Passing The Torch

Overseer’s/Caretaker’s Note- Noel John Alberto

Dear VAVEL USA Tennis Writer,

It’s been a wonderful journey leading you guys for nearly a year now and am thrilled to be promoted to Recruiting Chair under the new regime of VAVEL. I’m first of all proud to pass this section down into wonderful hands with Max Gao as production/lead editor, Grace Cooper as assignment editor, Pete Borkowski as an editor, and Chris Spiech as our Sponsorship Chairperson. No, I’m not leaving at all, I’m just passing down the torch of lead tennis editor down to Max and Grace, when Max isn’t around. I’m here as your caretaker and overseer. For those who get the reference, I’m the Sir Alex Ferguson of this section, even though I’m not the one in charge anymore. I’m here to still post schedules, have fun/nag you all in the tennis chat, coordinate coverage, and much more. It’s impossible for me to leave, I just can’t. Leaving this section is the equivalent of leaving your baby. I just have no heart to leave, even with how busy I am. Why? Because this is my baby, I built this from the ground up, and more than that, I love tennis, and I love this tennis team even more. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but heck I think we built this juggernaut faster than the Roman Empire built theirs.

We’re still technically the baby of the site, as the youngest section of the site, but that has not stopped us from reaching unbelievable heights. From when I started with VAVEL back in February of 2015 and VAVEL USA in March 2015, I did not think that only after a few short pieces, I would be promoted as the lead tennis editor. After writing over in the UK site with my first core group of writers, special shoutout to Joely Cook, Pedro Henrique, and now assignment editor, Grace Cooper, I began the revolution to try and get actual coverage on the USA site outside of the more sports tab. Not only did I fight, but I won. Starting in late May 2015, the tennis tab has it’s own section on the VAVEL USA site, on the far right side on the top of the home page.

In our first full month on the site, we hit over 100 articles for the first time and began challenging the Big American sports as the top of the food chain. In just three short months in August 2015, we broke a VAVEL USA edition record, as well as a VAVEL English (US/UK) record, for most articles in a month at 233, and that was with only one day of the US Open. Despite the drop in articles over the following months after that, a newly-formed team of myself, Grace, Chris Spiech, and Max Gao spearheaded a massive movement at the turn of the calendar year.

With the four of us, and the short offseason, under my leadership, we not only broke, we smashed the VAVEL USA/VAVEL English record with 433 articles. Every single one of your contributions meant so much as we went from being non-existent to the biggest impact that we could have. However, there was still something missing. Despite the 433, we were still second. Second is the first loser. Just remember, if you’re not first, you’re last. Over the next two month, I vowed to gun down VAVEL Spain Tennis, the juggernaut of the VAVEL Tennis world. They had just beaten us by 18 in January 2016, and with these two months, I was ready to come in “locked and loaded”. We were once again the bridesmaid, not the bride, sorry Andy Roddick, in February.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” That quote from Samuel Beckett, or as most of you know it from, a tatoo on Stan Wawrinka’s arm, is what I wanted for March. I wanted us to, “Try again. Fail again. Fail Better.” I wanted that gold medal, that trophy, that elusive missing jewel in the Grand Slam/Olympic cabinet. We’ve achieved everything I wanted in nine months. However in month 10, March 2016, we did it. We became Roger Federer at the 2009 French Open, Nadal at the 2010 US Open, Andy Murray at Wimbledon 2013. We captured the missing coveted jewel, and that was toppling VAVEL Spain Tennis as the number one section in ALL OF VAVEL. We just ascended to world number one and now the VAVEL version of the Fedal rivalry was born. The head-to-head is only 2-1 in favor of Spain for now, but I’m sure these numbers will begin to hit astronomical totals just like Federer-Djokovic, Federer-Nadal, and Nadal-Djokovic have done in over the past decade-plus.

I want to end on this note. Thank you, to every single one of you, whether you’re a writer, active or currently busy with school which I understand, an editor, or someone in charge of the social media. I thank you. I thank every single one of you for making these past 10 months the most memorable while I was in charge. Like I said earlier, I’m not leaving, and technically it’s not a new regime. However, I want it to be known that Max is your lead man now, and not myself, but I just can’t bare to let “my child” go. Just like the Olympic Torch, I’m passing the flame on to another runner who can keep the flame lit in this section, as I know that the fire will continue to shine brightly here.

Thank you,

Noel John Alberto