Two freshmen, Coupeville’s Genna Wright (above) and Port Townsend’s Chiara Vignale, lost tough matches Friday. I have absolute faith in Wright bouncing back, and I hope Vignale is equally as strong. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Everyone wants to win, though not everyone gets to win.
If sports teach us anything, most of the lessons come from how we handle the losses. It’s there where we find our greatest strength.
Friday afternoon, as Coupeville played Chimacum in a girls tennis match, I saw two young women stung hard by coming up on the short end of the score.
Both were freshmen, one from the home team and one from the visitors, and they were reacting to far different losses.
One defeat came at the end of a long back-and-forth match, in a third-set tiebreaker, while the other loss came in straight sets.
The first young woman, Genna Wright, one of the brightest stars in Wolf Nation, had played a three-set match the day before, winning that one, and tiredness and frustration briefly bubbled over after she fell short by a mere shot or two.
It’s understandable, but, having watched her play through soccer and basketball seasons, I fully expect her to spring right back.
Genna has steel in her backbone, and while she rarely stops smiling, even while scrapping for rebounds or out-running defenders on the pitch, she can be a stone-cold killer.
I have complete faith in her, and her ability to bounce back.
Genna’s career sports arc is just getting started, and she will give her very-successful older siblings a run for their money. Of that I have no doubt.
The other young woman, Chiara Vignale, I don’t know. Hadn’t even seen her before yesterday.
Looking online, all I find is she’s a freshman at Port Townsend (the RedHawks don’t have a tennis program, so a handful of netters jump over and play with Chimacum) and she’s on the honor roll.
So, like Genna, she’s smart. Great place to start.
Chiara played third varsity singles Friday, falling 6-0, 6-0 to Coupeville senior Heather Nastali.
From the bits and pieces of conversation I picked up, it wasn’t clear if this was either her first singles match, her first varsity match, or her first match overall.
What was obvious afterward was she was hurting, not just from the loss but from the lopsided score.
“I didn’t think I would be this bad,” came through very clearly when she said it afterward to one of her teammates.
This is the moment, though, where I want to stop you, Miss Vignale.
To tell you that no, you were not bad.
You faced a seasoned opponent who is far more used to the winds that sweep across Coupeville’s courts, one who had a rooting section of her fellow classmates to spur her on.
Heather has earned her spot on the court, and she played strongly Friday. She deserved to win.
But you have nothing to be ashamed of, Chiara.
You did not take the easy way out. You continued to fight long past the point where a lot of players give up.
Down 5-0, 40-0 in the second set, you saved five match points. Five!
Those points came not on errors by your opponent, but on winning shots YOU hit, including one cross-court put-away that rivaled any hit by any player in yesterday’s match.
I know it’s hard to lose a match, but don’t lose faith in yourself, Chiara.
As a high school tennis player back in the olden days of the ’80s, and through many seasons as a writer, I have seen countless players and how they handle winning and losing.
I hope you take pride in yourself, Chiara, because you should be proud.
Proud that you didn’t take the easy way out. That you continued to fight for small, important victories even when you knew the war was over.
The more you play, the deeper your skills will go, and, I predict, the more wins you will capture.
Because you already have the most important component firmly in place, and that is your lion-sized heart.
Any coach, any fan base, would be happy to have you hefting your racket for them, Miss Vignale.
You may have lost a match Friday, but you exited a winner.
Please, never forget that and never give up. Ever.
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