Tennis Prodigies, and Gary
A rare posting on my blog - it's not going to be a habit, but I'll try and at least keep my infrequent postings interesting.
I made it a goal this summer to start playing tennis again. I had only played a small handful of times over the last two years, but I decided that I was going to try and play 1-2 times per week, despite of my recurring tennis elbow issue that provides discomfort, but no real pain.
I don't really know how it happened, but my tennis game has been very solid this year. Most of the improvement is probably because I'm simply in better shape this summer relative to the last few years. Unfortunately, my improvement combined with the relatively limited talent level from my usual hitting partners has made it hard to find a good match. I've played 5 matches (10 sets) against friends of mine in the area, and lost a grand total of 6 games, which includes the five games I lost in my match earlier today.
I played five sets against my brother over the last two weeks (I was in DC the weekend of 6/30 and he was here for July 4th weekend). Normally, I win about 15% of the sets I play against my brother, but this time was different. I still lost 3 of the five sets, but our scores were (in order) 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, and I totally choked the last set due to fatigue (blew four set points, all by double faulting). For those scoring at home, I won more games despite losing more sets. Based on these results, I'm probably playing my best tennis in nearly ten years.
But that's just background for my real story. I was playing a match today at Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, where they have fantastic courts. Occasionally when I play there, I see a couple of guys giving tennis lessons to kids that have a lot of talent. Today, the three kids getting drilled were amazing (two girls and a younger boy). Frequently, we would watch the kids hit the ball between our points. I was thinking that those kids probably were among the best in their age group in the state, but I had no idea how old they were. They had a lot of power for their age/size and amazing consistency.
At one point, a gust of wind blew a bunch of tennis balls from their court onto our court. The kids came over to pick them all up, and I used the opportunity to ask the boy how old he was. He was nine!!! I couldn't believe it. I told him that he was the best nine year old that I've ever seen play tennis.
The story gets better.
Towards the end of our match, the older of the two coaches comes over to me and introduces himself. He wanted to compliment me on my game, and he asked me where I trained in the area and where I played college tennis. I couldn't help but laugh. I know that I am a pretty good tennis player, but I was never good enough to play college tennis (at least above D3 level). I told the guy that I grew up in Michigan and haven't played competitively since high school. He talked about how he knows Malivai Washington. I mentioned that I had not taken a formal lesson in ten years and that my mechanics had really deteriorated over the years. He said that he was very impressed with my serve and asked if I would like to his with his three pupils after my match. Of course I was interested!!
After I finished my match, I noticed that the coach had stepped away for a few minutes, so I started chatting with the younger coach for a few minutes. I guess he knew about my conversation with the other coach because he asked if I was still up for hitting with the kids for a little while. As it turns out, the two girls were 12 and 11, and all three of the children had national rankings in their age groups. They were training for the national USTA junior tennis tournament coming up in Georgia later this summer. Wow. I couldn't believe it.
The young coach invited me to jump in and play tie-breakers with the kids (since one was always sitting out while the other two played). I figured I was in for a butt-kicking, but I was not about to turn down the opportunity. Besides, given the older coach's comment about my serve, I think they wanted the kids to get some practice returning a stronger serve.
I lost a tiebreaker 10-8 to the 11-year old girl, only because my serve failed me and I double-faulted three times. I beat the 9-year old boy 7-3, but he won a couple of very impressive points. I never had a chance to play the 12-year old, who was the best of the three by far since they were about to go for a run (long day of training I guess).
The older coach gave me some good information about local tennis clubs and clinics that can help me recover some of my fundamentals which have deteriorated over the years. He is a tennis pro at a local tennis club, so I asked about how to find people to hit with in the area at a comparable skill level. He recommended Saturday morning singles and doubles leagues at his tennis club and told me to stop by there for information on my way home (which I did). Unfortunately, the club's official season is from September through May since they only have indoor courts (including clay courts!!!!!!!!!!!), so I'll have to wait to follow-up on leagues and clinics until the fall.
I couldn't find anything on the internet about the older coach I spoke with, but his daughter is apparently a great tennis player, too.
I made it a goal this summer to start playing tennis again. I had only played a small handful of times over the last two years, but I decided that I was going to try and play 1-2 times per week, despite of my recurring tennis elbow issue that provides discomfort, but no real pain.
