 I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game are about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today is featured in my second book Beyond the Game, and she was the number one tennis player on the Punahou Girls varsity tennis team for four years, and she was the number one player on the Creighton University women's team for four years. She is Ashley Ishimura, and today we are going Beyond Championships. Hey Ashley, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Hi Coach Rusty, thank you so much for having me. Oh Ashley, you are such an incredible person. I'm so proud of you. Your family, I know your family for so many years, and your mom and dad, Darren and Kelly are incredible, and your brother Ethan was my longtime tennis student as well. He was the number one player on the HBA team, but Ash, I want to ask you what's the biggest thing you learned from your parents? Yes, well first of all, I just want to thank my parents and my brother Ethan just for all their support because honestly without them, I wouldn't be where I am today in the tennis career that I had, but I think the biggest thing that I learned from my parents is just to be a good person and to do the right thing throughout life. That's the one thing they taught me, it's just integrity, to be a genuine person, just to always do the right thing and to think of others and to be kind to everyone, and for that I'm extremely grateful because for me it's just easy to do the right thing, and if they didn't raise me the way that they did and teach me the right ways, I think life would have been a little bit more difficult, but I thank them for all the sacrifices that they've made to take me to tournaments and give me everything that I needed for my tennis career and just to raise me in a person that I am today. Yeah, I agree with you. I'm so proud to know your family. I want more Ishimura's in the world, and Ashley, I started you in tennis when you were seven years old. Why did you start tennis and why did you continue playing tennis? Yeah, so I actually played, or I actually did gymnastics, jazz, and tennis when I was young, and it came to a point where I had to choose between or choose between tennis, jazz, and gymnastics, and no question it was just tennis for me and I just fell in love with the sport, I can't really explain it, but I just fell in love with it, and it was just the only thing that I wanted to do in life, and I just had this feeling of not wanting to do anything else, and I wanted to train, I wanted to be the best tennis player I could be, and I just loved the friendship that I've made, even though it's an individual sport. I met so many of my closest friends, and in fact, at a national tournament, one of my closest friends now, we were playing, and we just spent so long on changeovers talking, and that just goes to show that not all tennis matches can be ugly, and I've made lifelong friends that I still keep in touch with till today, so that's why I just love playing tennis, and the competitive aspect of it too. Well, Ash, I've seen it all with you. I've seen the highs, I've seen the lows with coming off the court crying, and when you made the Punahou Girls varsity tennis team, and you were number one as a freshman on the varsity, what are some things that you really liked about the Punahou coaches, the varsity coaches that you had? Oh, first, I just want to say I'm very extremely fortunate just to have the best coaches in my life. I mean, all my varsity coaches were just so supportive, and they just really care about you as a person, and it goes on and off the court too. You know, Kochi Kaika right there, he, you know, he taught me so much in life, and they just make tennis fun, and you know, when you have coaches that you can trust, it just makes it easy, you know, for me to want to play with them and do well for the school, so they're just all around supportive, and they're just really there for you when you need them on and off the court. Yeah, for sure. I completely agree, Ashley, and when you went to Creighton, you got a partial tennis scholarship for Creighton, and you became the number one player as a freshman on the Creighton women's team. Coach Tom Lilly was my roommate when I attended Creighton. Now, he and his wife Jean has created such a superior culture of excellence for the Creighton women's team and the men's team, but what what were some things that you really enjoyed about Coach Tom and Coach Jean's coaching? Well, first, I mean, I think they're just all around just nice people, just really, really nice people, and they really cared about me as a person. I got that vibe when I went on my recruiting visit, and you can just tell that they really care about the players, you know, if it does feel like a family there, and it's, I think it's hard to, you know, create a culture like that, like so consistently every single year. Creighton's such a great school academically, and it's a division one school, so to keep that culture, it's really impressive, and it all comes from Coach Tom and Coach Jean. They're so genuine, they care about all of us, and, you know, not even to talk about on the court, they train us hard, you know, they want the best for us at such a competitive level, but at the same time, they want you to excel in the classroom and in life, and they're just there for you. You know, if you need support, Coach Jean was always there for us on the girls side, and I'm just grateful to have had a family, you know, like a home away from home