Hello all!

I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that we beat Great Britain yesterday in the semi-finals.  The bad news is that in my singles match, I pulled a hamstring stretching for a ball and had to retire leading 4-3 in my match.  I am so bummed!  Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to play today in the final against Italy.  Today my role will be to help coach the team.  I definitely hate the idea of not being able to play but I can still make an impact coaching.  The great thing about this competition is that as a coach, you can sit on the court with a player and give advice at any time.  I'm sure I will be able to help some of the guys.  Hope all is well I'm KC.  I will let you know later if we are the Potter Cup Champs!

Hey all,

A quick update.......Team USA beat Belgium yesterday and I won my match 6-1, 6-2.  I played well against a guy I have played before.  The last time we played I won but it was much closer  6-4, 7-5.  Today we play Great Britain who upset 2nd seeded France.  Should be a tough match.  I will write later with more details.  Weather is 80 degrees and sunny here.  Wish us luck!

Hello all!

Today I woke up at 6:30 and headed down to the lobby to read some devotionals and write some emails.  The team had a good hour and a half practice and it was good getting to know all of the guys.  I already knew most of them but not very well.  Lots of different nationalities are represented on this team and include......1 from Mexico, 1 from The Netherlands, 2 from Sweden, 1 from Scotland, 1 from Argentina and 2 Americans.  All of them except for me now reside in Florida.  Let's go Midwest!!!  Most of them played the pro tour at one time but Michael Pernfors, our number one player once reached the finals of the French Open losing to Mats Wilander.  Everyone on the team is down to earth and most have a great sense of humor.  It's fun hanging out and someone is always making a wise crack or telling a joke.  It adds to a loose and relaxed atmosphere.  A perfect one for success!

After practice, I took a shower and headed out to visit one of my favorite churches in the world......La Sagrada Familia.  I'm sorry I haven't been able to post pictures on this blog but if you have a chance to google this church, you should.  It's amazing!  The church has been around for over 100 hundred years and they are still not finished building it!!! It is supposed to finally be completed sometime after 2024.  One side of the church looks like a sandcastle and shows scenes of Jesus birth.  The other side of the church has a more modern look and depicts the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Truly awesome!

After my church tour, I headed back to the host club and our team conducted a clinic for special needs adults in Barcelona.  It was really great seeing how excited these people got playing tennis with us.  Some had trouble even making contact with the ball but others were really good and got really competitive.  I'm glad had the opportunity to do this.  It's always great to give back especially in a sport that has been so good to me.

Tonight, we had one of our official Potter Cup dinners at the club where we will be playing our matches.  We all had to dress up in our official Ties and Jackets.  It was a nice event with lots of toasts and speeches.  We all had a good time but I also think everyone is excited about starting play in the morning.  Enough of all the festivities......it's time to get down to business!  Belgium is the first country on the schedule.   Wish us luck for tomorrow!

Hello all!

Yesterday was a rest day for me and I did some sightseeing around Wiesbaden.

After lunch one of my teammates took me to a spa to get loosened up after yesterday's match.  The saunas at the spa were infused with different things like eucalyptus, peppermint and orange.  The Germans like to do these spa treatments regularly to help detox the body. This was a first for me and I am pretty sure I lost 10 pounds in sweat alone!  During our few hours there, we also spent some time in salt water pools and whirlpool baths.   I am now thoroughly detoxed and ready for Spain!

This morning, my friend Alex dropped me off at the airport in Frankfurt and we said our goodbyes.  It's always bittersweet when I leave Germany.  My friends there are so nice and treat me so well.  They act like I'm one of the family.  Alex and his wife and possibly a few of the others on the team said they would look into visiting Kansas City. I told them that we would show them a great time.

The flight to Barcelona was smooth and we had a great view of the Alps along the way.

For those of you that don't know, starting Friday, I will be playing on a U.S. 40 and over National Team that will be competing against 7 other countries.  The competition is called The Potter Cup.  We have a really good team this year and hopefully we can bring home the title.  

After unloading my gear into my hotel room, one of my teammates and I went to the Real Club De Polo to practice for an hour.  The temperature here in Spain is a little warmer than in Germany so the red clay courts are a little dryer and playing faster.  Another thing the Clay courts in Spain are famous for is a really high bounce after the ball hits the ground.  It definitely takes some getting used to.  It felt good to workout and we did some cross courts, some hi-lo drills, (you all that have been working with me should know that drill by now!), and eventually played a few tie-breakers.

Some of the members of the team arrived on late afternoon flights so my practice partner Agustin and I walked to get some dinner.  We both ordered a very traditional Spanish meal......Paella!  It was great,

Tomorrow, we will practice as a team and then do some sightseeing.  The draw comes out tomorrow night  and all of the teams in the event will meet for a special dinner at another famous tennis club in town.  

Talk to you tomorrow.

Hello all!

Unfortunately, the team lost the match today.  It was an all day affair that lasted until 5:00 pm.  The good news is that after a slow start I was able to represent and win both my singles and doubles matches.

In singles, I got off to a very slow start and got hammered in the first set 6-2. My opponent was a good player and had a big serve and forehand.  In the second set, I started getting more comfortable and played much better.  My focus clicked In and I was able to zone in on my plan.  Sometimes against really good players, it takes me a little time to solve the puzzle and figure out how to win.  The team I'm playing on is a 30 and over team so the guys are younger and play with more power.  Once I figure out how to neutralize their power game and get them to play to my strengths, I can turn the tide of the match in my favor.  That's exactly what happened!  I won the next two sets 6-1, 6-4.  There were some intense moments closing it out but it was awesome to win for the team.

