Wednesday, November 18, 2015

BOB DYLAN HAD IT RIGHT



Sometimes we get consumed with all the changes that have come & continue to come to junior tennis... now it's time to change college tennis. :( Guess that's what happens when your total livelihood & ability to pay or not pay your mortgage depends entirely upon the sport of tennis. Even when we go on vacation, we can't get away from it & we know the self-employed people out there will totally understand what we're saying.

So we're at a lovely bed & breakfast downtown in Amazing Asheville, NC. If you haven't been, we highly recommend you plan a visit - pronto! We're already planning our return visit :)

We had a wonderful anniversary trip <15 years of marriage, 21 years as a couple, in case you're counting!> but one of my least favorite parts of the bed & breakfast experience was that our lovely hostess really put the breakfast in b&b... Not only did she whip up a 2-course gourmet meal, but she was proud to stand beside you & announce what was being served every morning at a mandatory seating for all guests - total strangers, mind you - downstairs in the formal dining room at 9AM sharp. That was a little rough, considering we were trying to visit each & every one of the brewery & winery options that Asheville has to offer, which is a lot, LOL!!

So anyway, we struggled to make polite conversation with mostly retired people even though our heads were pounding. It wasn't easy but we managed. Thinking back, our conversation one morning went from the dramatic changes <shrinking congregations> that have come to church communities all over the country <maybe the world> & then the conversation turned to dramatic changes <extreme head injuries> that are impacting youth football & then inevitably we started talking about the cuts in junior tennis that we fought against & lost 4 years ago, followed by the elimination of college tennis, which happens almost every single day. We'll certainly fight against the changes but I suspect we'll lose again. <sigh>

So that got me thinking... What's going on? What do church & football & tennis have in common? Not much...except one thing & Bob Dylan had it right: For the times they are a-changin'

"Come mothers & fathers 
throughout the land
And don't criticize 
what you can't understand. 

And you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone for
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

THANK YOU FOR 10 YEARS OF SUPPORT & PLEASE KEEP IT COMING!

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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

HI JACK!! :-)


We don't have any kids...but if we HAD a son, we'd be over-the-moon with pride if that son were even 1/2 the kid this guy is! We've had people thank us for the videos, of course, & that's always nice to hear but we have NEVER had a player go out of their way to actually CALL US long distance to share their good news!! This brought & still brings happy tears to my eyes: "Hello, HIGH-TECH TENNIS! This is Jack Pyritz. I'm about to sign with the Citadel & I just wanted to thank you guys for all the years of support!! I couldn't have done it without you!!" AWW!

Wish we had a pic from the day we met @ Southern Closed 10s in 2007 <do not> :( That was when 10yo JACK PYRITZ of Wake Forest, NC retrieved my pretzels from the group of 10yo players who thought it was funny to grab 'em & run... Not only that, Jack actually SCOLDED the boys about how it wasn't very nice of them to do that, particularly when I'd been enough to bring & share my pretzels with them in the first place!!! He's been my personal hero since that day & through countless discussions about the pros/cons of being an entrepreneur <He was the founder of Pet Rocks, Inc> :) I still have the rock he gave me when the tourney folks @ the Cary Tennis Park were giving him grief about having no license & telling him he had to shut down his small table of rocks. When I insisted he was with us, Jack wrote me a note that said: "Thank you for saving my business!!" AWW!

Soo many other stories come to mind when I think about Jack...way too many to list here but our new friend Coach Chuck Kriese @ the Citadel must have caught a glimpse of what we've known all along: JACK PYRITZ <shown above @ Tennis Club At Springhurst​ w/ little sis Tiffany> is an amazing kid... More than that, he's an AMAZING HUMAN BEING & WE WISH HIM ALL THE VERY BEST!!

UPDATE: Check out our favorite cadet @ the Citadel!!!


Tennis is a GAME, not rocket science & junior players are CHILDREN, not mini-professionals. Junior tennis is a JOURNEY, not a destination... YOU MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY IT!!

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