in Omaha being so far away from Hawaii. They just, I mean, it goes back to what I said about, you know, diversity coaches too, when you have coaches that you can trust and that you love playing for, it just makes playing for them so much easier, and you just genuinely want to do well for them. And Ashley, you know, playing college tennis, tennis is such an individual sport, so when you're able to be on a tennis team, it means so much more, and what were some of the things that you really enjoyed, some of the highlights about playing college tennis with your teammates? It's a priceless experience, Coach Rossi, and just being at Creighton or going to Creighton was the best decision of my life, because my teammates, they're my lifelong friends, you know, they, they're the best girls that they're just so great, and they pick me up, you know, when we're going through tough times and just having that friendship, but yet teammates at the same time, I mean, tennis is such an individual sport, you're on the court by yourself, and there's no one to substitute you, you know, if you're doing bad, but I had my teammates on the side cheering me and we're all just cheering for each other, and it's just that team experience, and at the same time off the court, you know, we're all like best friends, and it's just an awesome experience. And I know Brandon Lee touched on this when you talked to him last week, how, you know, traveling in the Midwest is an experience that, it's an experience that I never got to experience, you know, being in Hawaii and probably wouldn't otherwise, but just, you know, traveling, driving to Milwaukee, driving to Iowa, it's, it's fun and experiencing the cold and the snow and all the seasons changing that whole experience in college, which is just priceless and the best four years in my life that, you know, I wouldn't have been able to experience otherwise. And you competed in the Big East and how tough is the Big East competition nowadays? The Big East, it's tough. I mean, honestly, at every single college level you play at, every player is going to be tough. The fact that Creighton can compete in the Big East now, it's a privilege. And I think we're really fortunate to be around that competition because every match we played was so tough. But, you know, with our teammates cheering us on, it just made it so much fun. And I remember Coach Tom actually telling me one day in his office that, you know, if it's too easy, you know, your matches are too easy, that's not fun either. And it was, that's what really hit me in college was, you know, Coach Tom is still right. You know, the challenges are fun. We welcome the challenges. And that's the thing about tennis, you know, it's just you and your opponent and just finding a way to win every day or every match. Yeah. And playing number one, you're playing the best players from all of the other schools that you're competing against, Ash. And I want to ask you, Ashley, your thoughts about why do champions become champions? For many reasons, but I just want to highlight on a few and the first one to be just a hard work and sacrifice. I think it's, you know, all athletes know it, it takes hard work and dedication. And for me, I remember all the sleepovers that I missed in elementary school, all the camps that I missed for school and all the activities that I couldn't do like ice skating, right? Because I didn't want to risk injury. But for me, that came easy because Coach Garcia, remember you telling me a quote? We're at the tennis court and you said, the quote was, today I will do what others will not. So tomorrow I can do what others cannot or I can enjoy what others cannot. And that just hit me so hard. And I told myself that every single day. And I said, you know, all the sacrifices that I'm making are going to be worth it. And, you know, doing what others won't today will let me enjoy what, you know, they won't be able to tomorrow. So I told myself that every day. And the second thing is resiliency. That's a big thing. I remember, you know, throughout you coaching, it's just being resilient when you lose to get back up from a match. And it's about how you come back. And after losses, you just pick yourself back up and train even harder. And the losses are where I wear the most. So, you know, I think if you can remind yourself that that's how champions become champions, you just learn from your losses and mistakes and the hard times and work hard. Yeah, I totally know all of that, Ash. And I like that, that you know that as well, because that's why you became a champion. And Ashley, you've heard hundreds of my quotes, and I'm glad that you mentioned that one. But regarding my coaching of you, what were some things that, that I did that was effective that helped your growth? Honestly, coaching for me, it went beyond tennis. I mean, I can go on and on about how you made me the tennis player that I am today. But you really helped me through life on and off the tennis court. I mean, you've coached me since I was seven. So, you really watched me grow up for, you know, all these years. And, you know, without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. And you just, something that you mentioned in your book was, you know, leaders prepare. You prepare your team for the unexpected. And I think that's what you did. You prepared me with those quotes, the quotes of the day that I would write down in my quote book after every single lesson. You taught me how to be resilient. And you taught me how to face