I just got back from a vacation to Washington, D.C. Beautiful! Weather was terrible, but the museums were great! There is so much to see and to learn from. I had never seen the African American Museum. WOW! After seeing how many sacrifices the African Americans made and how poorly they were treated, it got me thinking.
 
In the 60's I was a struggling tennis player in middle school. My father had died when I was in first grade. My mother raised me and three other siblings by herself.
 
Also at this time segregation was at its height and I was clueless to this. There were two high schools, one for whites and one for blacks. The black high school had an excellent tennis team, headed by Coach Alex Mathews. My school had a very strong team on the top of the ladder, but not a lot of competition to practice with. So, the two coaches set up some practice matches. During one of the matches, Coach Mathews saw me playing and came up to me and introduced himself. He said he had a player on his team that he thought we could both benefit by practicing together. Boy was he right. Completely changed my game.
 
One day when I was invited to practice at their courts, many of the black students surrounded the courts and were yelling obscenities at me. It scared me. However, all the tennis team came over along with Coach Mathews and calmed everyone down. They all stuck their necks out for me.
 
I did not notice how they protected me until later. Coach Mathews protected me as if he were my father. I'll never forget this. The only thing I regret is not telling the team and Coach Alex how grateful I was.
 
Going to the Museum made me think about what I should be grateful for. Do not forget to thank everyone in your life who "goes to bat" for you!
 
Good luck on the Courts!