Indianapolis’ Ronnie Schneider is the No. 2-seeded player in the boys’ 16s division at the 44th annual Easter Bowl. On Thursday, Schneider reflected back on his day at the Easter Bowl.

Hey everyone! Hope you all are having a great day, and if you’re at the Easter Bowl, a great tournament, stop by and watch me play my match and say hi. I’m excited to do this blog.

Yesterday started out later than any day this week, considering I played at 2 in the afternoon. I woke up at 8:30 and used a heating pad to warm up my back. I then went down to the hotel fitness center and used the stationary bike and elliptical machine for about 20 minutes. 

After that, my mom and I left for the breakfast of champions, McDonalds. I like to keep the same routine throughout the week, which means I will eat the exact same breakfast every day the whole time I'm here. My first hit of the day came right after breakfast with my doubles partner Yale Goldberg. We had lost a tight doubles match the previous night after being up a set and 4-0, so we were still both a little bummed but ready to take on the day. We hit for about 30 to 40 minutes at his hotel, then he had to leave for his noon match.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel for about an hour to relax, then it was on to my next hit with my coach, Bryan Smith, and Sameer Kumar, who made it to the round of 16 in the 14s singles. My second hit lasted about 45 minutes and included a lot of tips and strategy for my upcoming round-of-16 match. Warmed up completely, I felt prepared physically and mentally for the upcoming match.

My round-of-16 match was against a good longtime friend, Drew Dawson, and it went about as well as it could have. I won, 6-1, 6-2, and played very well and very focused the whole time. Now I’m into the quarterfinals, where I play Nikko Madregallejo today at 1. Ironically, I played him two years ago in the 14s in the exact same round. Last time, unfortunately, I got injured after being up a set and 3-2, so hopefully this time can end a little better than the last.

Now with the day coming to a close, my mom and I are about to go to dinner with Yale and his mom. Tomorrow should be a fun day, and I hope everyone enjoyed reading this blog.