adversity. And I'll kind of touch on this later. But one thing you mentioned in your, in one of your books was you didn't, you know, protect me from it. You taught me how to face it. And for that, you know, I'm extremely grateful because without your guidance and leadership and mentorship, I wouldn't have gone through the stuff that I did. So thank you for everything. I honestly wouldn't be here today without you. And I'm very grateful for everything that you did. You just went beyond coaching for me. And you just, you make me a better person every day. Well, thank you, Ashley. But those are some nice things that you said there. And yeah, you know, a big thing with me is, you know, I would tell the players and the parents that, you know, we shouldn't protect a child from adversity or from a challenge. We need to teach them how to face it because adversities and challenges, it's going to happen. And for me, that's what I was about, because I knew the challenges were going to happen. I just wanted to make things realistic and challenging and really have you guys be as disciplined as possible. And for you, Ashley, you could handle a lot. I mean, a lot of our tennis lessons, I mean, I really pushed you hard. And I'm still training you. I thought once you graduated college at Creighton that I'm out, but now you pulled me back in again. You missed tennis, huh? I do, but that just goes to show right how, you know, an amazing coach you are. The fact that I'm not, you know, training in college anymore. I'm not playing college tennis. Just wanting to have those sessions with you. And yeah, I mean, like you said, I mean, I honestly didn't think I was still going to be doing same drills that I was training in college, but it keeps me in shape. And, you know, you're still that, you know, same mentor to me, like throughout life. And I'm just very grateful about how beyond the lines in the tennis courts it did go. Well, you know, tennis is definitely a way of life. And, you know, it's beyond, you know, playing competitively in high school or college. It's just, it's healthy. It's a healthy lifestyle. And Ash, you touched on my books for a bit, you know, and I thank you for being such a great supporter of both books. And, you know, I have to include you as in the Ashley Ishimura story in the second book. But what are some highlights in both books that really stood out to you? Well, I mean, everything, but if I had to pick a few, I would say, you know, in your first book, Beyond the Lines, your key number seven was to welcome adversity. And that hit home to me because of all the adversity I've had to face. But, you know, you say, to welcome adversity, like we have to, you are as leaders, we have to teach our teams to, you know, know how to face them versus protect them, like you said. And, you know, I learned that when I welcome adversity, it kind of shifted my mindset. And it gave me the opportunity to be resilient and use the strength that I didn't know I've had. So just being able to welcome it versus, you know, shy away from it, I think that's a huge part of succeeding. And in your Beyond the Game, your second book, I really love this one. You say life happens for you and not to you. I thought that was really amazing because, you know, we can't welcome adversity or anything if we have the victim mindset. So it's how you respond that matters. You know, we can't play the victim, but at the same time without adversity, you know, that's how we learn. And, you know, if we think, Oh, why did this happen to me? We're thinking, you know, life happens to us. But when we should be thinking is, you know, we should be kind of grateful that this happened in your life happens for you. And I remind myself that every day, you know, for everything that happens, you know, I just say, you know, life happens for me and whatever happens to me in life is for a reason. And, you know, if it's an adversity or a difficulty, it's just an opportunity for me to learn from. I'm glad you mentioned those things, Ashley, because everyone's going to go through various adversities in life. And some people experience deeper levels of adversity versus other people, but adversity is nonetheless. And, yeah, having the right mindset to know that, you know, life happens, you know, for you, you know, why can you get through that? I mean, and that's really why you succeeded. You had such a great mindset. We trained your mind over and over and over again to really expect the unexpected, to expect getting cheated or expect who knows what would happen if, you know, parents or, you know, the whole audience is cheering against you for some reason. But you and I had an opportunity to be guest speakers together at the YWCA, Patsy Mink Women's Leadership Luncheon. And we were both able to share ideas about leadership and how there's so many common threads with what you learn in sports and what you do in business and life. What are your thoughts about that event that we were both at together? It was an amazing event. And I'm still grateful to this day to be given the opportunity to speak, you know, to all those women who are amazing leaders and just to be in the presence of you all was really inspiring. But I think one thing that I mentioned was about leadership is to set the right example for others, you know, by living life with integrity. And, you know, for me, it's about following my core values and how my parents raised me to be, to be kind, compassionate, selfless, giving, you know, and I feel like as leaders, if we can