Advice from Roger Federer

I wanted to share something with you that I found both inspiring and, oddly enough, related to the Rolland philosophy we’ve been studying so intensively this week.

Some of you may know that a few weeks ago tennis star Roger Federer gave the commencement speech at Dartmouth College.  I was traveling at the time and finally this evening took a moment to watch him speak. If you have not already seen it, I highly recommend the video and text (see the link below). 

Perhaps I’ve been in such a Rolland “bubble” this week that everything seems Rolland-inspired, but truly Roger Federer seems a disciple of how Rolland grounded his extensive teachings in simple principles of movement.  At the very end of his speech, Federer, much to the surprise of the enormous audience, asks for his racquet, and says:

” … OK, so, for your forehand, you’ll want to use an eastern grip. Keep your knuckles apart a little bit. Obviously, you don’t want to squeeze the grip too hard... switching from forehand to backhand should be easy... Also, remember it all starts with the footwork, and the take-back is as important as the follow-through.  No, this is not a metaphor! It’s just good technique.” 

After a speech in which he gave the students serious pieces of life advice (“nothing is effortless,” “life is more than the tennis court,” etc.) Roger Federer reverted to a simple statement about how to just play well. Because while the pursuit of higher goals should guide our lives across the years, on a day-to-day basis we can make a difference in our students’ lives by just helping them to play well.  Talk about the teaching of action in string - or tennis – playing!

I am deeply moved that this collection of nearly one hundred people has dedicated many hours this week in the fatiguing World of Zoom, simply to focus on how to play well, echoing the advice of one of the world’s greatest players (in another field).  How cool is that?

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2024/06/2024-commencement-address-roger-federer#modal