Posts tagged travel

TRN’s National Showcase Series

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5 months ago
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As I’ve been posting on Facebook and Tweeting this week, TennisRecruiting.net recently announced its National Showcase Series for 2013.

Per the email I received yesterday from TRN, the National Showcase Tournaments are designed to give players a chance to compete outside of their districts and sections.  They are seeking to fill the gap left by USTA’s 2013 and 2014 junior competition calendar changes, some of which limit players to competing within their own section or region.  While the TRN events will NOT count toward USTA national rankings, they WILL count toward USTA sectional or district ranking (if the player is competing in one of these events held in his/her own section or district of residence) as well as a player’s ranking and More >

Waco ITF – The Outcome

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7 months ago
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Day 1 of Qualies, ITF Tournament 1, Waco, Texas

Coach Julius (via text message to me): Game on!

Me: What’s that mean????

Coach: He just started.

Me: Ah, thanks!  Keep me posted!

Coach: Very rough start.  Nerves.  Lots of unforced errors.  0-4.

Me: Uh oh

Coach: 0-6.  Playing scared.  Poor shot selection and too many short balls off his forehand and backhand.

Me: Hmmm . . . hope he can pull it together for the 2nd . . .

Coach: 1-1 in 2nd

Me:  Calming down?

Coach: Not yet

Me: Hmmmm

Coach: 1-4

Coach (10 minutes later): 0-6, 1-6.  I’m speechless.

Me: Will be interested to hear from both of you after you have time to reflect.  How’s he doing???

Coach: Having a tough time.

Me:

__________

Son: I lost.

Husband: Sorry to hear that.  We’ll talk a More >

Waco ITF – The Decision

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8 months ago
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A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to comment here or via Twitter or via Facebook or via email – I knew y’all would have some great suggestions for me!  I love hearing about your experiences with these different tournaments and how you weigh cost vs. value.  As I keep saying, it’s not just about the tennis here – sometimes it’s about the Life Lessons learned.

Here’s what we finally decided to do regarding next week’s ITF tournament in Waco . . .

I sat down and figured out what the total cost was going to be for the tournament, expecting that my son will make it through a couple of qualifying matches and maybe, just maybe, into the main draw:  flight, hotel, rental car, gas, meals, and his coach’s daily fee.  A conservative More >

ITFs – Got Info?

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8 months ago
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My son has been asking to play an ITF tournament for over a year.  Since there are very few even played in the US these days, it wasn’t hard to deter him.  However, a friend’s mom told me I should sign him up for the one in Waco, Texas, because it’s a lower-grade tournament and might be a good first experience for my son.  I went on the ITF website, registered him for an iPin (ITF’s version of a USTA number, I guess), and signed him up for the tournament.  Then, we waited.  And waited.  And waited.

Finally, the Acceptance List came out, and my son’s name appeared waaaaaay down the page on the list of Alternates.  Not the Qualifiers (yes, ITF junior events have a Qualifier that starts 2 days prior to the Main Event – you have to win 4 More >

Back to Work

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8 months ago
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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

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8 months ago
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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 >

The End of an Era

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10 months ago
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Today marks the end of an era.  I will no longer be the daily chauffeur for my son.  He will no longer need me to drive him to drills, pick him up afterward, take him to fitness, or schlep him to school.  He is now a licensed driver.

And, given that he is my last child at home and the last to drive, that means my time is now my own.  That means I can book appointments, make lunch dates, and whatever else I want to do on my time-frame without worrying that I’ll be finished in time to pick up my son and take him where he needs to be.

That also means every time he gets behind the wheel, I will get that little clutch in my stomach – you know the one – and worry like crazy until he calls to let me know he’s arrived wherever safe and in one More >

Random Thoughts on Hannity vs. USTA

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10 months ago
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I’m guessing you’ve all read Sean Hannity’s blog post regarding the changes to the national junior comp schedule that will become effective in 2014.  I’m guessing you’ve all read Patrick McEnroe’s and Tim Russell’s replies, too, as well as Mr. Hannity’s rebuttal.  I’ve read endless commentary on this heated debate on the various blogs and Facebook groups and message boards I frequent and tried to process everything written – it’s a lot to take in!

Given that my son isn’t yet playing at the national level and, therefore, isn’t immediately affected by these changes, I’m not sure anyone really cares what I have to say on the subject.  However, in the name of research, I did have two rather lengthy phone conversations with Tim Russell and More >

Holabird Sports-Adidas “All-In” Junior Tennis Challenge

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10 months ago
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With the various changes that USTA is implementing throughout the junior competition calendar, several forward-thinking individuals and companies are stepping in to offer players and their families alternative ways to maximize their tournament experiences.  The Holabird Sports-Adidas All-In Junior Tennis Challenge is one such event.  I had the opportunity to speak with the tournament’s creator, Sol Schwartz, and to ask him a few questions:

ParentingAces: Why did you decide to create this tournament?

Sol Schwartz: The tournament was created for a few different reasons, the main one being that it will create an atmosphere that is going to be totally unique for the junior tennis player.  Our event has a variety of rules components that More >

You Gotta Have Faith

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10 months ago
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A big thank-you to my amazing yoga instructor, Lisa Jones, for the quote above.

Sometimes I get a major wake-up call which catches me totally off guard.  This weekend’s tournament was one of those.

The week leading up to the tournament was a rough one for my son.  He came down with a cold/sinus infection on Monday and immediately started taking a antibiotic in hopes that he would feel significantly better by the Saturday start day.  All week, he shortened his practices, even resorting to hitting with only me one of the days, trying to conserve his energy.  I begged him to drink Emergen-C – my go-to when I start feeling a cold coming on.  He drank one, maybe two, all week.  I begged him to drink protein shakes at the end of each day.  He More >

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