Maine East senior Mindy Weiner, the defending state singleschampion, knows the importance of off-season competition "is criticalin keeping us technically, tactically and physically sharp."
To stay sharp, Weiner had been anticipating her usual volume ofnational and regional tennis tournaments this summer. In June,however, her summer plans suffered a setback. In a softball game,she broke her right ankle. She was told she would be unable tocompete in tennis for nearly two months.
So she learned how to combat adversity.
"My ankle was put into a cast for six weeks," she said. "Atfirst, I was quite disheartened. Tennis has always been such a bigpart of my life. Also, I knew I'd need the strong summercompetition to be ready for the 1989 high school season. There areseveral excellent players who will be trying to take my (state)championship."
Weiner regards 1988 state runner-up Jennifer Nasser of Hersey,Regina Dominican's Sheila Considine, Lyons' Laura Dvorak, New Trier'sMegan Mawicke and Homewood Flossmoor's Iffy Okorafor as her major challengers.
Weiner lifted weights to strengthen her upper body, conditionedher left leg to keep those muscles strong and hit balls with hersister Shelly to keep her reflexes and technique sharp.
In addition, she attended physical therapy sessions at HealthPlus, a sports medicine facility in north suburban Bannockburn. Sheworked out under the supervision of well-known kiniesiologist BobGajda.
"He really helped," Weiner said. "Not only did he speed myphysical recovery, our discussions kept my attitude right. When Ifirst got hurt, my attitude wasn't the best. I thought without thesummer tournaments I might not be physically ready to successfullydefend my championship.
"Now I realize my summer work helped keep me in reasonablecondition. I may be somewhat rusty at the beginning of the seasonbut I believe I'll be ready for the state tournament (inmid-October)."
Weiner will have to be at her best to match last year's 31-0record. She lost only one set - to Nasser in the state final. Shecredits her dream season to her development of greater self-control. To develop patience, she solves jigsaw puzzles. "I think it reallyhelped my mental tennis game," she said.
"Mindy could always hit the ball very hard," Nasser said. "Butthe difference between the 1988 Mindy and the one of previous yearswas her self-control. She didn't let herself get frustrated on thecourt."
"My greatest improvement was emotional," said Weiner, who alsohad to battle sporadic asthma-related problems. "I stopped trying toforce things and stopped letting my eagerness control my game."
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