Nathan Nguyen is never going to forget his afternoon at the 2017 Arthur Ashe Kids Day. He played tennis on center court at the US Open, won thousands of dollars for his National Junior Tennis and Learning chapter and got to meet his tennis idol – Rafael Nadal!

Nathan is an 8th grader at Michael Lunsford Middle School in Chantilly, Va.  and a member of the DMV/4 Star Excellence Team. The DMV/4 Star Excellence Team is one of 12 teams from across the United States  where youth players learn the importance of hard work, community service, grit and graciousness. Competitive play and education through tennis are especially emphasized by Nathan’s Metropolitan Tennis and Education Group coaches Malcolm Green, Jeri Ingram and Bob Pass. MTEG is the local National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) chapter connected to the DMV/4 Star Excellence Team.

Nathan had two major accomplishments that embodied everything that his coaches stressed to him over the years. On Saturday, Aug. 26, Nathan participated in the Annual Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day target hitting contest in front of tens of thousands of fans.  He competed against other boys and girls representing other Excellence Teams to see who could hit the most targets within 30 second intervals. The competition was played out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court at the Billie Jean Tennis Center, just days before the pros would be taking center stage there at the US Open. The boy or girl who hit the most targets would advance to the “money” round and compete with top tennis professionals from around the world. Talk about pressure!

Nathan (pictured middle) stayed calm and won the competition among his peers by a narrow margin beating out his Excellence Team teammate Malkia Menguene 17-15. Nathan then advanced to the “money” round where he competed against Angelique Kerber, Rafa Nadal, Venus Williams and Roger Federer. Each target hit won $1,000 for the player’s charity or NJTL. Nathan continued to show off his tennis prowess and won $18,000 for MTEG, which will help many underserved youth to develop their tennis skills and experience cultural enhancing events.  Nathan also got to take a photo with Rafa after the competition!

Just as impressive  – Nathan was a Section Champion in the Boy’s 13/14 age group in the USTA Foundation’s 2017 NJTL National Essay Contest. The contest was exclusive to children who participate in NJTL chapters nationwide. This year’s question asked: “In addition to tennis, education and life skills are extremely important to the development of our youth. Which one of the three components above is most important to you, and how will it help you throughout your life?”

In his responses, Nathan showed that his skills extend beyond the tennis court; he’s thoughtful and embodies the values of the NJTL Network.

Nathan is truly an exceptional individual. He regularly participates in community service events and charity work with his Excellence Team members, has a 4.3 GPA and always displays excellent sportsmanship on the court. Other accomplishments include:

• Top of his math class and received Honor Roll in 5th, 6th and 7th grades.

• Selected from USTA National coaches in Orlando, FL to represent Team USA and traveled to Canada to compete against the best players in Canada.  Nathan was instrumental in Team USA winning against Team Canada in April 2017. Finished number  1 in 12 and under in Mid-Atlantic for Doubles and number 2 for Singles.  Top 40 in 12 and under in the nation.  Won L2 doubles in Rochester, N.Y. in October 2016 and won another L2 doubles in Virginia Beach, Va. in May 2017. Participated and competed well in Orange Bowl in 2016.

• Nathan was selected to represent USA Virginia Development Academy to travel to Barcelona, Spain to play in an International Junior tournament called Mundialito in Spring 2017.  This tournament is extremely competitive and players traveled from Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Angola, France and England to participate.

• Played piano for 2 years, currently taking lessons and playing guitar.  Also enjoy fishing, playing basketball, reading, social media and gaming.

Ronnie Goodall is the Senior Manager of Community Tennis & Diversity at USTA Mid-Atlantic. His photo with Gael Monfils is one of his most prized possessions.

Throughout the summer, we’ll be sharing “diaries” of what kids at our TGA tennis camps thought about each day. This is what 7-year-old Sadie had to say about her day camp at Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Va.

Monday: We learned to throw the ball correctly. It was hard the first time. We learned to do it back in forth. I enjoyed the class a lot. I also enjoyed the water gun fight. I like my coaches John and Samantha.

Tuesday: Today is my 2nd day of tennis camp and I am having fun. We learned how to serve. I like working out a lot. I like my new friend Cynthia.

Wednesday: I like the water gun fights, they are great! I learned to do an over hand swing. Today is my 3rd day of tennis camp and I am having fun.

Thursday: This is my 4th day  and it is great. I’m starting to feel like a real tennis player. I like the water balloons fight and the water gun fight.

Friday: The group sang happy birthday to me and I enjoyed it. My dad got us cupcakes and we had fun. I loved my last day at Tennis camp. I love my birthday at Tennis camp.

Justine Ix is the mom of highly-ranked Mid-Atlantic junior player Alex Ix, who recently received a sportsmanship award at the Battle in the Burg tournament. We asked Justine to write about sportsmanship from the parent’s perspective.

My son recently won a sportsmanship award at a high level tournament and as a result of that honor, I have been asked to write this post on sportsmanship from a parent’s point of view. I have been struggling with this task, but in doing so have come to realize that my views on sportsmanship are directly related to my views on winning.

In her blog and TEDx talk, former Olympic ski racer, Edie Thys Morgan, suggests that we should look more closely at our relationship with winning and define for ourselves, what is winning? (Spoiler Alert:  Edie didn’t win an Olympic medal. Not even a Bronze.)

Not too long ago, another tennis parent asked me how do I stay so calm while watching my kid’s match. My response: “It’s just tennis.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love tennis. We are a tennis family. I am a true fan of the sport and like any other parent, I want my kid to be the winner! However, at the end of the day, when the match is over there’s still homework to be completed, chores to be done, animals to be fed and relationships to be nurtured. Life to be lived.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the details of the sport: training & tournament schedules, equipment, travel logistics, rankings, sponsorship, the lure of college scholarships, and most of all winning!  Winning is great and because we as parents want our children to be the best that they can be we strive to do all that we can do to make that happen for them. I am there. I do it too.  Unfortunately, however, the general consensus is that not everyone can be the winner and in tennis where the athletes battle head-to-head, it is abundantly clear: there is a winner AND there is a loser.  We know this because the scorecard tells us so.  But is that really the case? Maybe there’s more to it?

At a recent tournament, my son Alex, lost a hard fought match. Down a set and 5-1 in the 2nd it would have been easy for him to just call it a day.  However, Alex did not give up. He kept fighting and in doing so fended off 15 match points. He had some game points too. He couldn’t convert, but he kept playing hard. On both sides of the net what

Alex receiving his sportsmanship award after his match

transpired was great tennis. True determination and grit. Ultimately, the other player won the game, the set and the match. Alex was the loser.  After graciously congratulating his opponent at the net, Alex came off the court, the disappointment clearly showing on his face and I told him, that I could not have been more proud of him and his performance. Perplexed, he asked, “But why? I lost.”  It didn’t matter to me. To me, what the scorecard read:  Alex was a winner, and I knew that because in his performance that day, he defined for me my personal definition of winning:

• Working hard and trying your best
• Perseverance: the ability to keep going in the face of adversity
• Constant learning/adapting: How can I do better next time?
• Compassion for others and for oneself
• Fostering relationships & just being nice even when it’s hard (to your opponent, parents, players, tournament officials, etc.).
• Love what you do and do it with passion

And that’s what sportsmanship is to me.