After receiving a paycheck for $15 from a tournament in Cincinnati, Bill Hall realized then that a career in competitive table tennis was not his life's calling.
However, Bill still had a passion for the game. After all, he was the state champion of Indiana in table tennis. He practiced his stroke and kept in good physical shape in the comfort of his own home using a machine that shot table tennis balls.
While most kids at the age of 3 are in preschool, playing on a swing set or riding a tricycle, Hayley Hall could be found with her dad, Bill, and his table tennis machine.
"She just kind of picked it up and had fun," Bill said of his daughter's interest in the sport.
Realizing table tennis was virtually non-existent as an organized competitive sport in the Muncie area, Bill decided to take his passion and skill to the tennis courts with Hayley.
"I just used some table tennis techniques," Bill said. "We had routines; we would do a number of forehands, backhands, some drills and then just play for a little bit."
Without much previous tennis experience, the two began practicing tennis regularly throughout the week until Bill decided to jump start Hayley's tennis career by finding her professional training and coaching. He took Hayley to the Northwest YMCA Tennis Center where he met Steve Behrman, a tennis coach who offers personal lessons through the YMCA.
Hayley began meeting with Behrman once or twice a month for personal lessons while still practicing with her dad about five days a week. Hayley's first competition, the annual Little Hacker tournament at Ball State University's Cardinal Creek Tennis Center, occurred when she was only 6 years old.
She also began attending Ball State tennis matches and watching the collegiate players alongside her father. Ball State women's tennis coach, Kathy Bull, saw young Hayley as an avid fan of the program.
"I can remember seeing Hayley at 5 or 6 years old," Bull said. "Her dad brought her to a lot of matches. At that time, her racket was about as big as she was."
Hayley continued to grow as rapidly as a tennis player until hitting her first speed bump at the age of 13. She experienced a stress fracture in the lower right side of her back because of extensive practicing and competitions. As a result, her tennis career was put on hold for a year and a half.
As Hayley grew closer to the age of 15, she looked forward to continuing her tennis career after her back seemed to be healthy once again. When the time came for Hayley to take her game to the next level of tennis in high school, an eager coach at Delta High School, Tim Cleland, stood with open arms. Cleland remembers Hayley in her earliest days when she worked with Behrman during her private lessons at the YMCA.
"She was barely bigger than a tennis racquet, but she would scamper quickly to every ball and then deliver a surprisingly big smack," Cleland said.
After Hayley made her first, and lasting, impression on Cleland, he grew more familiar with her from his tennis camps and during her time spent on the team at Delta Middle School. By the time she reached the high school tennis team at Delta, Cleland was very familiar with Hayley and knew her talent would be a great addition to the team, even as a freshman playing at the varsity level.
"She was an immediate impact player in high school, playing No. 1 singles all four years," Cleland said.
The outstanding talent of Hayley on the court was not the only thing that caught the attention of Cleland. He also took notice in her sportsmanship, modesty and character.
"I admire the way she lets her racquet do the talking," he said. "She is never vocal or disruptive on the court."
Cleland also noted that Hayley has won numerous sportsmanship awards at regional and even national tournaments.
"She is a team player, a leader and an excellent student," he said.
During high school, Hayley continued to add to her already stunning résumé. She was a varsity letter winner at Delta for four years. She was also named the East Central Indiana Athlete of the Year all four years, making her the first athlete to do so in the history of the award. And to put the finishing touches on her high school career, she was named to the Indiana Athletic Association All-State Team during the four years she played for Delta.
Hayley said much of her success in high school can be credited to Cleland.
When it came time to start thinking about college, the choice was clear from the start. After being around the program for as long as she could remember, knowing that her mom went to school at Ball State, her father went to graduate school there and her family had good relations with coaches and staff members of the tennis program, Hayley's college choice may have been slightly easier than most athletes playing at such a high level. Bull laughed as she recalled one of the first thoughts that Hayley might actually play for her one day.
"She was about 10 years old when she came up to me one day and told me she might want to play for Ball State," Bull said. "I told her I would get back with her in about eight or nine years."Hayley's college career would not be as smooth and injury-free as her high school tennis days. In the fall of 2007, her freshman year, the back pain sprang out of remission and began to torment her once again. This time, the pain was on the opposite side, her lower left side, and was more serious. It began to cause Hayley to sit on the sidelines while her teammates practiced and competed.
"The only thing that really helped me was rest," Hayley said.After struggling through a fall season of tournaments, and spring season of more serious singles and doubles competition, Hayley had to have surgery to correct what was diagnosed as a herniated disc in lower left side of her back.
Hayley was cleared by her doctor to begin playing again in December of 2008. The recovery from the surgery did not go as well as planned, and the injury still puts a damper on Hayley's tennis game.
She practices on the tennis court every other day. She also does pool work with the athletic trainer that involves swimming and running in the water to allow her to get a significant cardio workout without putting much stress on her back.Hayley's spring tennis season consists of a 6-0, 6-0 win in singles play against Wright State University, her first match of the dual meet season after not playing in the season opener against the University of Dayton. In her second contest of the season, Hayley decided to retire in the second set of the match against Indiana University after talking the situation over with Bull.
As for the future of this season for Hayley, she just hopes to recover and eventually be able to play healthy and painlessly.
"I have my good days, and I have my bad days," Hayley said. "But Kathy and I are just trying to arrange things so my good days fall on match days."
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