You will all be glad to know that it's possible that everyone in The south western part of Germany knows about Kansas City now because every time I hit a winner or a great shot, my team mates would shout....LETS GO KANSAS CITY!  I'm sure the other team was wondering what the heck they were talking about!  For one day at least, Kansas City was the most well known city in the US!

After the singles matches were completed, the team was down 4-2.  That meant that we would have to win all of our doubles matches to win the overall match.  The partner I played with was a really strong baseline player but wasn't so experienced at the net.  He told me to just tell him what to do and he would do it.  I told him to crush his ground strokes and try to set me up at the net because I was going to be really aggressive.  The combination proved to be very effective and we crushed a really good team 6-1, 6-0!!!  My partner was so excited and was laughing at the way I was playing at the net.  I literally was a Net Monster!  Doubles is so fun when you are aggressive at the net.  That's why I coach it that way.  I have always said......"The party is at the net!"

The other two doubles teams were not as fortunate and lost close matches.  The team was a little disappointed but the mood quickly turned more upbeat as we had the traditional after match meal with the other team.  This is one of the cool things about German league tennis.  Win or lose, the home team always hosts the post match meal and the teams get together to eat and drink and talk about the match.

Overall it was a great time and a great day for me.  Tomorrow will be a more relaxing day.  I'm going to take a day off from practicing to let the body rest.  The plan is to sightsee a little in Wiesbaden and spend some time with my German friends.  Tomorrow I leave for Barcelona.  Talk to you soon!

Hello all!

Sunday was a nice day in Wiesbaden.  After an early practice, my friend Alex drove me to one of the finest wine making areas of the world.....the Rheingau region on the Rhine river!  We took some tours and did a little hiking and tasting.  Some of these vineyards have been around for hundreds of years.  It was a nice, relaxing day and I enjoyed learning about the great history of this area.

For dinner, we had a team cookout which was a great bonding time and a chance for me to get to know everyone on the team a little bit more.  The whole team is made up of great guys and you can tell they are all good friends.  One of the things I miss most about tennis since my college days is the opportunity to play on a team.  Just playing tournaments individually can get kind of lonely at times.  Playing on a team can be a much richer experience as you go through the ups and downs of competition together.

Tomorrow our match is at 9:00 am.  It's going to be a little chilly and cloudy.  Might not need my sunscreen!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day!

Hello all!

Yesterday I traveled through the night on a flight to Frankfurt Germany.  I was picked up at the airport by my friend Alex who is the captain of the team I will be playing on based out of Wiesbaden Germany,  Wiesbaden is a beautiful city about 20 minutes west of Frankfurt.  I was a little tired because I didn't sleep at all on the plane but was excited to be here.  Alex drove me to a bakery for breakfast and it was great catching up with him. 

The main goal on the first day when you travel to Europe to compete is to try to stay up all day and get acclimated to the time change.  The other goal is to practice for about an hour and a half and make sure your legs arrived from the trip as well.
After breakfast, Alex drove me to my hotel and I got unpacked.  Since I didn't sleep at all on the plane and was starting to get delusional, I decided to take a 1 hour cat nap thinking that might help a little.  After I got up, I took a 1 hour walk through a beautiful park that's near the tennis club.  Temperature was about 72 degrees so it was perfect.  We had a practice scheduled for 3:00 so the walk woke me up and I felt good and ready to hit some balls on the "red" clay that I  love so much!

We arrived at the club and met up with some of the other guys and went through an hour and a half practice.  To my surprise, I actually felt pretty good and moved pretty well.  My team mates were great and seemed so appreciative that I was there to play in the match Monday.  It's the biggest match of the year for them against their biggest rivals. 

One of the great things about playing on clay is that the courts can take a lot of rain and still be playable.  I have played many matches over the years in a light rain and the courts have been fine.  After a large rainstorm, the courts can be ready for action much quicker than a hard court because the water just soaks in.  After spending over 7 hours drying hard courts over the past 2 weeks I often think of how nice it would be for Hallbrook to have a few clay courts!  The ball also bounces higher on clay courts allowing for longer points.  It also teaches patience and how to set up points with a little more creativity.   Another benefit is that it's much easier on the legs and joints because you slide into your shots. 

After practice I walked back to the hotel and took a quick shower before dinner.  Alex and his wife took me to a very old and traditional German restaurant for dinner.  This place was very famous for making their own Apple wine.   The food was great and I tried a few things that looked a little sketchy but tasted great! I also had some "Hefeweizen" beer which is one of my favorite things to partake in when I'm over here.

At home, I am a really healthy eater.  We do a lot of organic and farm fresh food at the Clark house so it's always dangerous when I'm playing abroad trying to find the right foods to eat so by body stays healthy enough to compete.  The good thing in Germany is that you can easily get fresh vegetables, fruit and farm fresh meats at the local markets.  They are big into organic food as well.  I also always bring my portable blender with all of my protein powders and superfoods!  Don't know what I would do without that!  In Germany right now it is the season for "Spargel" which is white asparagus and strawberries.  Awesome!

Hoping for a fantastic long night of sleep to catch up.  Hope all is well back in KC!  Talk to you tomorrow.


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