May 15, 2004
MU Standout Urska Juric has been awarded the ITA Central Region's Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. This award annually goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievement. Juric joins seven other outstanding regional winners nationally and is a candidate for the national award, which will be announced May 23rd. She was nominated on behalf of Missouri and had to present a statement for consideration. She was selected by the ITA Central Region Committee. This is the first ITA Arthur Ashe Award for any Missouri tennis player.
Juric's Statement for Consideration:
I started to play tennis when I was young girl from one of the smallest countries in Europe - Slovenia. I felt tennis was great for me. I traveled to different countries to play tournaments and early on, I wanted to become a professional tennis player. However, lack of money kept us from being able to compete on the professional level. I was sad about this for a long time ago. However, I received a great opportunity to study in the U.S. with a full scholarship at the University Missouri-Columbia.
In addition to playing tennis it gave me the opportunity to gain my Bachelor degree in Business Administration with emphasis in marketing. It has also given me the opportunity to meet with other people in the Columbia community who came and watched our matches. If I had the chance to do it over again, I would choose the same path; same coach Blake Starkey; same group of girls on our team; same community; and same university.
I see tennis from two different perspectives. One is obviously the competitive side. The other is the side where you feel you can help people. As we began to have success, there were great opportunities to help other people and hopefully impact their lives positively. Coach did a great job getting a lot of people out to our matches. People would say watching us play was "the best part of their week". To me and the girls on our team, playing tennis at Missouri has been bigger than just playing tennis for ourselves. We had parents and small kids who would come watch us and, while we enjoyed it, it was a responsibility to play hard, not for ourselves, but for them.
I have been told I've done a lot since I've been here. It says here I'm supposed to list accomplishments, and I'm not really comfortable with this. Yes, Katka and I won Regionals, yes, we've been on the first team to go to NCAA's, and on and on. There has been a lot. But the thing I'm probably most proud of is any given day in practice for four straight years. This sounds strange, but it's true - they were all different, but they have all been the same. What I mean is the way I, and we, practice, has been all the difference. Of course we had some bad days as everyone does. But when I look back, we worked hard and I am proud of the way things have gone.
I am proud that I have tried really, really hard every day and every time I've been on the court whether it was practice or a match. I have been lucky, because I've been around a lot of girls who also are not lazy, and who also work hard. We made a deal early that, especially in practice, no one would accept giving less than they could. There are a lot of things I'm proud of, and a lot of things I'll never forget. But the thing I'm most proud of is, from where we started, this team got good enough to make it to NCAA's. It started with our group first coming together and the daily work we did in practice. The girls are from different countries with different personalities and ways of thinking. We did the work, and that is what I am proud of. I respect my teammates, and I admire every one of them.
If I had to find one word for to describe my team, it would be TEAMWORK. Not just the kind of the teamwork on the tennis court but also away from the tennis court. These girls, and coach Blake Starkey and assistant Cecily Debusker, are a group of people who care about each other; help each other; and who were capable of doing something that never happened before in Mizzou tennis history. The great synergy, team work and a lot of effort and hard, smart work led us to become first tennis team here to participate at the highest level of the college tennis. We were the first MU tennis team to particiapate in the NCAA tournament. But we also got ourselves to a place in the Big XII conference where we did not have to take the last seat in the conference. We became a team who could compete with all of the teams in the conference and who will reach higher in the future.
As much as I admired my teammates, I always respected my opponents. I always understood that even though I was not around them (my opponent from other teams) daily like I was my teammates, these girls worked hard too. And when we would come together briefly to compete, it was honorable for us (me and her) to just play a hard match. One of us would win, and one of us would be beaten. But before we knew the answer to that (who would win), we would both work and fight very, very hard. And there is respect and honor in that.
Seeing people happy has always made me happy. When anyone is sad, I have always wondered and offered if there was anything I could do for them. Coach does lots of things other than just tennis. We began a two-way mentor program where we would be mentored by leaders in our community in our field, and we would serve as tennis mentors to their children. We have all made wonderful relationships through this. We have also put in a lot of time (and I mean a LOT of time) at a place called the Community Harvest Food Bank serving food to people who don't have much. This experience was very emotional for me. It is hard to imagine what some people go through. They cannot choose if they want to go to college, or if they want to have this or that. They can only think how they are going to survive to the next day. I wish these problems did not exist, however, they do. Therefore, I think it is very important that if people can help, that they DO help and contribute to a better future for all of us. Giving your time to people is something everyone should do. I cannot explain the feeling you get from this.
I have always worked with kids during summer breaks. You are only a child once, and it is wonderful to watch kids enjoy their childhood. I always wanted to make kids feel like they are suppose to feel as a kids, having fun, learning through tennis or other things, and interacting with other kids which will help them in their future life. Maybe some day they will teach other kids. Our team also participated in two "Mizzou Tiger PRO-AMS" each year, which is fancy name for saying that we played tennis with older people from the local community and tried to entertain them.
These have all been great experiences for me. Seeing people smiling and being able to talk with people from our community, and listening to their experiences has helped me learn more about others and their views on different issues. Sometimes these conversations led to different areas. Sometimes we tried to find better solution to a bad backhand. Sometimes they tried to help us through their experience with recommendations for our future careers. We are giving, they are giving, and we are all receiving. In my opinion, this should be one of the most important values for everyone. You cannot just take. Coach putting us in position to do something for the community has made all the difference for me and the other girls.
Tennis has changed for me. It used to be hitting the ball over the net and trying to beat that girl over there. Now, it is more than this. It is about respect, helping others, creating good relationship, communicating with others, making friends. It is about hard work, determination, sacrifice, and finally it is about understanding. All these are the words of my personal philosophy. Every day you learn, and every day you apply these things not only on the tennis court but also everywhere else to make life (mine and others) better and happier. I thank you for considering me for this award. The things I have experienced would not have happened if all these girls did not respect each other; if we did not help each other; if we would not try to understand each other; if we did not think positively; if we did not devote a lot of hard and smart work to our games; if we had not been focused and goal oriented; if we had not sacrificed; and if we would not fight; and finally if we did not strive to become better and better on a daily basis. Without this group of people I would not have become the person I became. They helped me on the court and off the court. This has meant a lot to me and has contributed a lot to my personal growth, and who I think I am.
Urska Juric