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.

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.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, TENNIS DADDY-Os!

Have you ever stopped to think...

If there were no TENNIS DADDY-Os, there would be no junior tennis players <OBVIOUSLY> so in honor of FATHER'S DAY, here's a SHOUT OUT to some of our favorites!! 

Big apologies to the hundreds of dads whose pics we either don't have/can't put our fingers on, LOL!!

JAYANTH CHINTHAM & DAD: VENKAT of Cumming, GA
@ Mobile Tennis Center in AL

 RAFAEL DE CAMPOS & DAD: ???? of Windermere, FL
@ Florida Tennis Center in FL

 

 PIERCE OGDEN & DAD: ROBERT of Statesboro, NC
@ Mobile Tennis Center in AL

  ZACHARY SMITH & DAD: JEFFREY of New Orleans, LA
@ Springhurst Tennis Club in KY

  SKYLAR MCDONALD & DAD: ???? of Fayetteville, TN
@ Springhurst Tennis Club in KY

  JOHN FRENCH & DAD: ???? of Raleigh, NC
@ LTP in Mt. Pleasant, SC

   WILL BAIRD & DAD: DAVID of Cary, NC/Fairhope, AL
@ Mobile Tennis Center in AL

   CORI GAUFF & DAD: COREY of Atlanta, GA
@ Mobile Tennis Center in AL

    NOLAN & DAD: ???? of Eight Mile, AL
@ Mobile Tennis Center in AL

   NOAH TIPPEN & DAD: SCOTT of Trussville, AL
@ Champions Club in TN

    ???? & DAD: ???? of Peru
@ Florida Tennis Center in FL

    ???? & DAD: ???? of ????
@ Windward Lake Club in GA

    KYLE JOHNSON JR & DAD: KYLE of Charlotte, NC
@ Olde Providence Racquet Club in NC

  MAX VICARIO'S LITTLE SIS MAURA & DAD: ???? of Mooresville, NC
@ Springhurst Tennis Club in KY

    ???? & DAD: ???? of ????
@ McCallie School in TN

    ???? & DAD: ???? of Louisville, KY
@ Springhurst Tennis Club in KY

IT'S A REAL PRIVILEGE TO PLAY A SMALL PART IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOUSANDS OF JUNIOR TENNIS PLAYERS & WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

GROWING UP & OUT OF JUNIOR TENNIS

As you may know, 2015 is our TENTH year & that means we've watched many, many players grow up!! It also means a lot of our friends are moving out of junior tennis. This blog post just happens to focus on three young ladies who walked by during the sauna aka the Southern Closed in Mobile :)

We've known these three young ladies since they were about 10 <our cameras have recorded them dozens of times!!> & now that they're about to leave junior tennis behind, all the drama of cheating players, incompetent officials & non-stop fighting parents just doesn't seem to matter that much - as a matter of fact, it never really did, lol.

LAUREN MCCALL & MOM of Cary, NC/Alpharetta,GA/Cary, NC :)

RACHEL HARDEN & MOM of Martinez, GA :)

JORDAN STRICKLAND & MOM of Cary, NC :)

It has been a real privilege to play a small part in the development of these sweet girlies & we know they'll do amazing things in the world!! Well done, moms & YOU TOO DADS!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT & ALL THE BEST!!

C'MON, PARENTS!!

As you know, we are 1000% dedicated to helping junior players achieve their recruiting & training goals & we travel to approximately 30 tennis tourneys throughout the southeast each year. Believe it or not, you better believe we see & hear some unbelievable things...like these:

• "I'm buying a video so my daughter's coach can rip her a new one!!!"~Mother
  "Oh my! How old is your daughter & has she ever been to the Mobile Tennis Center before?"~Me"She's 10 & no, she's never been here before!!!"~Mother
  "Well, she's 2 years younger than her opponent & this facility can be pretty overwhelming to a young player when it's their first time here!"~Me
  "That's no excuse!! She played like she's NEVER played tennis before in her life!!! She was just AWFUL!!!"~Mother