I don't really know how it happened, but my tennis game has been very solid this year. Most of the improvement is probably because I'm simply in better shape this summer relative to the last few years. Unfortunately, my improvement combined with the relatively limited talent level from my usual hitting partners has made it hard to find a good match. I've played 5 matches (10 sets) against friends of mine in the area, and lost a grand total of 6 games, which includes the five games I lost in my match earlier today.
I played five sets against my brother over the last two weeks (I was in DC the weekend of 6/30 and he was here for July 4th weekend). Normally, I win about 15% of the sets I play against my brother, but this time was different. I still lost 3 of the five sets, but our scores were (in order) 7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, and I totally choked the last set due to fatigue (blew four set points, all by double faulting). For those scoring at home, I won more games despite losing more sets. Based on these results, I'm probably playing my best tennis in nearly ten years.
But that's just background for my real story. I was playing a match today at Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, where they have fantastic courts. Occasionally when I play there, I see a couple of guys giving tennis lessons to kids that have a lot of talent. Today, the three kids getting drilled were amazing (two girls and a younger boy). Frequently, we would watch the kids hit the ball between our points. I was thinking that those kids probably were among the best in their age group in the state, but I had no idea how old they were. They had a lot of power for their age/size and amazing consistency.
At one point, a gust of wind blew a bunch of tennis balls from their court onto our court. The kids came over to pick them all up, and I used the opportunity to ask the boy how old he was. He was nine!!! I couldn't believe it. I told him that he was the best nine year old that I've ever seen play tennis.
The story gets better.
Towards the end of our match, the older of the two coaches comes over to me and introduces himself. He wanted to compliment me on my game, and he asked me where I trained in the area and where I played college tennis. I couldn't help but laugh. I know that I am a pretty good tennis player, but I was never good enough to play college tennis (at least above D3 level). I told the guy that I grew up in Michigan and haven't played competitively since high school. He talked about how he knows Malivai Washington. I mentioned that I had not taken a formal lesson in ten years and that my mechanics had really deteriorated over the years. He said that he was very impressed with my serve and asked if I would like to his with his three pupils after my match. Of course I was interested!!
After I finished my match, I noticed that the coach had stepped away for a few minutes, so I started chatting with the younger coach for a few minutes. I guess he knew about my conversation with the other coach because he asked if I was still up for hitting with the kids for a little while. As it turns out, the two girls were 12 and 11, and all three of the children had national rankings in their age groups. They were training for the national USTA junior tennis tournament coming up in Georgia later this summer. Wow. I couldn't believe it.
The young coach invited me to jump in and play tie-breakers with the kids (since one was always sitting out while the other two played). I figured I was in for a butt-kicking, but I was not about to turn down the opportunity. Besides, given the older coach's comment about my serve, I think they wanted the kids to get some practice returning a stronger serve.
I lost a tiebreaker 10-8 to the 11-year old girl, only because my serve failed me and I double-faulted three times. I beat the 9-year old boy 7-3, but he won a couple of very impressive points. I never had a chance to play the 12-year old, who was the best of the three by far since they were about to go for a run (long day of training I guess).
The older coach gave me some good information about local tennis clubs and clinics that can help me recover some of my fundamentals which have deteriorated over the years. He is a tennis pro at a local tennis club, so I asked about how to find people to hit with in the area at a comparable skill level. He recommended Saturday morning singles and doubles leagues at his tennis club and told me to stop by there for information on my way home (which I did). Unfortunately, the club's official season is from September through May since they only have indoor courts (including clay courts!!!!!!!!!!!), so I'll have to wait to follow-up on leagues and clinics until the fall.
I couldn't find anything on the internet about the older coach I spoke with, but his daughter is apparently a great tennis player, too.
posted by GaryGinew at 4:49 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Gary, that is super exciting! I'm very impressed (no sarcasm). I'm also glad to hear that you're getting back into something you've enjoyed so much. I hope you do consider the club/lessons. Also, for the total n00b: what's with clay courts?
as for the most important detail of this story...
you got beat by an 11 year old girl?
:)
Mouse - I figured you would be the one to point that out.
Ju - Nothing major about clay courts. Just a surface very popular in Europe (they play the French Open on clay). I've never set foot on a clay court and would love to some day just for the experience.
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