At the last Rose Café, Silviu Tanasoiu, coach of the men’s varsity tennis team at Cornell, discussed the challenges student athletes face in trying to balance academics with athletics.  He constantly emphasizes to players that being on the team is a huge privilege, after all there are only 48 players in the Ivy League and they are fortunate enough to be one of those 48.  He compared being on the varsity tennis team to trying to get a medical degree while serving in the military, a task that seems nearly impossible.  After hearing about the the practice schedule and game schedule that these players have to commit to, this comparison does not seem unreasonable.

I found Coach Tanasoiu’s own story about how he became a coach very compelling.  When he was very young, he was fascinated by people playing tennis at the local park and begged his father to let him play.  Once he started, it became the focus of his life.  He would even play in his apartment building, and ended up breaking his neighbor’s window 4 times!  He became a an excellent tennis player and was selected by his home country, Romania, to compete in the orange bowl in Miami.  His parents were so devoted to supporting his passion for tennis that they sold their one car to pay for his airplane ticket to the competition.  Along the way to becoming the Cornell tennis coach, he has had some incredible coaches and mentors himself, who helped him get to where he is today.

Coach Tanasoiu is always telling his team to be grateful for the opportunity to play, because it is something that very few people have.  He was a very inspiring person to listen to and has overcome many challenges himself, allowing him to empathize with students and motivate them to try their hardest every time they step on the court.