Enjoy the Journey: with John Lamble

Enjoy the Journey: with John Lamble

Written by EYEBRONCO reporter, Kendra Cavaney '15

Rising senior John Lamble (JL) wants to leave everything on the court for his final season. Having an outstanding past three years on the men's tennis team, Lamble wants to enjoy this journey and have no regrets. With sister Kelly graduating this June after helping the women's team win the WCC title, Lamble's father also played tennis for the Broncos. Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) had the chance to get in contact with Lamble and ask him a few questions about the upcoming season and what he is doing this summer.

SCB: What have you been up to this summer?

JL: This summer has been pretty busy for me. At the beginning of the summer I traveled to Spain for two weeks to meet up with my old assistant coach from SCU, Jose Hilla, who now runs an academy in Sonoma County. We met with a couple coaches that work for him and about 10 players from his academy in northern Spain. We trained mostly in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, the state we were in but we stayed in a small town called Luanco.

We trained for about five hours a day. We also did quite a bit of sightseeing when we had time. The experience was great for me and I enjoyed all the kids I met there.  It was fantastic to see Jose at home in Spain.

When I got back I had about a week at home and then I went to the Midwest to play four Futures tournaments, which are low-level professional tournaments. I played one tournament in Missouri and three in Illinois. There were college players and professionals in these tournaments. It was a great experience to see the level of competition and glimpse at the life of a touring pro. 

SCB: You seem to have a remarkable bio - being ranked nationally in singles, helping beating No. 19 Texas in NCAA tournament in doubles with Ilya Osintsev etc. What are your hopes for your senior year? 

JL: I look forward to improving as much as I can my senior year and enjoying the process. 

SCB: Your dad and sister, Kelly, played tennis here at SCU. Does this make your drive for the game more competitive? Who's the best player out of your family?

JL: It is nice knowing that my Dad played tennis at Santa Clara, it makes me proud to play on the same team that he did. It doesn't make me any more competitive because I am already very competitive, but it certainly is a nice honor to have.  

SCB: Do you enjoy playing singles or doubles more?

JL: They are completely different, almost different sports. The tactics, pressure and game styles are so different between the two. I personally like singles more because it is the main event and it is a true test of your ability and it feels amazing when you win, but doubles is nice to have as a team component in such an individual game. 

SCB: Since you're now a senior, if you could go back in time and tell yourself advice as a freshman, what would it be?

JL: I would tell myself to enjoy and focus on the journey more and not think so much about the end of the road.