MY AMAZING JOURNEY ACROSS THE POND

Baylor Tennis Preparing Me for the Next Step on Pro Circuit

Men's Tennis 2/11/2021 10:39:00 AM

Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Charlie Broom

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Charlie Broom, a grad transfer from Hertfordshire, England, who is working on a master's in sports pedagogy, was a three-time All-Ivy League selection at Dartmouth and qualified in singles and doubles for the 2019 NCAA Championship. Consistently at No. 5 singles in Baylor's lineup, Charlie had a straight-set win to help fourth-ranked Baylor (9-1) knock off No. 9 Texas A&M, 4-1, and earn a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Champaign, Ill. The Bears will face No. 5 Texas in the opening round at 3:30 p.m. CST Friday:

             Sport has become a massive part of my identity and, undoubtedly, many of the experiences I've had from training and competing have shaped who I am today. My first memories are of playing sport. Ever since I could walk, I have always had a racket in my hand or a ball at my feet. I was fortunate enough to live right next to a local tennis club, so I would run to the club and hit a ball on the wall, trying to get the longest rally I could. I started taking lessons from the age of 4 and competing from the age of 6, which enhanced my love for the game being the competitive person that I am. To my demise, at times, I also played soccer (or football, as we like to call it across the pond). Until I was around 10 or 11, I was balancing my time between soccer, tennis and school. It came to a point where I had to decide which sport I wanted to seriously pursue. While I did love soccer, tennis was the sport where I had shown the most promise. After lengthy discussions with my parents, I decided that my tennis journey was the one I wanted to continue.

             Family means everything to me. It's cliché to say, but they have given me every opportunity in life to become the best person that I can be. I know every athlete will attest to this, but parental support goes above and beyond just "being on the sideline cheering you on." Don't get me wrong, this is vitally important (especially at a young age) to look across and see someone you love cheering for you. However, looking back at my younger years playing tennis, what I have become much more appreciative of are the sacrifices they made to give me the best opportunity to improve. Whether it was the early-morning or late-night car rides to practice, organizing trips to competitions, helping with schoolwork when something was due the next day, spending countless nights finding the best solutions to my injuries, my parents did it all. They acted as my coach, physiotherapist, doctor, nutritionist, psychologist and tutor all in one "team." Most importantly, they were my parents, who have supported me unconditionally through the good times and bad of my whole career. For that, I am forever grateful.

             My connection to my family is what made my decision to go to an American university so difficult. By the time I was 17 or 18, I had started going to tournaments in Europe on my own and becoming more independent. However, living in another country for eight months of the year was something very daunting to me. I knew the quality of American collegiate sports was the best in the world, and I also knew my body was not ready to deal with the demands of professional tennis at 18. Once I had made my decision to go to an American school, as with every student-athlete, it was about finding the place that ticked the most boxes. I took official visits during my senior year at the University of Wisconsin, Rice, Harvard and Dartmouth. I knew straight after my trip to Dartmouth that this was the place that I wanted to spend the next four years of my life. I loved the campus and had great conversations with a lot of the staff that I met during my visit. Both coaches were extremely helpful throughout the recruiting process, and I connected with them very well on and off the court. Finally, the team – they made me feel very comfortable straight away, and they were the closest team out of all the schools I visited.

If I were to describe my time at Dartmouth, I would say it was the most rewarding four years of my life, but also the most challenging. I did well in high school academically, but I was not prepared for the rigors of what being an Ivy League student-athlete entails. In high school, I had a natural ability towards Biology and Chemistry and, although I did have other interests, I decided to stick with what I knew best and pursued a degree in Biochemistry. I quickly came to realize the sacrifices that I was going to have to make if I wanted to achieve my goals on the court and in the classroom. It was never going to be easy, but I was willing to do it. The late nights studying, the extra work on court, or extra bike workouts, were all worth it because I was surrounded by amazing friends and teammates that would push me, but also support me every day. Looking back at my time at Dartmouth, my teammates were the ones that made the experience as enjoyable as it was, despite the challenges. We had some amazing success by winning the Ivy League title in 2018 and being ranked as high as No. 14 in the country, but the moments off the court are the ones I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

