ParentingAces
Posts tagged parenting
It’s Signing Week
06 months ago
This is the week when high school tennis players (and all high school athletes for that matter) can first sign on the proverbial dotted line to commit to playing their sport at the collegiate level. There are press conferences, lots of picture-taking, and lots of hype surrounding the top players – TennisRecruiting devotes a ton of bandwidth to Signing Week and where the Blue Chips and 5-Stars are headed next Fall. It’s a pretty big deal!
We are still two years away from Signing Week in our house, thank goodness. And, I know to my son that seems like an eternity. But for me, I’m realizing that it’s right around the corner. Two years can pass in the blink of an eye.
I’m trying to urge him – nudge him gently – to start taking bolder More >
Wayne Bryan Hits the Nail on the Head
137 months ago
I urge you all to read Steve Bellamy’s Open Letter to the US Tennis Industry published online at http://tennisinsiders.com/?post_type=featured_story&p=1323
Below is Wayne Bryan’s comment on the Letter . . .
Preamble:
a) The most important aspect of this is to get lots of input and opinions from all over the country – – – from experienced club pros and public park coaches and college coaches and high school coaches and academy coaches and veteran ‘n passionate parents from Florida to New York to Georgia to Texas to Nebraska to North Dakota to California to Oregon and everywhere in between.
b) Study the history of the National Schedule and Rankings over the past 30 years.
c) Remember that when the USTA asked my pal and great coach and mega More >
Mom’s Magic Mirror
27 months ago
Before this past weekend’s local tournament even started, my son told me that I wasn’t “allowed” to post any pictures or status updates on Facebook about it. I asked him why. He told me, “Because it’s just a Georgia Level 4, Mom. It’s no big deal.” I, of course, respected his wishes. (He never said anything about keeping it off my blog!)
As I thought more about my son’s request, I realized just how far he has come tennis-wise and maturity-wise in the last year. He played this same tournament last Fall (except he played in the 16s instead of the 18s as he did this year). When he entered the tournament a year ago, he hadn’t won a single tournament since he was in the 10s . . . not a single one! And, last year, he won this More >
Complain, Complain, Complain . . . Do!
27 months ago
in Resources
There is a lot of complaining going on in the Tennis World – from players, from coaches, from parents, from tournament directors, from journalists – I hear it all the time! And blame – WOW! – every organization is getting blamed for the demise of American tennis, from USTA to ITF to USPTA to NCAA . . . the list goes on and on.
This blog was born out of complaints that I had myself and that I heard from other tennis parents, so I get it – I’m not innocent in the Blame Game; in fact, far from it! But, if we just continue to complain and do nothing to change the status quo, then where does that get us?
A group of brilliant tennis minds is coming together to DO SOMETHING. There’s a brand new resource online called American Tennis Journal More >
USTA 2014 Jr Comp Update, Part 2
27 months ago
ZooTennis.com posted the following email sent from the outgoing and incoming USTA presidents to Tim Russell and others involved in the Junior Competition Committee and Player Development – it confirms my wariness (click here for the link to the full email):
Share this:USTA 2014 Jr Comp Update
18 months ago
Yesterday afternoon, I received a link from the folks at TennisRecruiting.net to the following article on their website:
This week, a group of people concerned with junior tennis – Steve Bellamy, Robert Sasseville and Kevin Kempin – were able to spend several hours speaking with USTA leadership (i.e., Dave Haggerty, Gordon Smith, Kurt Kamperman) about the planned upcoming changes to USTA Junior Competition. That group is pleased to say that there was a very open and candid exchange of ideas.
The group shared many, if not all, of its concerns about the proposed new competitive structure, and the USTA definitely listened. The group also got a better understanding of the USTA’s long-term objectives for making these changes. Long story short, More >
Back to Work
18 months ago
in Parenting
This week, I did something I hadn’t done for 14 years – I went to work for a boss other than myself.
When it was getting close to the time for my son to get his driver’s license, I had one of those AHA! moments and realized I was going to need something else to do with my afternoons once my chauffeuring skills were no longer needed. While I was very content with my schedule of teaching fitness classes, playing tennis, Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging, and hosting my radio show, I knew my mental health was going to suffer if I didn’t find a reason to get out of my house for at least a few hours each week. So, I started telling everyone I knew that I was looking for part-time work.
Part-time, for me, meant (1) I couldn’t work Mondays or More >
High(er) Anxiety
08 months ago
in Parenting
A friend recently posted an article on Facebook about our local public high school, the one my son attends and from which my daughters graduated. The article is about 5 years old – and a bit lengthy – but many of the student observations and quotes are still very applicable today. And, re-reading it now that my son is in his sophomore year is really making me think about the path he is on and the path I am on with him as he gets further into his high school career and closer the end of his Junior Tennis Journey.
If you want to take the time to read the article, I promise it will make you think, or re-think, about how you interact with your child(ren). And, if it doesn’t, it should. We are raising our children in an era of very high More >