It’s been a while since we posted anything on the C High blog or FBook page. My father, George Goodman aka Adam Smith, died this year. He was my first coach and mentor. He was known for his writing skill and ability to make the complex seem simple. At Cardio High we look to his tone and style for inspiration.
My father and I shared hundreds of sports experiences together. He spent many weekends taking me to sports events at Princeton University; fencing, wrestling, squash, track, football and basketball. At age ten I started playing tennis almost every day – to try to become a pro tennis player. He took me to the US Open and introduced me to characters like Torbin Ulrich who was featured in his book Powers of Mind and Timothy Gallwey who wrote the Inner Game of Tennis. My dad and I played tennis together through my childhood. He liked to say it took me until I was 14 to beat him in tennis – but it wasn’t until I turned 25 that I could beat him in squash.
He loved being a tennis dad. I always could find him on the sidelines at junior tournaments – with an upside down pipe in his mouth. He put no pressure on me to win
or to be a champion. He placed the focus on the interesting life lessons that came from tennis. He would say things like, “Tennis has given you confidence. And now you know that you can go any place in the world. And as long as there is a tennis court and a can of balls, you will be able to find friends.†It’s a great observation about the connection between a passion and finding security and community.
The New York Times published an excellent obituary about him.
This photo was a cover of NewYork Magazine in the early 1970s;
