The WOW experience

A good friend of mine, Don Bui, asked me a few weeks ago to explain in more detail how I lived the WOW experience. The acronym WOW is for Wilander-On-Wheels. As they put it, is the fantasy (become true) of hitting with the 8 Grand Slams champion (7 singles and 1 doubles), Mats Wilander himself.

A few years ago Mats met Cameron Lickle, a nuclear engineer in the US Navy that had this idea of teaching tennis in different locations throughout the year. Cam was not a beginner in the tennis business; graduated in 2003 from the United States Navy Academy and captain of the US Navy tennis team in ’02 & ’03. The Swedish ace was hooked by the idea, as it would tie perfectly with his interest in teaching tennis and at the same time an excellent way to spread the word about the MW Foundation.

The MV foundation, tries to raise awareness on a genetic disease called Epidermal Bulluyosa (EB) or the “Butterfly Children” disease. Mat’s 15 years old son, Erik, inherited a mild form of this disease. There are many variations of EB, but basically the skin of these children is so fragile that it blisters and tears from minor friction. There is no treatment or cure to this date. For more information on this condition, you can learn from debra.org

Why on-wheels? Basically because our two friends decided to move on an RV from one location to another instead of an airplane. This way they see things differently and have the chance to do some camping and meet more people in a more personal way. When you get to the venue where the clinic takes place, you will see their RV parked there, making the first impression of a memorable day.

There are many formulas for the WOW experience, and if you are interested in knowing more about it, I encourage you to visit their site: http://wilanderonwheels.com/ and also their Facebook and Twitter pages. Cam himself is in charge of the content.

But going back to my personal experience, I was exceptionally lucky to have someone organize such event in the charming Le Montcalm tennis club. We had somehow some unstable weather so we had our on-court activity indoors. But before jumping to the big moment, I had the chance to peep a little bit on what the previous group was doing. Basically Mats and Cam split in two courts with four players on each one. There is only one activity that everybody shares at the same time: The warm-up, with some jogging, jumping and those sorts of drills. There is always a group/shift in the morning (sometimes 2 if the demand requires) and again one (or 2) in the afternoon. There is a lunch break that you can share with Mats and Cam for about 30 minutes and then another 45/60 minutes of questions that take the format of a press conference. You can ask them whatever you want about tennis… and as Mats revealed… also marriage. He says he has enough experience after 24+ years married so he can share a few tips there too.

I won’t transcribe the whole Q&A; as I said, they are open to answer any question, some people go beyond what I consider polite in their comments. Asking about a doping suspicion of a player of a different generation makes no sense to me. Girlfriends… don’t really care. But what I found very interesting was what he had to say on the way he faced the ’88 season (When MW became # 1) after such an incredible ’87. First, he didn’t do anything different in terms of the hours of training, or its intensity, yes he developed a little bit more his one-hand backhand slice as he noticed would be the weapon to start unlocking Lendl’s defense. And nothing else. He claims there was a big luck component in that season. In Australia he played the final against Cash, the local hero, and the guy failed a few volleys here or there that gave him enough air to go for the K. O. at the end of the match. Again in France, Leconte was up in the first set of the final but could not hold his nerves. Wilander for the kill again. Got surprised by Mecir in Wimbledon, but got his slice fired up for the US. Open and knocked down the top seeded (Lendl) in the final.

Overall his message was always to keep training, being humble, and accept that there will be days that things go your way and other… well… just don’t.

It was time to change and rushed to the court. My heart was pumping.  Wilander is clearly in his arena, the court is his spot in the house, so to speak. It’s like the guy becomes bigger and stronger once he steps into the court. First few minutes a quick introduction from both pros, they take the time to learn the 8 names that will make the run with them and explain how the experience is going to work.

Two groups of 4 players are formed, one goes with Cameron, and the other stays with Mats. Every 2 drills, groups exchange pro, so you have the chance to hit with all the 4 players within your group, and both pros. The pace is fantastic and each drill is finished by a game of points (doubles, king of the court, one-on-one, etc…) Corrections are made right away. A problem is spotted, they stop you, make the correction and off you go… and miracles happen!!

Some people may consider that such event could be a little pricy and so, that they could have x number of hours with their club pro for the same value. My experience with guys like Mats (Wilander), Guillermo (Vilas), etc… is that they will spot your weakest points in a couple of balls (instead of weeks or months) and they will provide you with few simple tips to correct that. If you like the cost-benefit analysis, you will realize that it’s worth every penny. Not saying stop working with the club pro. Most of them are excellent and super professional…but; how many of them have been in the ATP tour… How many Grand Slam winners, or top ten in the rankings. Anyone #1 in the World? High level competition gives them a comprehension of the game that you will not find that easily.

Cam is a fantastic player and pro if you ask me. He is quick to explain and goes straight to the point. Playing him is super hard. His serve flies at ultrasonic speed. Wilander on the other hand is trickier; he can let you put some balls back. Trying to earn a point can take FOREVER. Best chance is if you are in the attack mode on a hard court. Put your Pat Cash racing stripes headband, grip your weapon and start the serve motion à la Boris Becker… and GAME ON!! If you ask me what happiness and complete excitement is, I would try to describe the face of my drill partner when we were hitting one-on-one with Mats. This guy, a regular weekend warrior, played the most exciting point I’ve seen in non-professional tennis to this day. He finished with a forehand volley on the line and Mats almost on the floor. He turned to me, and the smile, the bright in his eyes, the blood flowing thru his cheeks denoted all the possible emotions a player can experience. It took him a while to come back to Planet Earth…

On another occasion we were playing doubles against Mats and another participant and it went down to the wire. Nobody wanted to lose. Hitting at the net with a guy so good at passing opponents gives you an incredible thrill. Winning a point there is unforgettable.

After 90 non-stop minutes you are good to go, take a shower and after some time to rest and make socials with the other participants, you are invited to a BBQ with the whole gang. Food was fantastic, the night cleared so we did it outside, with a view to the St-Laurent River. And we kept talking tennis with Mats and Cam. You could see there that the youngest (under 18s) were more lent towards Cam (in his early 30s) and his stories on the US Navy, and the seniors were sitting and chatting with Mats. I was surprised that after almost 8 hours he was still keen on talking about past, present, and future of tennis. His views on Eugenie Bouchard, on Milos Raonic, on Nadal, on Federer, his friendship with McEnroe, his best buddy (and doubles partner) Joachim Nyström… And so many more stories.

By the time of dessert, was also the moment to provide our friends with some beautiful souvenirs from the organizers which was very nice and truly appreciated by everybody present. There was nothing missing in the preparation Pierre Langlois had in charge. Pierre and his team took care, from the day you registered to the day of the event, of every single detail. He kept players and participants on the loop sending reminders by email. He even escort us to our car as he knew we had a long drive back to Montreal that same night (I was playing Côte St-Luc the following day) Mats and Cam on their end thanked us for coming that far just to be able to hit with them. So down to earth people… It was indeed a day to remember.

 

Yours,

 

Iron Gaucho