"Three Things I Learned This Summer"

While reflecting on the last 8 weeks in the lives of competitive junior tennis players (coincidentally the same as the last 8 weeks in the lives of HIGH-TECH TENNIS, lol), I realized that I learned three unrelated but important things. I think these are worth thinking about and wanted to share them with you:

1. Show Respect for Your Parent's Money - Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that the economy is in a very bad place and no one can say when things will improve... Clearly, it's worse for some than it is for others, but it's not great for ANY of us. The biggest problem is J-O-B-S...Far too many parents are losing theirs (or they're worried that they might) and far too many don't even have one at all, but they're doing their best to keep their juniors involved in tennis. However, equipment, lessons, academy, travel, and tournaments are EXPEN$IVE...

The least expensive (but most valuable!?!) component of junior tennis is a Match Play Video from HIGH-TECH TENNIS! :) In the words of a recent customer: "My son learned more about his tennis game from watching just ONE of your videos than he's learned in TEN private lessons!" Truer words were never spoken! But if the player refuses to watch the video, they learn NADA and it's a W-A-S-T-E of everyone's time (and money). So players, if your parent purchases a video from HIGH-TECH TENNIS, the very least you can (and should) do is WATCH IT WITH AN OPEN MIND. You will be AMAZED at how much you can (and will) learn...You can study your footwork, shot selection, court positioning, body language...and then you can study the same aspects of your OPPONENT'S game. Be smart, use video to your advantage, but please show respect for your parent's money! :-)

2. "We Don't Even Get a Break At All!" - This summer has been brutally hot, with many big tournaments scheduled practically backtoback. That may be unavoidable, but it's worth nothing that I asked two 12 year old players separately and privately whether they were sick of tennis this summer. They both dropped their heads and quietly admitted "YES". In the words of another player, "First we played our Qualifier and then Closed and then Clay Courts and then Zonals and then State Championships and then Hard Courts and then school starts---we don't even get a break AT ALL!!!" How sad...I reminded him that summertime IS the break!!! I told him I hope he gets to float down a river on an inner tube or something FUN and non-tennis-related before school starts---he said "ME TOO!" They may be tennis players but they're also KIDS---and kids should enjoy lots of things besides tennis in the summertime. Ever wonder why so many tennis players burn out? hmmm. As for us, we are beyond exhausted...and we haven't played a single set. :(

3. Some Things are NEVER O.K. - It is never, under any circumstances, acceptable for an adult to raise his voice, exchange harsh words, and almost fisticuffs with a junior player during or after a tennis match. NEVER. I witnessed this exact thing and the adult I am speaking of should be ashamed of himself.

As always, the very last thing we want to do is generate any controversy whatsoever.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!We may not have kids of our own
but we're watching these kids grow up before our eyes!
Juniors just don't stay juniors forever-they grow into adults.

Junior tennis is a journey, not a destination…
You might as well enjoy it!