• "My daughter just lets her opponents cheat her. I've told her over & over that she needs to cheat them back or at least call her opponent to the net & let her know that she sees what she's doing, but she just won't do it. We like it so much better when she plays pro tourneys because at least they have line judges so there's no cheating or gamesmanship. I am SOOOOO angry & have written SOOOOO many letters to the USTA --- all to no avail."~Mother
  "I'm proud of her that she doesn't cheat back or sink to playing gamesmanship games. Your daughter has integrity, which means so much more than just winning a tennis match."~Me
  "Yeah, well not really! I am so angry that none of the officials do their jobs & my poor daughter gets cheated almost every time she plays a tournament!!"~Mother

• "Now that you've had to withdraw due to injury, I hope you'll give your body a chance to heal."~Me
  "No way. I'm going to play a pro tourney next weekend! I wish I could rest but you should tell my mom not to sign me up for everything!!"~Junior

• "My son played really bad because he has so much on his mind with college and everything."~Father
  "You don't need to make an excuse. If he lost, he lost & anyway, it's just tennis!"~Me
  "We came all this way for nothing!"~Father

• "My brother cheats his way through home school & he's about 2 months behind on his studies because he's always playing tournaments & he doesn't have time for school."~Sister
  "That's awful!! I bet your parents would be furious if they knew!!"~Me
  "No, they know & they don't seem to care."~Sister

• "Are you having fun at the tournament?"~Me
  "NO!!! I lost!!!"~13yo Junior
  "Well, at least you came to the tournament & I'm sure you learned something from your matches, right? Have you talked to your coach?"~Me
  "Yeah - My coach said I'm too good to get rounded but I did."~Junior

• "I never get involved but my son got a code violation for saying GOSH. He didn't say GOD!"~Mother
  "Ma'am, the official on the court clearly heard your son say GOD."~Head Ref
  "Your official must be out to get my son!"~Mother

• "As I told you 8 years ago, what you are doing is perfectly legal & I'm glad you haven't let anyone convince you otherwise! It's soooo nice to see you & please come to the FL State Closed & please use my name as a parent who wants to order more Match Play & College Recruit Videos!!"~Judge, father of now 17yo & big fan of HTT

• "Dear Heavenly Father .........."~Junior & parents, standing in a circle w/ hands clasped, praying before her 8AM match

• "My best friends's mom was a real DRAMA MAMA during her match & we're gonna see the whole thing on video!!"~Junior
  "DRAMA MAMA - I've never heard that one before!!"~Me
  "Well, it's true!!!"~Junior

The very last thing we want to do is generate any controversy whatsoever... 


We are shining a light on things we see & hear because we truly hope it'll bring about positive change. We will never reveal names or locations because we don't want to cause problems.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

"THE HUG" - REVISITED

After driving all over the Southern Section for the majority of the past 3 months, we were looking forward to a 3.5 WEEK STAYCATION & then we got a call from the TD @ the GA STATE OPEN in Rome, GA on April 3-5, 2015. "You guys do such a great job - please come to our tournament!!" WELL, if you knew how many invitations we receive, you'd understand that this almost never happens so HOW COULD WE SAY NO?? But that's really not the point of this post...

I was minding my own business, probably doing my favorite thing <which is coloring one of our whiteboards, lol> when a woman came running up to me, wrapped her arms around me & gave me a GIGANTIC HUG!! I must confess that I didn't recognize who she was but how could I possibly turn down a much-needed, extra-sweet hug??? Much to my delight, it turned out that

"THIS HUGGER" WAS THE MOTHER OF "THE HUGGER" FROM LAST SUMMER!!!

The reason she was giving me the hug was to thank me <ABOUT A MILLION TIMES--OR MORE> for what I wrote about her son last summer. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't remember exactly WHAT I'd written but who could forget her son & THE HUG??? Not only did she thank me for it, she shared with me that it had been read so, SOOO many times by extended members of her family & that her mom had actually CRIED WITH JOY when she read what I wrote!! How wonderful to learn that we're making a difference without even knowing it!!!  :) 

CAN YOU IMAGINE???

