CORY PARR: JOPLIN, MISSOURI

Cory Parr

Hi everyone. I am now writing to you from Joplin Missouri after my first round matches today. It was a pretty good day winning my first rounds in both singles and doubles. It is always nice to get off to a good start at these tournaments. These early matches can help you get confidence later in the week.

Just to keep you updated on the last few days, I flew into Kansas City airport with my doubles Todd Paul and his coach Gwinyai. The airport here in Joplin is really small and really expensive to fly into, so the easiest and most logical route was to fly into Kansas City and drive three and a half hours to Joplin. Not fun, but that’s what you have to do. We arrived here on Sunday and hit up the practice courts as soon as we got here. We hit for about an hour and a half, then worked out in the gym a little, and had a good stretch.

One of the benefits of being in the main draw is the housing that the tournament provides you. I am staying with this really nice guy named Bruce at his home here in Joplin. It definitely gets a little boring when you are not playing a match or practicing, so having a nice place to stay to keep yourself busy is really important. Bruce has also been great this week coming to all of my matches to cheer me on. Since I played my first round today, I actually have the day off from singles tomorrow, but have my next round of doubles in the afternoon. Tomorrow I am actually still going to be at the club pretty early around 9:30, to warm up my doubles partner Todd for his singles match. I will then probably have another light hour and a half hit, and get a good stretch from the athletic trainer. Being disciplined and staying focused throughout these tournaments is extremely important. I feel that the time you spend taking care of yourself off the court is almost as important as what you do on the court during your match. The time that you have free, I feel should be used strategically to get you ready where you are able to give yourself the best possible chance of winning. I would hate to lose a match knowing that I felt tight, sluggish or even unprepared because I didn’t stretch or warm up properly. Life at tournaments might sound a little boring, but again this is a job and the main focus is on the tournament and doing well. There is still some time for movies and good dinners. I hope to update you all next with good results. That is all for now.

CP