SEPTEMBER'S STAYCATION!!

As you may know, we travel to junior tournaments all over the southeast because our mission is to make a difference by extending the power of video to as many junior tennis players as possible. This keeps us surprisingly busy, sometimes even non-stop, which is usually a good thing. But sometimes it just gets to be tooo much of a good thing, lol!! That's why this rainy Sunday in Georgia seemed like the perfect day to launch an early start to September's Staycation!!!

During some quiet time yesterday, I started thinking about how happy we are to have reconnected with friends old & new @ Windward Lake Club, how our 8th straight G12 National Hardcourt Championship was the very best E-V-E-R & how excited we are about the potential ways we can support the Windward Tennis Academy starting in the fall session!!! 

Then I started thinking about the tremendous success of the Tennis Recruiting Network's inaugural College Recruit Combine & Team Championships, brainstorming several ideas for making this event even BETTER & how much we're looking forward to multiple events being planned for 2016!!! 

Next my mind went to the John Strang McCallie Championships in Chattanooga, TN. This was our 9th straight trip to this excellent tournament & #10 is a given but hope it goes a little more smoothly than it did this year because we had serious challenges in terms of weather & extreme traffic.

Finally, my mind went to our sudden trip to FL on what was originally scheduled to be a family vacation but turned out to be an opportunity to spend time with close family members during a medical crisis. Thankfully, all is well!!!

THEN I REALIZED THIS ALL HAPPENED IN AUGUST,
WHICH IS NOT EVEN OVER YET...

WHEW!!!

No wonder we're both dragging!!! 

Wish we were going to the US Open but the reality is that we need to rest & recharge our batteries so we can come back strong!!

THAT IS WHY we're getting an early start on 
September's Staycation in Paradise!!
We've got several recruit sessions scheduled & loads of recruit videos to produce but our NEXT junior tourney is 9/11-13 <:(> It'll be our 8th straight year @ the Alabama Junior State Open in Mobile, AL.

We know we couldn't possibly live this dreamy life without your support so THANK YOU & PLEASE KEEP IT COMIN'!!!

CHAOTIC CONFUSION or CONFUSED CHAOS?

Math was never my strong suit <understatement of the decade>
so check out this challenging equation:

An extraordinarily popular but challenging brand new format
for distributing match play videos 

+

the busiest 5 week summer schedule in the 10yr history of
HIGH-TECH TENNIS 

=

C-H-A-O-T-I-C  C-O-N-F-U-S-I-O-N

or 

C-O-N-F-U-S-E-D  C-H-A-O-S

Just can't tell you how challenging it is to stay on top of all these moving tennis players <surely you realize that all tennis girls look like tennis girls & tennis boys look like tennis boys>, lol & we're certainly making more errors than we'd like!! 
BOTTOM LINE: We're sooo close but just not perfect yet
so while we work out all the details,

and we really hope this is true:

SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOR

It's a rainy night in Georgia <the very best kind> & we're reminded of this past weekend in Chattanooga @ the McCallie John Strang Championships. First of all, the weather caused extreme chaos to a very well-planned tournament but the weather was only the half of it. Due to a combination of events, the very unhappy TD said it was the worst McCallie tourney he'd ever experienced.

"I wish that I was not here."

So began Vice President Joe Biden's address to the families of the men who were killed in yet another senseless attack - this time in Chattanooga - exactly one month ago this past Saturday. How shocking to learn that the McKenzie Arena where the VP spoke was almost empty but the traffic on many of the surrounding roads was at a standstill. Even more disturbing was the reaction we observed when this inevitably impacted the junior tennis tournament.

We've been around junior tennis long enough that we still can't believe it but we surely expect this fact: Weather <or any other factor that is completely out of their control> will be blamed 100% on the hard-working tournament staff.

Can't tell you how many self-absorbed, downright narcissistic junior tennis parents rolled their eyes & loudly complained that they & their child were being inconvenienced. You would think we could at least shame them into understanding how out of line they were by explaining that the VP was in town to express his condolences to the families of men who'd lost their lives...but no such luck.