The hugger's mom is shown below on the right <sharing a hug with our most recent HIGH-TECH HELPER, naturally!!> & below the pic is last summer's post about "THE HUG!!" We see soooooo much negative stuff so what a pleasure to share such a precious moment - this VERY BEAUTIFUL Observation from the Trenches - with you!!

As you might imagine, our video cameras have seen a LOT of things since we've been following the world of junior tennis over the past 8+ years-- some good, some bad & some downright U-G-L-Y -- but they have never, ever, EVER seen anything like what happened at the end of the B12 FINAL at the GEORGIA OPEN in Rome, GA on 7/15/14!

The #1 seed from GA (shorter player) was competing against an unseeded player from SC (much taller player). The players had never met & neither player had requested the match on video but you never know what might happen so we hung a camera up there just in case &

WOW O WOW!

Were we, both players & both parents ever glad we did!!! The conditions were extremely challenging & the players battled in what must have felt like a sauna for approximately 2.5 hours. When it was all over, the #1 seed had won a very tough match 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 but you won't believe what happened next...

Instead of shaking hands the way players normally do, the taller boy reached out & wrapped his long arms around the shorter boy WHO HAD JUST DEFEATED HIM IN THE FINAL & he gave him a HUGE bear hug. The reaction by those who'd seen it??? DISBELIEF, SHOCK, RESPECT, ADMIRATION!!! Everyone was talking about how unexpected & wonderful it was!!! It should come as no surprise whatsoever that the taller boy won the prestigious SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD for the tournament of almost 700 competitors. Our cameras have NEVER seen anything like it.

HATS OFF to ZACHARY PRINCE from Columbia, SC!!!

Marshall & Sherry Prince (his parents) must be & SHOULD BE so very proud to see such incredible poise at what must have been a very difficult, very disappointing moment for a young 12-year-old child. Given the disrespectful, bratty behavior that we frequently see from junior players, this was absolutely wonderful to see & I will never, ever forget it or ZACHARY PRINCE. 

I am sure this special child will grow up to be a special adult who will do special things in the world :)

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

As you may know, we use video technology to help junior tennis players achieve their goals. That means we videotape tennis matches - LOTS OF THEM - and it doesn't happen as much as it used to but it still happens way too much: we encounter unreasonable tennis parents who demand that we treat player differently than the hundreds of others who compete at junior tennis tournaments every single day. Oftentimes these parents threaten to sue us <as if we own more than the shirts on our backs!!> but they will not win because it should go without saying but I'll say it anyway: WE WOULD NEVER EVEN CONSIDER DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL OR IMMORAL.

Given that we only record matches in public OR in private (with full permission of the facility owner), we try to explain to the tennis parent that we live in a free country & when you leave the privacy of your home, you forfeit any & all expectation to privacy. Furthermore, if you've paid any attention to recent news, surely you realize that people can AND DO videotape anything or anyone at any time. Consider how easy it is to snap a quick pic or record a quick vid on your cellphone & you'll understand my point, not to mention the number of people openly walking around with GoPro cameras these days!!

That got me thinking about just how many times we are recorded each day in America. According to a quick Google search, our image is captured from 18 - 300 times PER DAY - often without our knowledge & certainly without our "permission." Since I never leave home without my trusty BlackBerry as I run around in support of HIGH-TECH TENNIS, I've captured a few samples of where my image has been captured. I should have taken better pics so you'd quickly recognize where I was when I snapped the pic but I'm sure you get the point & don't forget there's even a tv show called CAUGHT ON CAMERA!

They may be few & far between these days <thank goodness> but there are still some parents out there who are convinced that their child is so special that the rules just don't apply to him or her. These parents are absolutely determined to cause problems for us by complaining to busy Tournament Directors about what we do & how we do it. Fortunately for us, we only go to tournaments where we are welcome & our services are valued. We certainly don't go <ANY MORE> to tournaments where they throw us under the bus!! BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!! Instead, we <HEART> TDs who support & back us up, as Lorraine Novak did in this response to a parent who demanded a special exception for her child:

"This is a Public Facility and High Tech is an official vendor for this tournament. This is a service many players want access to and one of the amenities we promote. High Tech has permission to film players upon their request. This is really no different than a parent filming their own child. I cannot stop a parent from filming. Parents are simply paying someone else to do the work. So many players are visual and this is a valuable tool to help a player improve his/her game. 

