Every time Alessondra Parra enters the Drumlins Tennis Center, she slaps the poem stuck to its wall.

The poem, titled ‘I Am,’ serves as a steady reminder of what the Syracuse tennis team is expected to be all about. The poem is about the constant preparation and mindset that goes into winning every match: eating right, practicing hard and the dream of winning the U.S. Open.

‘How we prepare and how we compete is what is going to define us,’ Parra said. ‘In the end, we will get the result we want as long as we put in the hours, and we’re smart about how we do put in those hours.’

Head coach Luke Jensen exudes confidence in everything he does, from his time as a professional player to when he covered tennis for ESPN. To Jensen, confidence is a quality as important as any when it comes to playing tennis.

Jensen wrote the poem in his second year with the program as a way to channel his expectations to his players. And Jensen’s confidence has trickled down to his team. The theme rises before every match: Respect everyone, but fear no one.

For junior Emily Harman, that mindset has carried Syracuse past certain difficult opponents this season. Even following a loss to Boston University this past weekend, the confidence that has become a defining characteristic, starting with Jensen, has enabled the team to move on.

‘Whenever you walk on the court and someone looks as confidently as we do, it’s something they definitely take into consideration,’ Harman said. ‘To be able to have that confidence every day and not really worry about the results is a huge asset to this team, and that starts with the coaching staff.’

The poem is just one of the examples of how Jensen continues to instill a positive attitude into his players. At the beginning of the semester, Syracuse players took time to paint numerous quotes from athletes, such as Arthur Ashe and Muhammad Ali, onto the walls at Drumlins.

A motivational quote serves as reinforcement for what the team set out to accomplish in the beginning of the season. For example, take the one from Vince Lombardi that reads, ‘The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.’

Jensen has posted similar reminders throughout the complex.

‘Our program is all about inspiration and taking the next step forward,’ Harman said. ‘Not only for collegiate athletics or academics but for the next step after that.’

When Harman came to SU three years ago, she had trouble buying into what the program was all about. Entering a young squad, Harman hoped growth would eventually take place.

Now she sees a shift in the attitude of the freshmen on this year’s Syracuse team. With leaders such as Harman and Parra, as well as the three seniors, Jensen’s wisdom is now heard from his veteran players.

‘There’s a level of confidence that you have to have as a tennis player,’ Harman said. ‘For (the freshmen), it’s huge to have that leadership around and for all of us to be very supportive of them and guide them in this process.’

Jensen’s goal is to establish a professional attitude among his players in everything they do. If players do not show a positive attitude at practice, that negligence ends in sprints.

Jensen knows it’s a simple concept. You have to think like a champion to become one.

‘If you walk in and say, ‘I’m a really good player, and I have really good players around me, I go to the best university in the world,’ you’re going to compete like that,’ Jensen said. ‘You’re going to play without fear, and in the end that’s what we’re trying to develop here.’

adtredin@syr.edu

 

Published on February 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm