STF Student John Mazanek Reflects on Balancing Pressure and Awareness
This summer, Serve The Future (STF) focused on the theme Awareness/Communication – ON & OFF the court, emphasizing Self-Awareness and Court Awareness. Reflect on how the activities, coaching, and experiences provided by STF challenged you to grow and helped you become more aware—both as a tennis player and as a person. How did this awareness impact your performance on the court and influence your choices, mindset, or relationships off the court? Use specific examples to show how STF made a difference in your personal development.
This summer, Serve The Future (STF) helped me improve both on the court and in everyday life. Before STF, I didn’t think much about how I reacted during matches or how I communicated with others in tennis and other sports I play. But over time, I started to change how I respond under pressure and how I talk to my teammates and opponents. This program helped me become more aware of myself, not just in tennis, but also outside of it.
One thing that changed was how I act after making a mistake. Before STF, I’d get frustrated, and sometimes I’d throw or bang my racket on the ground. Other times, I’d act cocky and do things that weren’t okay. I’d overthink everything and let one mistake mess up the rest of the match. Sometimes I got too confident, and that would throw off my opponents and even myself. STF helped me improve my mental game a lot. I can’t explain exactly how, but I’ve noticed a big change in how I act, both on and off the court. The coaches were supportive and helped me move on from mistakes instead of getting stuck on them. One example is how, during drills, if a teammate made a mistake, we were expected to tap rackets or say something supportive. If we didn’t, we’d lose points in the drill. That made me focus not only on myself but also on helping my teammates. Over time, I built up more emotional strength, and now I don’t get as frustrated. I’m able to stay calm and focused, which helps me play better.
Another thing that helped was communication. I used to be quiet during doubles and didn’t say much to my partner. In my first doubles match, I didn’t have the confidence to move around and go for balls. One time, a ball went right down the middle between me and my partner Victor, and no one got it. After the point, I asked him, “Should I have gotten that ball?” and he said, “Yeah, probably you should’ve.” I think we could have won that match if we had better communication. STF showed me how important it is to talk before and during the process. Once I started calling shots and encouraging my teammates, I played better—and so did they. At STF, we’d end every practice with a Triples game, and if the front person didn’t communicate, it was almost guaranteed you’d lose. The coaches made communication part of the game by adding rules, like giving five points to the other team if no one called the ball. That helped me build better habits. Now I know that communication is a big part of being a good teammate.
Everything I learned at STF also helps me in my regular life. In school, when things get hard or stressful, I try to stay calm like I would on the court. If something isn’t working in a group, I try to speak up and help fix it instead of just waiting. These are things I didn’t think about before, but now I try to use them more. In group projects, the communication skills I learned at STF have helped a lot. There’s more to communication than just calling balls or cheering. I’m now more comfortable saying what needs to be done or helping someone who might be struggling. STF isn’t just about playing tennis. It helped me handle pressure, talk better, and be a better teammate and person.
On the first day of camp, they asked us what it means to communicate on and off the court. I said, “To communicate on the court means calling balls and cheering on your teammates, and off the court is like calling balls that go out.” I realize now that it’s so much more than that. These weeks at STF have helped me a lot, and I’m really glad I got to be a part of it.
Jack Mazanek
North HS, Sophomore
1 year at STF
