3 WEEKS IN THE LIFE OF AN ANGEL

After 10+ years in the trenches with competitive junior tennis players & their families, there is no doubt that we've formed some pretty strong connections with certain players but NONE are as strong as my personal connection to this angel of a child: ANGEL CARNEY of Dallas, GA.

I've written about Angel in the past & I'll probably write about her in the future but the purpose of this short blog post is to give a great big SHOUT OUT to this 15yo who's just a few short weeks away from the BIG SIXTEEN. Why??? Well, three reasons:

1. We've talked about working together on a special project like HIGH-TECH TENNIS TEES but we've never actually done more than talk... until I surprised Angel by picking her up in my convertible (her 1st time in one!!) three weeks ago & brought her to my house, where we put our heads together to make a batch of candles (a definite first for each of us)!! We had sooo much fun plus Angel was an incredibly helpful helper! Soooo glad we did it together &, in spite of some hilarious trial & error, it looks like we're on to something so catch up with us @ a tournament or just stay tuned for much more info about TENNIS CANDLES IN A CAN!!

2.We saw Angel a week later @ the Icy Hot Level 2 Junior Championships in Montgomery, AL. She played her singles matches elsewhere but she & her partner, Ann Maria Adams from Macon, GA, came to the Lagoon Park Tennis Center to play the semis on the way to winning the G16 Doubles! YAHOOOOOO for not letting her doubles partner down & for not letting anyone know she was dealing with what looked like a pretty serious ankle injury!!

3. While we were in Montgomery, can't tell you how many players just assumed we'd be (& were shocked to learn that we would NOT be) @ the Southern Level 1A @ Clemson / Furman the very next weekend... Here's why: When we contacted the TD several years ago for permission to enhance their tournament with video, we had a lengthy discussion & then we were told that they'd "get back to us." So a few days went by, we'd heard nothing, so we called & left a friendly voicemail, requesting a return call. After a few more days, nada so we left a slightly-less friendly voicemail... noooo response :( so we left our 3rd & final voicemail: "Guess you're not interested but thanks --- really appreciate the return call." Whateverrrr. Anyway, that's enough of that unpleasant memory!! (Note: You would never ever believe how many stories we have like that.) We appreciated the weekend @ home & besides, the weather was lousy in SC, lol. 

BUT IT DIDN'T STOP ANGEL from winning a tough 3-set match in the round of 16, advancing & winning another tough 3-set match in the quarterfinal, advancing & winning yet another tough 3-set match in the semifinal to advance to the final, which SHE WON! 

G16 DOUBLES & G16 SINGLES CHAMPION

Not bad for back-to-back tournaments!! 

We are so very proud of our friend ANGEL, an incredibly sweet & very mature young lady, an excellent candlemaking assistant & oh yeah---a pretty good tennis player too!