Frick Park Tournament
I haven’t written about our family’s experience (or lack thereof) with organized sports. As a former athlete who’s married to a former athlete (and Hall of Famer at his alma mater), expectations are high that our children will play SOMETHING, right?
Since Mark teaches tennis for a living, all of the kids had a racket in their hand at a very early age.
Luke and Hannah began playing on a more regular, predictable, scheduled basis at the respective ages of 4 and 5. I thought it was too early then and I still think it’s too early for any organized activity.
To be fair, Mark organized a clinic once a week with their cousins. That was fun and they did that for about a year, then started playing with other kids at the club.
They both played tournaments when they were 8 and 9 for a few years. They also played baseball and basketball (Luke played basketball for 2 years, Hannah just tried a summer league once). Hannah played tennis competitively until she was about 13 then lost interest for a while but since she played #1 for our local high school team, she has taken it up again. Kate and Mark have always enjoyed hitting with Mark but have not played competitively.
Luke plays at a fairly high level of tennis. He’s enjoying it and has a great temperament for it right now. (He put a little too much pressure on himself when he was younger and had to take a break). Hannah has ALWAYS had a perfect temperament for tennis. Once after a match where she was playing off for 3rd and 4th, she came home and I asked how she did. With a spring in her step and a huge smile on her face she said, “I came in 4th!” and she was truly happy about it. Yay her!
I’ve noticed some things about tennis that don’t happen in my experience with other sports.
1. Since kids tend to play the same tournaments, all the kids get to know each other, as well as the parents. This is more of a positive thing than a negative. Luke’s playing more regional tournaments now so he usually plays different kids. When they were younger, they tended to play the same kids over and over. Imagine a baseball or basketball team playing the same 2 teams week after week. All of the kids they’ve met have been really great, for the most part.
2. Tennis can be superficially polite and proper. Spectators rarely cheer for one side or another and in most settings, excessive cheering is prohibited. This is fine by me as I usually like to watch most sports without cheering. I’ll say something occasionally, but you won’t hear a play-by-play from me. So, generally, I like this rule. Sometimes, though, people feel compelled-especially when their kid is beating the tar out of your kid to over-do the compliments. Sometimes this happens throughout the match and I think it’s a little fake. It’s like people want to be known as exceptionally gracious when it’s not necessary. It’s a game, people.
3. There is a BIZARRE ritual unique to tennis in which I refuse to participate. After the match, the entourage of both kids hovers around the exit point from the courts and barrages both players with compliments. For a long time, I just did it because everyone else did it. I realized right away how awkward it is for the LOSER and finally decided to opt out. I know when Luke loses a close match or a total blowout, the last thing he wants to do is look his opponent’s parent in the face and hear what a nice match it was….(yeah, nice for you). Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone means well. I never get nervous or anxious or even really care who wins or loses. I do try to congratulate the winner-even if he did beat the tar out of my kid but when someone else’s kid lost a painfully close or not close match, I say something nice to the parents and give the kid some space. Trust me, that boy (or girl) is not going to lose any sleep because I didn’t rush over and pat him on the back.
4. In case you don’t already know this, tennis is EXPENSIVE and we don’t even pay for equipment, lessons, clinics or most court time. I know other sports at high levels are expensive and honestly, I don’t know how most people do it. Even for families in which money is not an issue, I don’t know how they make it work logistically. I am constantly trying to balance privilege with responsibility but this is hard to do even in our family where resources are limited. Just sayin’.
5. Tennis is such a fun sport to watch and play. It’s amazing how good really young kids can be even if they aren’t headed for the pro tour. It takes so much more skill than people realize and it’s so impressive to watch the better players. It is athleticism in its most challenging form. Tennis takes skill, precision, endurance, strategy, more mental and emotional toughness than any sport I’ve played and excellent sportsmanship at its best. As Mark always says, there are no clocks, scorekeepers, coaches or referees at the lower level.
What are your experiences with competitive sports. Anyone involved in junior tennis?