LOOKING BACK CAN HELP US LOOK FORWARD

By Charles E. Vasoll

I was in the process of cleaning out some archive material when I came across an article that I submitted to the American Platform Tennis Association newsletter for the spring 1988 issue. I had headed the article with a Peanuts comic strip, which was not printed because of copyright limitations. In it Lucy was talking to Snoopy who was sitting in front of his typewriter on the roof of his doghouse. Lucy suggested that he should write a story of his life. "That’s what you should do.. write your autobiography..all you need is a good title.." she says. Snoopy types "ME".

Even 16 years later some of the observations are very pertinent today. I noted that the newsletter’s famous editor, Brian Zevnick, made some changes in my text but kept the sense of the article intact.

Here is some of what he cut.

"Who?"

That is undoubtedly the first question on every member’s mind when they are asked about the nominee for the next President of the American Platform Tennis Association. It is a good question and it is being asked for a good reason because I am as shocked as anyone and I am that nominee. My name is Charles (Chuck) Vasoll. To quote from the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States a few years back – "My name is not exactly a household word."

The relevance to today is that the nominee for president of the APTA, Mark Fischl, who will take office in May, is also not a familiar name although he is not quite as unknown as I was back then. However, on the other hand, he has only served one year on the Board as I did when being tapped for the top post. Also we are both Long Island residents.

Going on, here is an excerpt from the printed article:

Some people know me better by my New York license plate. It reads "P T NUT". It is in a nutshell, who I am. My playing skills are modest, although I will say that my first adventures in the Senior events this year have been most gratifying. (Not successful, gratifying. I lost all three matches in the Manhold Cup and all three matches in the National 50’s for a two-day record of 0 and 6).

Mark Fischl’s playing record is far superior to mine. The relevance to today is that he, like me, was not elected to the Board because of playing skill but because of the administrative talents that we exhibited in other assignments. I made my impression selling the men platform tennis ties with the APTA logo at tournaments, while Mark was active on the Men’s Players’ Committee composing rules for behavior in tournament play.

Another excerpt reads:

"I believe in the APTA. It is necessary and vital to maintain the standards and viability of the game. It has a function in holding and guiding of the National Championship tournaments. It can be of assistance to Leagues and to the average player even though that support may not yet be fully developed or appreciated. The administration that I hope to represent will welcome any and all suggestions and urges participation from all elements of the platform tennis community. Our game is too important not to have everyone pulling together to make it better."

Once I, and now Mark, face similar situations when he takes office. The post of Executive Director was vacant when I was elected and Mark has an "interim" Executive Director, Marjorie Hodson, in place as he takes the reins of the organization.

In my original text the last sentence read, "Our group is too small to allow internal battles to fester. If we do, we will destroy ourselves and take a great game down the tubes with us".

Why do we study history? I believe it was Winston Churchill who was quoted as saying, "if we don’t, we are destined to make the same mistakes again". I hope the current members of the Board of Directors will take a few minutes to study the history of the sport and its governing body. Currently, there seems to be a considerable amount of upset and turmoil in the organization. For the good of the sport, let’s hope that these differences can be resolved.

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