My dream, even before Dartmouth, has always been to play tennis professionally. As I said before, I was not ready at 18 years old. Four years later, however, after working diligently with some amazing coaches who understood my game and took me up not just one level, but multiple levels, I felt that I was ready to compete on the tour. Then, one Wednesday in the middle of our finals period, I was told by my coach that the season is canceled and Dartmouth is requesting that all international students return home as soon as possible. That coming Friday, I took my last final and was on a plane first thing Saturday back home to the UK. My college career had come to an abrupt end . . . or so I thought.

I discussed at length with my coach and my parents about my next steps. Ultimately, we concluded that I wanted to use my extra year of eligibility and make the most out of the situation we were in. I started the recruiting process all over again, which was a little easier than the first time around as I knew exactly what I was looking for. Simply, I wanted a school that was going to give me the best opportunity to develop my game. Although I did have interest from a lot of other top schools in the country, truthfully, from the first phone conversation I had with the coaches here at Baylor, as well as with Finn Bass (who I have known since we were around 9 or 10 years old), there was only one place I truly wanted to go.

Two things swayed my judgment towards Baylor over the other schools. First, the coaches. I had met [interim head coach] Michael Woodson once before at a futures tournament in Illinois. We had spoken while watching one of the matches, and I felt like I was talking to someone who had been my coach my whole life. His knowledge of the game and ability to read what the opponent was doing was fascinating to me. So, when I got the first phone call from him saying that Baylor was interested, it was hard to not be excited at that point. Although I had not met Izak [van der Merwe] during my time at Dartmouth, I was very aware of his caliber as both a player and a coach. We spoke a lot over the summer about my matches and how he and Michael envisioned my game developing not just over the next few months while at college, but for my time on the professional circuit. Everything they have said to me, I have tried to take on board and use productively. I know I have already made significant strides in my game in such a short space of time, which is largely because of their coaching expertise and willingness to want to help every player on the team reach their full potential.

Secondly, being close to someone on the team was vitally important for me. I knew that I would only be on a team for a short amount of time, so it would naturally be difficult to fit in (especially having never taken a visit to any of the places I was looking at). This is why I value my friendship with Finn so much. I had first met Finn when we were playing junior tennis for the same county back in the UK. Despite going down different paths soon after, we would often see each other at tournaments, and most recently I played a professional doubles tournament with him during the summer of 2019. During my recruiting process, I had a few long conversations with Finn about his experience at Baylor. He could not speak highly enough of the players, the coaches, the supporting staff and the school itself. To have someone you trust say such positive things about a tennis program and, most importantly, a team's culture, only made me want to be a part of it even more.

It was strange when I first arrived on campus, as I had no idea what to expect. I had never met any of the team, other than Finn, or had seen any of the campus (other than the outdoor courts when Dartmouth played the first round of NCAA's the year before). I was amazed at how welcoming the team was, and they made transitioning to Baylor so much easier, to which I am very grateful. In the short time I have been on this team, I have already formed some really close friendships and I'm truly inspired every day by my teammates and coaching staff about how dedicated everyone is to improving and, even more than that, supporting each other. I do not doubt in my mind that we have the best, most complete team in the country. Whenever I went to some of the bigger college tournaments, I watched Sven [Lah], Matias [Soto], Ryan [Dickerson], Coni [Frantzen] and Adrian [Boitan]. I was trying to learn as much as I could from them. To now have the opportunity to play with them as well as the other guys on the team, who are all incredibly talented, is truly a blessing.

The last few months have confirmed in my mind that my decision to take the extra year and come to Baylor was the right one. I feel that I have already made significant strides in my game, and I know I will be as prepared as I can be to play on the tour when my time here is done. Until then, I look forward to putting in plenty more hard work with this incredible team with the hope of achieving something special.

Not in my wildest dreams could I have predicted the journey that tennis has taken me on up until this point. That being said, ending up here competing for, and being part of the Baylor family, is something I will always hold near and dear to my heart.