: Every player makes a life-long friend. It was quite clear that this goal is really one of the most important, one that has been met by the vast majority of those going through the program, and certainly one that has been met by my fellow wedding attendees and even yours truly. I would bet this goal is better understood now.

Perhaps I am just getting old, or maybe simply suffering from the effects of too many Greek beers, but today is a happy day for me. I am very thankful to have been included in the special day and I will not soon forget how lucky I am to be associated with so many fine individuals. It is worth repeating that I am a blessed man. How great to play somewhat of a role in the development of other people’s lives. Even greater to see what they have done with those lives. I wish you all similar blessings.

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