The other issue you might have is that you are concerned it is a distraction or hindrance. The equipment is minimal and hangs on the backside of the fence. It is not on the court and there are no distracting colors. As long as there is no movement of equipment during play, the camera is not considered a distraction or hindrance. 

I am sure High Tech knows this, but I will remind them they cannot use your image in publications such as advertising without your permission. I will let High Tech know of your wishes and if they can avoid it, they will. However with 60 courts, they are not always able to keep up with the opponents. It is hard enough to keep up with the demands of the paying customers."

We don't have kids of our own but we really do care about YOUR kids & our only goal is to help them achieve THEIR goals!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

The Doctor is IN :)

"HIGH-TECH TENNIS is about so much more than just pressing the RECORD button!"

I remember the first time I said those words to Danny. He focuses so completely on cameras, court numbers & a million little technical details (especially at tournaments) so that we can deliver a complete, high quality video to each customer and I'm not sure he paid much attention to me (grrr). But since I'm the one who interacts with people (which I really do like!), I'm the one who gets to know the players & the parents...& I get involved in lots of little dramas that take place during & after tournaments. I'm certainly not a coach (not even a player!) - but sometimes I feel like I'm a counselor!!! WHY WOULD I SAY THAT?? Well, consider just a few of the recent tennis academy questions that have come my way:

• "After talking to you for the past 10 minutes, I really feel like you understand what's important & you share my values. We're considering a move in the next six months. Which academy in the Southern Section would YOU recommend?"
• "We're considering sending my 14-year-old daughter to stay with this coach and attend his academy. Since you live in the state where this academy is located (& we live in a different state), what do you think about this idea?"
• "I've been checking into various academies for my son but they're all so expensive! Do you think $3200 per month is reasonable?"
• "Why does it seem like everyone belongs to an academy these days?? My daughter doesn't - and she doesn't WANT to - but now I'm wondering if there something wrong with her (and us) because we have no interest in her playing tennis for 5-6 hours every day!"
• "Tennis is a big part of my daughter's life - but tennis is NOT her life! I want her to be more than just a tennis kid. We want her to be a good person who's also a good tennis player. Are we crazy?"

Or how about these random questions:

• "Could you give me some advice regarding my son's recruit video? I trust you and I'd really appreciate your guidance here."
• "Why is my daughter playing like crap??? I did NOT get up at 4AM and drive 6 hours for this!!" Note that her daughter was competing in a third-set tiebreaker in the Round of 16 at a recent tournament (she did win the match but lost in the quarterfinals of the main draw).
• "What should I do about my mom getting so mad when I lose?? I'm trying my best but I know she doesn't believe that!! I feel really bad about myself when I lose..and she just makes me feel so much worse!!"

And please do not get me started on the abusive father at the Orange Bowl. Notice the lack of outrage - it's kinda like "ho-hum...what else is new...nothing to see here...let's move on." Danny and I decided long ago that if we had to operate our business in Florida, we could not be in this business. Florida is TOXIC & we refuse to even put ourselves in that atmosphere. But we're adults & we make our own choices...the young players don't have those luxuries. :(

On a related subject, it was last March when we first learned about the massive changes that are coming to junior tennis. We fought back, we watched parents, coaches & others fight back, we've followed the fights, the exploding blogs, the name-calling & on & on. Our position is & has always been: We don't have to like the changes (& we sure don't--we think they'll be bad for junior tennis & we KNOW they'll be bad for HIGH-TECH TENNIS) but we do have to accept them. So we'll move forward with HIGH-TECH TENNIS & SPORTS VIDEO... Basically we'll keep using video to help junior athletes improve their skills & stay focused on something positive - like a sport - so they can avoid dead-end choices & other bad decisions that will limit their chance to have a successful life.
We'd love to help them ALL get to college because we feel a college degree means a BRIGHTER future...but we certainly know that college isn't for everyone. At the end of the day, we're determined to make a difference.