share those same values with others, you know, our world will be a better place and to use our experiences to learn from them and to teach others about, you know, and as you say in your book, to prepare others for the unexpected and, you know, being a leader is a true, it's a true gift. And, you know, I think if we can all lead by example and in the right way, our world would be a better place. I like hearing that, Ashley. It was such a fun luncheon with all of those aspiring women's leaders there. And the insights you shared was absolutely terrific. And right now, Ashley, currently, your doubles partner is Super Bowl champion Michael Bennett. And you play doubles with him, you practice with him. What are some things that you're observing with him about his Super Bowl mentality and why and his work ethic, if you can share about what you're observing? Yeah, well, first, you know, we're a huge Seattle Seahawks fan. And, you know, I grew up watching, you know, Michael Bennett, Russell Wilson, and just being truly inspired by them. So the fact that I'm here today, you know, on the same tennis court with Michael, it's so surreal. And, you know, he's an amazing person, athlete, and to speak to his Super Bowl mindset, as he said, he's just so determined. You see his competitive, you know, competitive self in him, that's, you know, from the NFL. And just he's extremely determined. But at the same time, he has such a positive attitude to want to get better, you know, in everything that he does. He doesn't complain. He doesn't make excuses. I mean, you know, he just started tennis and he's already an amazing tennis player. It's honestly amazing culture. I don't know how he does it. But just, you know, being in his presence, you just see his determination, you know, and how bad he wants to get better and how bad he wants to win. And it's just, it's just awesome, you know. And, you know, I just want to touch on he, I learned from him way more than on the tennis court. I see how much he gives back to his community and, you know, how he cares for everyone around him. And it's just, it's really inspiring to be around, you know, a great presence like that. And he's an amazing, generous person. And I'm truly inspired by all of what he does for the community. And he makes me laugh like all the time. I mean, it's so funny. And he, he's, he's definitely a funny guy. And yeah, Ashley, totally correct. I mean, he does so much to help the community behind the scenes. It's, it's really admirable. And Ash, I want to ask you about adversity a little bit more. What, what's an example of an adversity situation that, that you dealt with during high school? Yeah, I mean, in high school, and I think I'm sure others, other athletes, athletes or not, I'm sure others face the same kind of adversity I did of, you know, where others are just, they're just kind of against you. And, you know, I, at the time, I didn't really understand or expect it, you know, but I remember you telling me, coach, when I was younger, you know, there's, you're going to face adversity, you're going to have people against you. And at the time, you know, I was like, okay, but, you know, when I went through it in high school, I didn't actually realize the impact it would have. And it was really hard. But I think the biggest thing that I learned from it is just without that, I wouldn't have the chance to find the strength that I didn't know I had, you know, to get me through it. And another big thing that I learned through going through those adversities was you just learn who your true friends are. And I'm forever grateful for that, you know, my true friends really got me through those times. And I leaned on the support of what I call my inner circle, which would be like, you know, my family, my closest friends, you know, everyone in my life who's been very supportive. And that honestly makes me the strong person I am today. And, you know, without their support, I wouldn't have found the strength to get through it. But, you know, I'm sure others face the same thing too. So it's just picking yourself back up and knowing that, you know, if others are against you, you have your own support team, lean on the people that you have, and just cherish those people a lot because it's extremely important in life. So did you experience like bullying or what were some specific examples? I think it was just maybe like some jealousy and envy that I faced from others. And, you know, I felt like I was a really nice person. So, you know, that's something that I wasn't expecting, you know, to go through because I thought, you know, we were all, you know, having the same goal. But, you know, when you just have others, like cheering against you and just being against you during that time, that's when I really learned to lean on my true friends and learn who my true friends are. But, you know, at the same time, looking back, I'm kind of grateful that I went through those times, you know, because those are the people who made me stronger. And it gave me the strength that I have today to just go through anything in life. I mean, I felt that, you know, if I could go through that and get through that, I could get through anything. Yeah, it definitely helps your growth. I mean, it makes you a better person just for going through some of these tough experiences, whether it's, you know, I mean, whether it's like people being mean to you or saying mean things or whatever it is. Social media is a big problem nowadays with how that affects a lot of