Posts tagged son

Student of the Sport

8
1 year ago
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This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a USTA College Information Session for high school players and their parents held during the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia.

The panel, led by USTA’s Senior Manager of Junior and Collegiate Competition, Erica Perkins Jasper, included the following heavy-hitters from the tennis world:

  • Bobby Bayliss – Head Men’s Coach at Notre Dame University
  • Christine Bader – Head Women’s Coach at Ball State University
  • Maria Cercone – junior coach in Florida whose daughter plays #3 doubles and #5 singles for the University of Florida
  • Rick Davison – Director of Competition at USTA Georgia
  • Steve Johnson, Sr. – Father of top-ranked D1 player, Steve Johnson, of USC and top junior coach in Southern More >

Breaking the Streak

5
1 year ago
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My son went into this past weekend’s tournament on a 7-match losing streak.  He had been “rounded” in singles in the past two tourneys plus had lost his final high school match of the season in the semis of the state playoffs, and his confidence was lower than I had seen it in a long time.

This tournament was a state level 3 tournament, located about a half hour from our house, meaning that it really wasn’t going to draw the top top players, but it was a good opportunity for my kid to play up in the 18s, build some confidence, and get more of a jump-start on his 18s ranking.  The draw was only 16 players, so, at most, he was going to play 4 matches (or 5 if he moved into the back draw) over the two days.

When the draws were posted on More >

Today’s the Big Day!

2
1 year ago
in ,

My son’s high school team is playing in the Georgia State Semifinals today.  If they win, they will take a short break then play the Finals.  It’s a Big Day for these boys, one they’ve been working toward since mid-January . . . but really since the time they each picked up a racquet and hit that first fuzzy yellow ball.

As I’ve talked about in previous posts (see “We” Won), the idea of TEAM is kind of a strange one in a sport that truly focuses on individual effort, individual training, individual competition.   But, I feel very strongly that the lessons my son is learning through team participation will help him become not only a better tennis player but also a better human being.  As Janis Meredith so beautifully put it in her JBMThinks More >

Help Yourself!

2
1 year ago
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Have you noticed all the medical time-outs and trainer visits the pros seem to be having during their matches in recent years?  Sometimes they’re necessary,  but sometimes they’re a strategic move on the part of the player to shift the momentum of the match or take a time-out to regroup after a rough patch.  In either case, I think it’s time for professional tennis to take a lesson from the juniors and teach the players how to care for themselves court-side or just resign themselves to the fact that the fitter, healthier player is going to win that day.

Very few junior tournaments have medical trainers on staff – it’s just too expensive for the tournament directors – so it’s really important that your junior player understands how to take More >

Keeping It All In Perspective

1
1 year ago
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I have a confession to make:  I am NOT a perfect tennis parent.  Shocking, I know (!), but sometimes I tend to lose perspective, letting the little things get in the way of the big ones.

Last week, my son had Spring Break from school.  A few weeks earlier, my husband had mentioned that he’d like to take our son on a father-son trip, maybe fishing or skiing.  Given that I’m the parent in charge of All Things Tennis, my husband asked me which tournaments were coming up during our son’s break from school to figure out how best to schedule their getaway.  Of course, there were two big tournaments planned during that week, each within an hour and a half of our house and each one that our son really wanted to play.  I told my husband about the More >

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