Many of you know that I've been inspired by my friend Elizabeth Edwards, who died two years ago today: 

"I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious.
And for that I am grateful." 

May you rest in peace forever, EE. 

Thank you for supporting & caring about what happens to HIGH-TECH TENNIS! Remember that our video cameras will be looking for YOU!

Our FIRST EVER Fall Southern Closed

Everyone knows we love Kentucky in December (and we're totally looking forward to our FIFTH STRAIGHT Winter Southern Closed which will be here before we know it). But how would we feel about Kentucky in November? hmm... We just got home last night from our FIRST EVER Fall Southern Closed --- and we really weren't sure what to expect --- but we'll try anything once so we hit the road with fingers crossed. How did it go? Well, you gotta read on...for this exciting tale of our tournament travels! :)

We arrived at the host site (Louisville Indoor Racquet Club) just in time for registration. We considered several locations inside the club before we chose the best spot to set up our home-away-from-home for the next 5 days. So far, so good. But then we identified a few negatives that would make the tournament even more challenging than most...

The first was the alternate sites. With the exception of our favorite club in Kentucky-The Tennis Club at Springhurst-the other sites were not close together AT ALL. No problem-we'll just focus on LIRC and Springhurst and apologize to those at the other sites. Great plan - EXCEPT that 50% of the players who signed up for Day 1 of the tournament were playing at alternate sites. :( We just hate to say "NO" to good customers who are also good friends so we said "YES" - where there's a will, there's a way.

Next, we discovered that the curtains at LIRC were super-tall, meaning I couldn't reach the top of them...which meant that I couldn't lend a hand to help Danny if/when I had a free moment. No worries-we hired a teenager to help Wednesday morning and (tag-team) a local tennis pro to help Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. Not only could these helpers reach the top of the curtains, they also had cars they could jump into and they live in the area so they had no problem cruising over to the alternate sites. Problem solved!

The final issue was the HUGE fee we had to pay to LIRC for the opportunity to provide video services to our customers. We usually avoid those tournaments that charge a fee (we work to keep our prices low, low so every player can use video to their advantage) and since we're responsible for our expenses (you can imagine that driving all other the southeast and spending so many nights away from home really adds up), well, the margins are just really small---especially since we never really know whether we'll even make 50 cents!

As it turns out, our numbers were

 OFF THE CHARTS!!!

When the folks at LIRC approached us on the last day to find out whether our trip had been worthwhile, I told them we'd done very well. They said that was good for them and good for us...a WIN/WIN.

I said it really wasn't about us...it was about the players.

And it was VERY GOOD for them!!!

One of the many positive things I'll remember from this trip was when I asked 37 players a very serious question: "On a scale of 1-10, how happy is your life?" Most reacted with stunned silence, then comments like "Do you mean now that my match is finished?" or "I never thought about that before!" and I had to clarify that I meant IN GENERAL and I would only accept ONE WHOLE NUMBER (no decimals, no approximate # or #). I think the results were sooo interesting (considering these were junior tennis players, most of whom travel around the south at great expense to play a game): TEN: 9, NINE: 7, EIGHT: 16, SEVEN: 3, SIX: 1, FIVE: 1. I kinda expected the numbers would be higher...and I especially loved the ones who quickly answered "TEN-OF COURSE!" My childhood was very different so I can't really say what my answer would have been...?

How wonderful to receive loads of warm hugs and happy smiles! How about this from a sweet 10-yr-old little sis of a junior player and customer from Cary, NC: "HI, MISS JULIE!!! I'm SOOO glad to see you, I've missed you SOOO much, and can I help decorate your signs like always?"

Another positive: I was soooo touched to receive two gifts from two very thoughtful customers. COFFEEEEE from my favorite mom of two sweet girls from Mississippi and home-made cookies from a very special mom of a great girl and recent recruit from Louisville!!!

