SF Tennis Freak

Posts Tagged ‘GLTF’

Back in college, I read a book that had a profound effect on me: both positive and negative. The book was The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren.  At its’ core, The Front Runner is a story about the love affair between a coach and a runner.  And back in an era that was rife with tragic stories of what happened to gay men who attempted to love and be happy, I was swept away by this seemingly positive narrative.

Sadly, my sense of happiness was short-lived. One of the primary characters, the runner, was shot and killed as he surged toward the finish line ahead of his rival. After two days and many tears, I was finally able to finish this bittersweet tale of yet another tragic gay love story.

It’s against this backdrop that, almost thirty years later, I received a copy of Match Maker from its’ author Alan Chin.  Match Maker is the story of an ex-pro/tennis coach who takes on the job of coaching a talented, but undisciplined, player in the hope of helping him reach the top of the professional game.  Though Match Maker is set against the backdrop of professional tennis, I immediately drew parallels between the two books because of the relationship between the gay coach (Donald) and his star-athlete tennis player (Connor).

There are, however, several major differences between the two books.  Unlike Harlan, the gay coach in The Front Runner, Donald is partnered, albeit in a troubled relationship with a borderline alcoholic ex-professional tennis player (Jared).  And Connor is a straight tennis player, who is conflicted by his own desire to be a doctor and his father’s desire for him to be a top professional player.  Also, Connor is Asian, which adds other cultural layers on top of an already unconventional storyline.

Even with those differences, I still prepped myself for the moment when tragedy would befall their crew because of the sexuality issue (because that’s what usually happens).  Sure enough, the moment came when Donald was shot and paralyzed at a tournament as the crew was heading to practice courts amid frenzy surrounding their participation at the Miami Masters. As memories of my collegiate The Front Runner experience came flooding back, I hoped that this wouldn’t become another gay man overcoming tragedy “in spite of” story.

Happily, it wasn’t!

Match Maker turned out to be an inspirational story of how the attack caused everyone to reflect on their lives, loves, and choices. And inevitably, how they overcame and moved beyond such a horrific event.  The road getting to that point wasn’t easy, and there were a few unexpected turns along the way.  But the net effect was still positive in this story of love and of working through life’s toughest circumstances.

I emailed Alan to give him my impressions of the book (I liked it) and also to ask a few questions on Match Maker and discuss the parallels between it and The Front Runner.

Q – First item: should I use the Amazon link for purchase, or do you have a special link that readers should use?

A – Yes, the Amazon purchase link is good. If readers don’t like dealing with Amazon, they can go directly to my page at Dreamspinner Press.

(Author’s Note:  Links are at the end of the article)

Q – Before I begin I must tell you that it brought a smile to my face every time I saw familiar names of our mutual friends in the GLTF.  My initial question is one that I think I know the answer to regarding your inspiration for writing this book.  Was it inspired by The Front Runner?

A – My inspiration for writing Match Maker was two-fold. The first was a love of the game and a desire to write about it. The second reason was I had just finished reading The Front Runner for a second time, and I wanted to strangle Patricia Nell Warren. I hated the fact that The Front Runner, like most the other gay-themed books I’d read to that point, made the gay characters silly drag queens or gave them a tragic ending. I wanted to write a gay sports story where the gay guy hit rock bottom, but found the strength to overcome all odds and win in the end.

Q – Were you hesitant about writing this book given the obvious comparisons?

A – I wasn’t hesitant about comparisons with The Front Runner at all. I wanted readers to see the vastly different way I handled the story.

Q – Was the primary story behind Match Maker that of Donald and Jared, their story of love and redemption, or did you initially set out to focus more on Donald and Connor?

A – Yes, the A story is a story of love between Daniel and Jared, and their road to redemption. The B story is the symbiotic relationship of how Daniel and Connor help each other, give each other what they need to move on with their lives.

Q – What kind of research did you do, or first-hand knowledge did you have about the dealings with agents and such? This is a novel, but I’m sure you had some basis for the character of their agent J.D., yes?