AND THAT IS SHAMEFUL.

Not trying to generate any controversy whatsoever...
but we observed way too much horrible behavior on the part of adults who are supposed to be setting examples for the players.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROGERRRRR

There's absolutely NO ONE like Roger Federerer & that's why it's our great pleasure to record our annual HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROGER video. Click the image above to view the cute video for his 34th birthday!!

LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY FED

G12 to G18

As you may know, we've proudly participated in the G12 National Hard Court Championships @ the Wonderful Windward Lake Club for the past 7 years. Due to circumstances beyond our control, it didn't look like there'd be an 8...But thanks to a last-minute personal invitation from none other than our old friend & new owner CHIP HALBAUER, there WAS an 8 & what an 8 it was!!! :)

Not exactly sure why but YEAR 8 @ Windward was THE BEST YEAR EVER!!! We had a blast catching up with old friends & making loads of new ones...We even got a big surprise when we saw our old pal ELLIE HALBAUER. Believe it or not, Ellie is not 12 anymore...In fact, she's now an 18 yo (!!!) & she gave a brief presentation about her journey from G12 to G18 @ the pool party. She also took a few questions from the girls. We knew you'd be interested so we recorded her presentation so we'd have the video to share with you...EXCEPT WE FORGOT TO PRESS RECORD!!! :( And when I say "WE" you know who I'm talking about, lol.

First, how about a FLASHBACK to when Ellie was just 10yo, followed by when she competed in this tourney in 2009 & a recent picture of her competing on a tennis court somewhere, lol:

Ellie was quite nervous while she practiced her speech. I encouraged her to calm down since all she had to do was tell the truth but not sure it helped...

Fortunately, she shared the text of her presentation with me & here is exactly what she said:

"I hope everyone is enjoying the tournament! I remember I really enjoyed this tournament when I was playing. For me, tennis was a long process. I didn't have instant success, but I kept trying and believing in myself. Through the guidance and support of my parents, coaches and HIGH-TECH TENNIS, I am currently playing on the pro circuit. It's been a lot of fun most of the time, there have been a lot of ups and downs with wins, losses and injuries but overall I'm happy I've chosen this sport! Make sure to let your parents and coaches know how much you appreciate them because without them, this wouldn't be possible. Thank You!"

Short & sweet <good thing since her hands were shaking, lol> but it was very interesting to the group of girls who'd gathered poolside to hear what Ellie had to say. 

Ellie took about 6-8 questions & I'll try to paraphrase the questions/answers:

"What's your ranking?" Ellie is 425 in the world.

"What's been your biggest win?" When she won the Van Der Meer Shipyard Women's $10,000 tourney in 2013 as a 16yo <a 10th grader>.

"What do wish you'd done differently?" She wished she hadn't changed coaches so frequently.

"What do you wish parents knew?" She wished that parents would ease up & understand that tennis is hard & players are trying their best. 

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Not at the present but she's hoping that'll change.

O.K., I was the one who asked the final two questions listed <LOL> & there were loads of others but I either didn't hear them or I can't remember them. Besides, I was counting on the videotape so I wasn't concentrating all that much!!

We had fun catching up with Ellie & her friend Tai Martin <who we've also known since she was about 8 or 9yo> before they took off for a pro tournament in PA. Though Ellie's future is unclear at the moment, Tai is counting the days <must be about 7 by now?> until she leaves for University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

They don't come any sweeter than these two...What a pleasure to have watched them grow up & we wish ALL THE VERY BEST to our friends ELLIE HALBAUER & TAI MARTIN!!

What we wish you knew is that what happens in a particular game or match or tournament is just not that serious. In fact, in the scheme of things, it just doesn't matter AT ALL.

What DOES matter is that juniors don't stay juniors forever...

They grow up & out of junior tennis before our very eyes.