I’ve been a tennis fan my whole life. My mother had been a college player and later played in recreational leagues. I spent many hours as a kid sitting alongside the court waiting for her to finish. A natural athlete, she had beautiful strokes. I can still picture her effortless slice and the way she glided around the court. She taught my brothers and me the basics–the strokes, rules, and etiquette–but none of us had the patience to develop our games. We were a sorry-looking crew when we all took the court.
Although I didn’t play seriously, I was a pretty serious tennis fan. I grew up watching Evert, Navratilova, McEnroe and Connors. While my friends went crazy over Shaun Cassidy, my first crush was on Bjorn Borg. I clipped photos of him from my mother’s Tennis magazine and taped them all over my bedroom walls. (He’s in his 60s now and still looks pretty good!)
After high school I probably played once a year, on average, until I became a parent myself. As a stay-home mom with some time on my hands, I signed up for some cheap group lessons through a Park and Rec program. A friend I met there told me about a local club looking for players for its tennis team. My game had a lot of holes–a big forehand and not much else–but the head pro gave me a shot. I’ve been there ever since.
As captain of my tennis team, I used to write weekly recaps for my teammates, both of their matches and my own. The process forced me to think more critically about my game, the emotions that helped or hindered my play or the times when I should have employed a different tactic. When I gave up being captain, I knew I wasn’t going to miss the administrative tasks, but I definitely would miss writing about our tennis adventures. Starting my own blog to scratch that itch was a no-brainer.
LittleYellowBall will explore many facets of recreational league tennis, like the mental aspect of the game, being a positive doubles partner, line call issues, following favorite players, and the all-important topic of tennis fashion. I’m just a club player myself, so when I need to, I’ll turn to the pros for advice. I’m hoping you’ll share your insights with me as well!
Maybe I’ll see you someday on the courts. In the meantime, keep your eye on the little yellow ball!
–Deb Mead