Finally, I don't think I'll ever forget spending several hours on a Saturday night with a brand new friend: 6-yr-old Ruthie (the sibling of a player in our LAST match of the day). I wish I'd taken a picture of her but I was too busy guessing the name of her sisters, her brothers, her parents, her pets - one dog, two cats, one turtle, one horse - and then guessing her favorite color, and her birthday. SMILE!!!

Not sure if we'll make the trip up next year (NEXT Thanksgiving is a long, looooong time away) but GREAT THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS TRIP UNFORGETTABLE - and a special shoutout to our pal Coach Chris Mather for being such a great friend to HIGH-TECH TENNIS in general (and to Danny & me...XOXO).
Thanks for the great support and we'll SEE YA SOON!

Parents & Priorities & Players...OH MY!

Recent and Not-So-Recent Observations

I was recently sitting outside, enjoying our glorious weather while stuffing hundreds of envelopes. Since that didn't require a huge amount of concentration, lol, I started thinking about the upcoming changes to junior competition and then my mind drifted to random memories about parents and priorities and players...By the way, the cute girl in the picture above has NOTHING whatsoever to do with these observations. We've known her for about 6 years...she's one of our favorite juniors on the planet...and she's growing up right before our eyes.
I love this picture..and I love this player.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One thing I remembered was the GA mother of a daughter (14-ish) who wanted to travel to play tournaments a few years ago. The mother put it very succinctly and I thought it was amusing: "Here is the way I explained it to my daughter: Until you consistently beat the kids in our neighborhood, the neighborhood is where we will stay. As you get better, the same will apply for our city...and then for our state. We just don't have the money for you to travel the country like a professional tennis player!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Then I started thinking about just a few weeks ago when we saw an AL father and his 13-yr-old son for the first time in a long, long time. In fact, it had been years since we'd seen them (and we used to see them ALL THE TIME)...In fact, I kinda fell in love with this boy when he was about 9 at one of my favorite tournaments-which has now been eliminated from our schedule due to QuickStart :(. So I hugged the kid like a long-lost friend and asked the father where they'd been??? He just shrugged and said they kinda took a break for a while. I asked Danny to record the kid's match for old times sake and then the boy asked his father for that match as well as his next two. The father shared with me that his son doesn't win very often, but he (the son) is still convinced that he's A GREAT PLAYER...so much so that he's gonna to stay in school for two more years and then he's decided that he's going pro. HAHA-The father said he better try to win a southern level 3 match first, LOL. :)

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In case you haven't followed the latest turn in the unbelievably tiresome drama known as junior tennis, we got notice last week that the USTA basically agreed to hit the "PAUSE" button with respect to the upcoming changes-WOW O WOW! Never, ever saw that coming!! Check the news HERE! But before you get your hopes up, it turns out that PAUSE doesn't really mean what you think it means...and they quickly followed up with this clarification...sigh. Raise your hand if you're surprised...

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So anyway - back to random thoughts...I remember when Patrick McEnroe began his "LET'S TALK TO THE PARENTS" tour at the G12 National Championships at Windward this past August and a longtime customer/friend of ours was the very first person to stand up and let him have it. To paraphrase our friend's reaction to the upcoming changes, he adamantly told PMAC that it was not his business where and how he spent his money. He emphasized repeatedly that it was HIS MONEY to spend on HIS CHILD according to HIS PRIORITIES. Unfortunately, as I recall, PMAC virtually blew him off. :(

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Nothing makes me angrier than when a parent says "We can't pay full price for your videos because tennis is such an expensive sport. We are spending too much money and we really need a discount." I wonder if their child's coach gives discounts on lessons...or the store where they buy their child's racquets or shoes or clothing gives discounts...or the hotel where they stay while their child competes gives discounts...or the restaurant where they eat during the tournament gives discounts. DOUBTFUL THAT THEY EVEN HAVE THE NERVE TO ASK. A very common misconception is that just because our customers are spending their leisure time at tournaments, they think we are too...but that's just not so. We work very hard to provide a valuable service and we're happy to do so...but please don't ask us for discounts that we can't afford to give. It just happens that this is our only source of income (aka this is how we keep the lights on-or not).

