Born and raised in England, Matt Brooklyn left his home and ventured to America in pursuit of his passion.
Midway through his journey to fulfill his dreams, he learned that it might all be stripped away ““ via a text message.
Brooklyn came to the United States two years ago to attend Arizona State University on a tennis scholarship.
But in May 2008, due to school-wide budget cuts, ASU was forced to discontinue three athletic programs: men’s wrestling, men’s swimming and men’s tennis.
At first, Brooklyn was one of 78 young men left out in the cold.
Later, he was one of just 10 young men left without a program, since men’s swimming and wrestling raised enough money to save their programs.
Tennis was not so lucky.
“When I first heard, I was devastated,” Brooklyn said. “I was really upset. I think everyone on the team was just crying. It was probably one of the worst days of my life.”
So how do you break the news to a young man that his dreams of playing college tennis hang in the balance?
“I woke up on a Tuesday morning and I got a text from another student athlete saying she was sorry the program got cut,” Brooklyn said. “I thought it was just a rumor but then I got a call from my coach saying we all had to meet at the stadium immediately.”
After that meeting and during that Tuesday, the recruiting calls began to flood in for Brooklyn, a highly talented athlete who was Arizona State’s No. 1 player at the time.
Brooklyn said that after receiving the news that the tennis program had been cut, he considered alternative options.
“When I found out, I just wanted to go home and be with my family and friends, and just stay there for a bit,” Brooklyn said. “I knew I would come back to school in America. It was the choice of whether I would transfer and carry on playing and keep chasing my dream, or whether I would say, “˜It’s been a good run,’ and forget about tennis and stay at ASU.”
Brooklyn, in fact, decided to take a break from tennis but soon realized that he was not ready to give up on his dream.
“I took six weeks off from tennis,” Brooklyn said. “I didn’t touch a racket during that time and I really missed it. I thought I owed it to myself to transfer. This is what I’ve wanted since I was a kid.”
Brooklyn received calls from several universities interested in recruiting him, including other Pac-10 rivals such as California, but UCLA was at the top of his list.
He described his transition from ASU to UCLA as less than easy.
“When I first arrived here, it was different and it was weird,” Brooklyn said. “It was weird being a part of a team I’ve played against. It was weird practicing with a group of guys that I wasn’t used to practicing with, and I found it tough at first. The first month or two I really wished I was still at ASU.
“I also felt a lot of pressure because the team is so very good here.”
But shortly after, Brooklyn began to settle in with his new teammates and coaches, and he realized he was in a great situation.
“I took a step back and just looked at the bigger picture,” he said. “It’s just an unbelievable place to be.”
Brooklyn, now a junior, has settled in with his teammates and feels camaraderie similar to what he felt while at ASU.
“We were all very close at ASU, and I wanted that group to stay together,” he said. “But this team is like my family as well.”
Brooklyn attributes a large part of his smooth transition and success at UCLA to coach Billy Martin.
“During the transfer process, coach Martin took care of pretty much everything,” Brooklyn said. “He was unbelievable. He really made it smooth and made sure everything was perfect.”
Martin is also very enthused to have Brooklyn on the Bruin squad and is happy about the competitive spirit that Brooklyn has brought to UCLA.
“He’s very competitive, as competitive as anyone on our team, which I love,” Martin said. “He’s a guy who’s real committed, real completive and would love to win an NCAA Championship, and you need that.”
And as for Brooklyn’s feelings toward being at UCLA now?
“I love it here now,” Brooklyn said. “I feel like I landed in the best place possible.”