Communal Fun and Games

To Wes Atiyeh ’84 P ’23 there’s much more to the game of tennis than the on-court competition. During his three years playing varsity tennis for Collegiate, he learned a lot about life within the lines of the court. “Tennis, like all sports, has three components,” he explains. “It is physical, mental and emotional. If you have all three aspects, in theory, you’re a pretty good tennis player. Well, I physically had great ability, but mentally and emotionally I struggled.” That was the case until he began to grasp the team component of the sport: While he might be playing by himself, the results contribute to the success of the team. He discovered that his contributions were larger than himself, and, once he was able to learn that, he became more relaxed and his game improved. The real accomplishments in tennis, he learned, come from a collective camaraderie and honoring the game.

Those are the lessons Atiyeh infuses into the alumni tennis tournament, which he helps organize for Homecoming Weekend. (The tournament changes annually between an alumni soccer game and tennis match, but, no matter the sport, the collective spirit of coming together for fun, recreational competition remains.) Atiyeh sees the tournament as an opportunity for alumni to come together for a morning of reunion on Collegiate’s campus. “Although it can be, this tournament is not necessarily all about competition,” he says. “It’s about seeing alumni come back to Collegiate and play together. It’s about utilizing Collegiate’s beautiful courts and taking advantage of time with other alumni.”

A game of tennis is only as rewarding as the return your competitor gives. The served ball is presented as an offering, and the player on the other side of the net steps up, linking racket to ball, and accepts. The ball traces a graceful arc back over the net. The game is on, pinging back and forth. In that way, tennis is a form of communion. Joy is in abundance. Atiyeh makes sure the games move quickly and that everyone gets a chance to play each other. On a weekend filled with connection, this is just another form that connection takes. “My job is to keep the tournament flowing and to make sure everyone is having a good time,” he says. “You get all kinds of different levels of tennis players out there. Some are parents, some are alumni and parents, some are friends. We have 7th Graders playing alumni. It’s a way to connect with each other, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Two years ago, when Atiyeh was asked if he would run the tournament, he viewed it as an opportunity to give back to the School and the sport that helped teach him about life. “I feel like giving my time back to the School is really valuable, especially if it allows fellow alumni to come back together,” says Atiyeh, who, in addition to his time playing for Collegiate, coached both the boys and girls squads at his alma mater for the better part of 25 years. “There’s no selfishness in giving my time. It’s about giving back and bringing people together.”