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SORRY---didn't mean to digress...Where did that come from? Told you my mind was drifting aimlessly. Now back to the topic at hand: One of many things we've learned over the past 7 years is that WE are not the customers. What I mean is this: Neither of us had parents who were in a position to afford the things most tennis kids seem to take for granted these days - I'm sure we can all agree that tennis is an affluent sport, for the most part - and it's definitely not fair that some can afford to do so and some can't but then life isn't fair, is it? But, as a father of twin boys from FL told me in Mobile several years ago, "It takes all kinds of people to make a world." I never forgot that...Actually, I find myself thinking about it a lot (and not always in reference to tennis).
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I clearly remember a time when I got a wake-up call, TENNIS-STYLE: At the Peach State many years ago-before it got eliminated from our schedule and maybe from the face of the earth, two young boys (12-ish) were playing and one kid (from MS) broke a string. Turns out it was his ONLY RACQUET but fortunately, his opponent (from GA) opened his bag (which had about TEN RACQUETS inside!!!), took one out, and handed it to the MS player to use...which he did - to quickly beat the player from GA! We became quite close to the player from MS and his family over the next 5 years...They had virtually NO money but the boy had a ton of talent---and a super sweet spirit. The boy from GA? We never really got to know him - but his father is 'difficult' to be around. Life is not always fair...and parent's priorities don't always make sense to us - but then our priorities might not make sense to others - and that's what makes the world go 'round. But we do our very best to meet and exceed ALL customer expectations.

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As you can imagine, we didn't start HIGH-TECH TENNIS to become rich... Not even close! We started HIGH-TECH TENNIS to help tennis players play better tennis. To us, that includes players of ALL ages, abilities, and financial situations. We realized that nearly every other sport used technology to help athletes improve their performance and we wondered WHY isn't anyone doing this for tennis??? Our next thoughts were: If not us, THEN WHO? And if not now, THEN WHEN? :)
Simply stated, our goal is to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
We are so grateful that our customers really appreciate our videos. Just please remember that every single parent of every single player is in just as much of a hurry to receive their video...
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! :)

What are YOUR goals??

I was thinking the other day about a conversation we had last spring with a super-nice customer friend of ours from South Carolina. We met this family in 2007, they have two daughters who play a ton of junior tennis, and we've recorded them literally hundreds of times over the past five years!!!

Everytime the father sees us, he tells us how grateful he is that we've enabled him to have a "video archive" of his daughters as they're growing up. He said he just can't understand why parents feel it's more important to buy more lessons, more clothing, and more STUFF but then think they can't afford to go the extra "mile" and buy a video. He said that kind of thinking is just "CRAZY" (his word - not mine).

He also told us he wishes somebody would take a poll of parents to learn what their goals are and what they’re actually trying to accomplish by having their kids compete at junior tournaments.

He shared that when he (and his girls) first got involved, they had no idea what to expect and they’ve learned so much over the years (he was definitely NOT talking about how to actually “play” tennis).

He said that the chance of playing pro tennis is so very remote for most players (we’ve read that an estimated 99% of American tennis players will not make the top 100 in the world professionally) and many will be lucky to play college tennis (even though they actually spend more $$$ trying to obtain a college scholarship than the actual worth of that scholarship).

Rather, he wished that parents would realize what he considered to be the REALLY important reasons to have your kid involved in competitive junior tennis – because it gives young players an opportunity to learn important traits like HARD WORK, COMMITMENT, RESPECT FOR OTHERS, ORGANIZATION, PRIORITIES, TIME MANAGEMENT, and so many others.

He said that being a tennis parent involves big sacrifices (which he was more than willing to make) but he felt it was important for parents to be realistic (hey - there's that word again) about what they were doing and why.

He was sharing some priceless wisdom – we couldn’t have said it better – and we sure hope someone out there is listening. Remember, this comes from someone who has walked the walk (of years in junior tennis with his own daughters) and now he’s talking the talk.

We’re including it here as food for thought FOR YOU! J

As always, the very last thing we want to do is generate any controversy whatsoever.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

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