A – The only first-hand knowledge I had about dealing with agents was from dealing with literary agents. I have never known a sports agent, and really know nothing about them. I simply tried to make JD an interesting character. Funny thing was, he turned out to be one of my favorite characters of the book. The old lady in Spain was another favorite. I really fell in love with her.

Q – I liked the unexpected way in which the story unfolded for both Connor and Jared. Especially given Jared’s early struggles with alcohol, this was really a story of redemption in many ways.  That’s a theme I tend to prefer in narratives such as this.

A – Yes, most of my stories are stories of redemption. It’s a favorite theme of mine.

Q – Also, it’s rare that I cry while reading a book. (Author’s note: slight spoiler alert) But I did cry when they unveiled the chair for Donald.  It was so unexpected and touching.  You really pulled one over on us.

A – I still cry when I read certain parts of it. So don’t feel alone.

Match Maker is available direct from the publisher (Dreamspinner) or on Amazon at the links below:

Dreamspinner:  http://tinyurl.com/7mxkeut

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Match-Maker-Alan-Chin/dp/1615815872/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337582004&sr=8-2

This was a busy weekend for the GLTF, as two of the Women’s USTA adult league teams were playing at Districts (one in Alameda and one in Sunyvale).  Match times were the same for both locations.   I wanted to make a point to cheer at least one of the teams on and do a write up, but I unfortunately had to choose which location to cover.  Just for scheduling and distance, I opted to see the Longshots play in Alameda at the Harbor Bay Club on Saturday.

My apologies to the Sweetshots.  Wish I could have been there as well.

After a winning day on Friday, the Longshots continued their strong run by sweeping the doubles against Lafayette for a 3-2 victory.  First up on the main show court was doubles with Tara and Jeane.   I arrived with the match already in progress thanks to the wonderful traffic on 880, but the match was already well under control.  Tara and Jeane played great tennis to come away with the first win.

Claire played in the first singles match-up, and tried hard in her “sacrifice” singles position.  But her opponent was just too tough.  To her credit, Claire kept an amazingly positive attitude on court and kept playing hard until the last point.  Even afterward she was upbeat and quite funny in this brief chat we had while watching the second doubles.  It’s pretty funny, and I can see myself hanging out with Claire and laughing my butt off the whole time.  The clip is published with her blessing. 🙂

Claire V. interview at Districts (AUDIO)

Click here or on the picture at right for the image gallery

Next up was the duo of  “Down the line” Donna and “Pato” Penny (please excuse me if I’m butchering nicknames too badly!).  They were on and through quickly, with a strong beat-down of their opponents in straights.  The last two matches were the doubles duo of  Penny-Kathy, and Nicole in singles.  I think there was some kind of a curse on court #2 at Harbor Bay for our “singles ladies”.  First Claire, and then Nicole … locked in tough battles without easy access for team support.  From what I could see through the fence, Nicole played tough but came out on the losing end.

So there it was… match on the line with a must-win for Penny and Kathy.  And wouldn’t you know that they came through a tough battle on the main show court for the clinching victory.  If this had been day 3 I’m sure there would have been a mad dash on the court with jumping and scrumming.  But with a final tough day of play the ladies settled for high fives, hugs, and Coronas!

It was great watching the Longshots compete so well under such tough conditions.  The team support was also great to see.  These ladies like playing together and it showed!  A note of thanks to all of them for welcoming me into the fold for pictures and questions.  To quote Tara (who came up to me after her win with Jeane), “I saw you taking our picture… who are you?”.  Thank god I could explain myself adequately and it didn’t get ugly. 😉

In all seriousness, they were great to be with on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  I wish I could have come back Sunday to cheer the Longshots on.  Jeane e-mailed later in the day that they lost their last match to end 2-1 in round robin play, same as the Sweetshots.  But I’m sure it was still a great effort from all… even at 8AM on a Sunday!  Congratulations to both teams, and all the best for your off-season and a repeat performance next year.