A few weeks ago, I received a list of questions from a parent of a young junior, most of which addressed the challenges of being a ranked player and juggling training, tournament travel and academics. In the last edition of Coaches Q and A, Harold Solomon provided a detailed account of their work at the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute with 14-year-old Monica Puig of Miami. In this edition, Puig gets an opportunity to answer several of the questions posed via email, to recount her recent experience in Colombia as part of the Puerto Rican Fed Cup team, and to turn the tables a bit on Solomon and Andy Brandi, giving her thoughts on working with them.
What is it like to tour the US playing national tournaments?
For me to tour around the U.S. is a great experience and it is an incredible opportunity. I love to play against older and better players and that in the long run has made me stronger and wiser. I am very grateful that my family can support me financially to take me around the U.S. Not to mention, it is very cool to visit other different states and cities because it is very nice to see the difference in between one place to the next. I love to fly also, so that makes it very comfortable for me to travel from place to place.
How do you handle school and homework?
School for me is very important. I try to stay as ahead as possible so that if I ever go to a tournament and the internet is not available to me, I still can be relaxed and know that I am still ahead. However, it is not always easy for me to do school because I have such a tight schedule, but I always manage to find a little bit more time to sit down and finish my week. Sometimes, if I can't complete the week in time, I still have the weekends to do my studies. One thing that I have to say is that I can never fall behind because I have heard that catching up is very difficult and requires a lot of time. I am glad that I have never fallen behind and I am just happy to be ahead and on track.
Who travels with you to these tournaments?
My mother is the person who travels to me to tournaments. I love traveling withmy mom because she is like a sis ter to me. We have so many laughs and it is so nice to travel with her. Not to mention that if I ever need someone to hit with, she is always an option because when she was younger, she too was a tennis player. I am lucky to have a mother that supports me and is willing to travel with me to wherever it is that the tournaments are. I am very lucky to have such an incredible mom and I am glad that she is there with me no matter how hard it gets.
Talk about your social life.
Well, my social life is not that great. I don't really go out often on the weekends, and I stay at home doing homework. My social life really includes just being at my academy and talking to the people who I train with. I think that my social life is very brief. I like to go out when I have time, but I don't really go out with friends that often. I usually just go out with my cousins, and we have a great time. Even though I don't have that great of a social life, I still try to do my best to have one with family as much as I can.
Talk about your Fed Cup experience in Columbia.
Playing Fed Cup for Puerto Rico was a great experience for me. I had a great time training and playing with some really good players that are on the WTA tour at the moment. It was my first time playing on red clay and it was also my first time traveling out of the United States. I had a great experience in just adapting to a different surface that I am not usually used to, and I also had a great time adapting to the weather conditions and the different game style that you have to choose. I was the youngest girl that was there, and I also thought that i did a really good job. I was given a humongous opportunity by playing in two doubles matches, and a singles match. I didn't feel overwhelmed by the situation, on the contrary, I was beyond excited. I had a great experience playing against some really good WTA players, and I hope I get that experience again soon.
What is it like training with Harold and Andy?
Training with Harold and Andy is great and I have a lot of great things to say about them. Recently, in November and December of 2007, I had two of the greatest months in my career so far, by reaching the finals of the Eddie Herr and Jr. Orange Bowl. I think that a lot of my success had to do with the fact that both Andy and Harold pushed me to the limit. Because of this, I became stronger physically, and mentally. They also had long talks with me about having to pick up my game, and also about being so mentally strong that I can't break when things don't go my way. When I was at the Eddie Herr, unfortunately neither could make it to the finals, but I knew that they were there even if they weren't. However, in the Orange Bowl, I was lucky enough to have Andy with me in the Semifinals and Finals. I might have been nervous to start those two matches, but Andy sort of calmed me down with his positive attitude towards me. Harold and I are like best friends on and off the court. I think I can come to Harold and talk about anything. That is a bond that I have established with him and I wouldn't give it up for anything. Andy and I have had a tough time establishing that bond, but little by little, we have come to understand and know one another to finally be able to work with one another. I am a very lucky girl to be at this academy and training with two of the greatest coaches that I have ever trained with. I owe a lot of my success to them, but both of them agree with me that there is more to come, and we need to keep working as hard as we can to achieve those long term goals.
Do you have a question for Andy or Harold? If so, please send it to clewis[at]zootennis[dot]com with the phrase Coaches' Q and A in the subject line.
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