A Legendary Lesson

Last spring, Rod Laver, the only player to have ever won the Grand Slam tennis classic two times, was hosting his annual tennis event at the La Costa Resort which is about a three minute drive from my home in Carlsbad. He was raising funds for Hospice Care on behalf of his beloved wife of 46 years, Mary Laver, who had died after a long illness in 2012. The opportunity to meet Rod and to receive a 20 minute tennis lesson and photo opportunity with him was irresistible. I wore a Deerfield shirt and belt for the special occasion. .. Of course, I’m now a formidable player and might even make the Octogenarian Varsity team at our 65th Reunion in 2020 ! Rod is our age, 80, and stands at 5′ 8″ tall. I’ll wager that in his prime he could have beaten the giant players of today with their 100+ mph serves ..

Caption for the photo: Tom L’Esperance with the legendary Rod Laver

Tom L’Esperance

1955

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