Summer at TENNIS: Everything Ends

I grew up in a house built during the 1880s gold rush in Montana. It's brick, with white trim and has a romantic sense to it that my mom has brought out with her golden touch of decorating.

My favorite part of the house, however wasn't inside with the hardwood floors and intricate molding, instead, it was in the back alley, behind our garage. You see, the alley faced an old barn - yes, barn - that had the most perfect texture for hitting a ball against.

Starting at the age of 5, I would go out there most summer days, and some winter ones, too, and bash a ball against the wall until my forearm was numb. My neighbors were generous, never complaining about the noise or the wear-down on the wall I was guilty of. I became familiar with the drivers who used the alley as a short cut, and, remarkably, I won dozens of grand slam titles and thousands of adoring fans.

It had always been a dream of mine to be involved in professional tennis. Back in my wall-hitting days, I thought my role would be Wimbledon king and US Open prince, but past the age of 12, when I realized tennis was to Montana as water-skiing is to big cities, I turned my focus to my skill of the pen rather than my skill of the racquet.

This past summer, I have had the remarkable opportunity to work at TENNIS Magazine as an intern. It's been an opportunity that I at one point could've never dreamed of, and one that has taught me miles upon miles of lessons of the professional world.

For a boy from Montana, New York has no doubt been intimidating. The City has given me a lot, and hopefully I've been able to give back something through my taking. This all might sound cheesy and overdone, but it's given me a chance to see my future out of a pair of different lenses.

(The view from my intern cubicle. Well, actually this is from the top of Rockafeller. But a boy can dream, right? AIPT photo.)

Whether or not my future still lays in tennis or not, that I can't say, but I do know that I have a a good sense of where my ability stands, where my mind can take me and where my dreams still dwell.

A huge thanks to everyone at TENNIS, my summer savior Matt, Erwin for encouragement and all my family and friends keeping the emails and comments coming. Stay tuned to Talking Tennis for all your favorite updates from yours truly.