Show yip' Sanpete Messenger - Sanpete MessengerCRmnison Valley Edition Wednesday November 24 2004 04 Game set and match Heaven Help Us Coach Wilbur Braithwaite inducted into Utah Tennis By Corrie Lynne Player Gratitude makes trials easier This Thanksgiving week I want to reflect as I know all of you do on the incredible blessings I enjoy We’ve just come through a political campaign full of hatred at worst and acrimony at best but nobody blew up our polling places and the candidates shot each other with words instead of bullets What an amazing country we live in! I believe our Constitution was inspired by God and is applicable for all time not just 200 years ago Yet just because we live in the Promised Land we are not living in the Garden of Eden To illustrate I’d like to summarize the Allegory of the Butterfly a story I’ve heard several times in various forms I don’t know who wrote it (if any of you know please tell me so I can give it proper attribution) A man watched a butterfly struggle to force its body through a little hole in its cocoon Then the butterfly seemed to have gotten as far as it could and it could go no further So the man took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the ve el ng he nd - iiy art ile ire nd nd - cocoon The butterfly then emerged easily But it had a swollen body and small shriveled wings The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that at any moment the wings would expand to be able to support the body and the body would shrink In fact the butterfly spent the rest of Nothing happened! its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings It never flew What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the butterfly’s body into its wings The struggle would ready the butterfly for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles we would be crippled We would not be as strong as we could have been We could never fly I learned the lesson from this allegory when I too found a butterfly in a cocoon I carefully peeled the layers away exposcreature inside and left it clinging to a branch ing the When I returned it was dead A couple of years later I helped a duckling emerge from its shell and it died too I now know that God made the struggles butterflies and baby birds endure to emerge from their cocoons or shells prerequisites for their survival Humans must endure similar struggles to grow into healthy - "g - spiritual beings Most of us don’t look forward to challenges nor do we value our trials or wart to learn from them We just want them to go away as quickly as possible We forget that struggles force us to learn so that like butterflies we can fly for a time and then land softly on the ground Since everybody faces challenges we must learn to appreciate them so we can earn a soaring flight and a gentle landing I’ve learned to appreciate the struggles in my own life — regular readers of this column have shared some of my struggles I told you about the near fatal accident of my son Micah and his wife their lives were spared and they have a darling baby boy but their challenges go on just as they do for each of us My daughter Sherri called me few days ago to tell me about God shielding her from serious injury She was cleaning her oven when she touched the still warm oven light with a cold rag The bulb exploded and glass flew toward her eyes She said she saw the shards swirling around her face and was so shocked she had to sit down but she didn’t have a scratch Have you had some struggles that you’ve learned to appreciate? Have you been blessed amidst those struggles? me at corrieplayerhotmailcom if you’d like to share some of your experiences You can also visit my website at and leave me a message wwwcorrielynneplayercom Nov at the Cottonwood Club in Salt Lake City “The purpose of the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame is to honor men and women who have made outstanding contributions to tennis in Utah” Gaylen S Young Jr president of the Utah said Hall of Fame Committee prior to the banquet Also inducted were Ruby Hammel and Calvin D Nelson of Salt Lake City Braithwaite started playing tennis in the seventh grade and although some people influenced him to continue playing and coaching tennis he says “There was an affinity for the game itself’ that inspired him to take up the game as a profession He says that his earliest ma- jor influence was his high school tennis coach who ac“Made cording to Braithwaite playing tennis a fine art” As a freshman in high school Braithwaite’s high school team won the state doubles championship under that coach However World War II in- terrupted Braithwaite’s rising stardom when he volunteered for the conflict “Everybody went in the military in those days There was no question That was a given” Braithwaite’s sacrifice to defend freedom nearly cost him tennis and his life As his unit was crossing a minefield in Germany someone tripped a wire and set the whole field off “There were casualties all around me I was one of the lucky guys” he says Braithwaite spent 11 months recovering in a military hospital from wounds that covered most of his body However as soon as possible Braithwaite was back on the court He lettered in tennis after playing one quarter at Snow College where he won the na- tional junior college doubles tournament He then transferred to Weber State where he again lettered He spent his final two studies years of undergraduate at Utah State where he again lettered in tennis both years Braithwaite went to Michigan State where he earned his master’s in education Despite inchances to coach elsewhere cluding at the university level at Utah State University “I made a promise I’d return to Annuities MESSENGER PHOTO Manti coach” says to Braithwaite and continues that he had made a commitment to the school district’s superintendent to teach tennis in Manti Braithwaite started coaching boys’ tennis at Manti High School in 1951 and continued in that role for 50 throughout central Utah Braithwaite was one of the original founders of the Central Utah Tennis Association in the 1950s and he has a tournament in Utah County named after him He says he often meets people for the first time who say “I’ve heard of you” as a result of that tourna- years He later started coaching girls’ tennis which he did for years 30 ment of Braithwaite’s former students have gone on to play at the college and university level But coaching isn’t all he did Braithwaite was instrumental in organizing and founding programs to bring tennis to communities “I've taken a real interest in getting other schools started in tennis and keeping them going" he says But he doesn’t think he deserves to be numbered alone and can rattle off a list of names of people whom he thinks have been just as influential “I don’t want to stand alone on it” says Braithwaite and he names the Reverend Erwin Balinger iG35 A ‘tfO FARM BUREAU FINANCIAL Insurance Z SERVICES Investments Gordon or I nnlHi lrft biiriM kmm IMttM tf tan $ A The family of Roein Kenner would like to express their gratitude for the many acts of kindness given at the time of her passing The lovely flowers delicious food beautiful cards and kind expressions of sympathy were deeply appreciated With many thanks The family of Roein Kenner brief outline of Wilbur Braithwaite 's from Wasatch X A Academy of many who helped keep tennis going and popular in central as one have finest moment Lettered at Snow College Weber State and X V Utah State (two years) Varsity tennis coach at Manti High School for 52 years n boys’ divisional championships and one Coached 11 boys’ state champions 14 runners-uand 13 third place finishers Coached 16 girls’ teams to divisional championships One girls’ state championship team two runner-u- p teams Coached 63 players w ho played on the junior college and university levels Promoted the construction of tennis courts in Manti Taught free summer tennis lessons for 40 years An original organizer of the Central Utah Tennis Association Twelve former players have become college or university coaches and eight have coached high school Si R COPY ARCHIVES Coach Wilbur Braithwaite passes the Olympic torch to another runner on Manti’s Main Street prior to the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics Coach Braithwaite is held in high esteem by tennis lovers throughout the state The short list Dark (801) (435) Hall of Fame LAKE CITY— Local tennis legend Wilbur Braithwaite of Manti was recently inducted into the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame at the annual induction banquet held SALT Utah Wilbur Braithwaite Prior to the hall of fame banquet President Young announced “It’s inspiring to mingle with champions of the past and to meet the new inductees in this honored setting No matter what individual achievements merited any player’s inclusion it is really all about the sport This is a collection of champions who in addition to the personal success they enjoyed have made valuable contributions off the court to grow tennis in Utah” “We olten don't know what we’re accomplishing at the time” says Braithwaite about his achievements |