people. But, Ashley, in terms of learning life's lessons through tennis and sports in general, what do you feel beyond adversities? What do you feel are some of those life lessons that you've learned? I think just being resilient. And tennis taught me, I mean, it taught me, it gave me my competitiveness, my strength, my mental toughness, my physical toughness. But I've learned life lessons that go beyond the tennis court, you know, from simple things with like dealing with pressure, having the mental toughness, you know, on the tennis court, you're by yourself. And there are some pressured situations facing match points. But I feel like all those, you know, nervous times that I've had it, it prepared me for like work to, you know, meeting deadlines and just dealing with pressure. Also, you know, when I get knocked down, you know, after a loss and a tennis match, it's hard. I mean, I've, I've had losses that still hurt me today, you know, and it hurts. But, you know, without, without going through that, I wouldn't have had, you know, found the strength to get through tough times. And yeah, just their support me and everyone's support, meeting all the friendships that I've had through tennis and being able to cherish family, I think that's another big thing that sports has taught me is just to cherish the people that you have in your life to lean on them. And you get to, you know, choose to be around the people who lift you up rather than bring you down. And I think you touched on that in one of your books, Coach Estee, say, you know, surround yourself with people who bring you light, you know, and bring you joy. And I'm just grateful for Tennessee able to show me who those people are and put those people in my life. Yeah. And Ashley, you know, some of those tough losses that you had, it hurt me too. I don't think I'm over those yet. Sorry Coach Estee. But you see, you actually learn so much more from the losses. And yeah, you are resilient. You have great perseverance. And one of the things that I wanted to really instill in you was that, you know, everybody is capable of doing so much more than what they think they're capable of doing. And when you look at our lessons, our trainings, our practices that we've done through the years, you know, I know that you were dying in a lot of those sessions. But, you know, you didn't know that you had that extra gear that you were capable of giving that little extra that 1% more. What are your thoughts about that? I'm really glad you mentioned that Coach Estee because that's a huge thing. I mean, like you said, I mean, you push me in ways that I wouldn't have been pushed otherwise, you know, first talking about physically, you know, all our training that we did. I didn't know I could survive those drills. And, you know, it just gave me the confidence, you know, to prepare me for matches. I mean, you told me, I remember you telling me, you know, if matches are harder than these lessons, that's a problem, right? Because you want our lessons to be more difficult than matches. And I think you definitely succeeded in that. And that's what really helps me in my conditioning. But also to go from the mental side too, it's just you taught me and prepared me for life. And without that, I wouldn't have been able to go, you know, those adversities again, I'll touch on that again, you know, just kind of finding the strength in myself that I didn't know I had. And without going through those times, I wouldn't, you know, have known I was this strong. And I think everyone has it in them, you know, we all have, we're all strong enough, you know, to get through life because life is made for us, you know, and I think anything we're thrown at, we're meant to get through. So everyone has a strength, we just have to dig deep. And, you know, you really taught me that. And I'm forever grateful for that. And Ashley, one of my big things through the years with so many players is to, you know, I look at everyone's strengths. And my philosophy is I want to make those strengths stronger, because that's what makes you guys stand out. And that's what helps you win or puts you in successful situations to succeed. Did you like that, that we were focusing more on your strengths? Yeah, I definitely did. And, you know, at the same time, you helped me on my weaknesses. I mean, we both know what my weaknesses were in high school. And, you know, you taught me that about the same time, you know, you really helped me focus on my strengths. And I think that's what got me through, you know, matches, because, you know, there are some skills where I just probably didn't get until college. But you stuck through me, you never gave up on me and you trained me hard every day. Yeah, it was so much fun. And Ashley, right now you're working with Bank of Hawaii and you are also getting your masters online through Creighton University for business. And that is very, very impressive, Ashley. I'm so proud of your character, the person that you have become. I mean, you're such a great role model for so many people, Ashley. And I want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Thank you, Coach Rasti, for all you do for me and everyone. And I'm so happy to be here. And this is a great, great chance to talk to you. Thank you. Thank you, Ashley. And thank you for watching Beyond the Limes on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKomori.com. And my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Ashley and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.