Game, match, match. In the language of tennisare the three “acts” with which the match judge decrees the end of a match.
And it was exciting, when, for the first time in its history, at the Convittiadi, which concluded yesterday in Catanzaro, a student from the “Bernardino Telesio” National Convitto of Cosenza, Giuseppe Capristo of the 2A won the gold medal in the men's single tennis tournament, Small category, the youngest of first and second year of middle school. Game after game, Capristo built his final victory by making perfect use of the first service balls. At the same time, he also demonstrated a lot of agility and a perfect sequence of forehand, loft, backhand and short ball returns. Also exalting himself on demi-volées, net attacks and smashes.
Seeing Giuseppe Capristo play, observing how he “occupies” the pitch and his ability to maintain concentration even during the longest rallies, gives, even more, the idea of describing a talent. Winning a gold medal in an individual discipline, such as tennis, by playing a series of matches and dominating them with ease, certainly does not happen by chance. Capristo, in addition to talent, has brains. And it is precisely the head that often makes the difference, especially when emotional tension rises. «I won the gold medal – said the little boy, visibly excited. It was a great experience playing with other kids my age. And I really enjoyed myself. I had the opportunity to face other tennis players who proved to be strong and from whom I also learned some shots.
Tennis is my great passion and I am happy to have won my school's first gold medal. I'm happy to have won for my school.” If we had to give Giuseppe a vote, he would deserve a ten. Full. Not only for his tennis and technical skill but also for having demonstrated that he is a valuable athlete, going to console those who, despite playing well, had to “surrender” to him. “I am very satisfied with the performances of my boys – declared the director and rector of the Telesio boarding school in Cosenza, Concetta Smeriglio. For our students it was an opportunity to compare and grow together with their peers from national boarding schools throughout Italy.
For a week they lived side by side sharing experiences with a common language, that of sporting activities. An experience of great educational value which certainly enriched all of our students.” The Convittiadi will officially end tomorrow. An event that took place in the spirit of Decoubertinian, Olympian spirit, which has been professing for well over a century that the important thing is to participate and not to win. And the girls and boys have learned this really well, they have made this spirit their own, as the Convitto Telesio group has also demonstrated, not only on a sporting level: according to what the chaperones say, the students are learning to live together and share their experiences. «For the kids these are important moments of growth – say the educators – in which they create new friendships and learn to face competitions with great sporting maturity in full respect of the rules and their opponents».