LUCKY

As you may know, we've been traveling throughout the Southern Section to help junior tennis players achieve their recruiting & training goals for the past 11 years... While often exhausting, this is important work & we are proud to be making a difference... 

We meet soo many people! Of course some of them are difficult (O-M-G!!!) but most of them are nice. 

This past August, we got lucky when we met Lakshya, whose dad calls her 'LUCKY'.

Lucky was at the G12 National Hard Courts with her dad & for some reason, I totally connected with this very cute child from Virginia. It could have been because I consoled her as she sobbed following her 1st-round loss since I observed that she was at the tourney with her dad & no mom. For whatever reason, we became special friends & we spent a ton of time together over the 5 days(?) that she competed in the 6-day tourney. 

As we prepared to say goodbye on her final day, I finally asked about her mom... That's when she shared with me that her mom was sick with cancer. Some kind of stomach cancer which means she can't eat normally or leave her bed. When I asked her how long she'd been sick, Lucky said it had been a long time. :( I'm no doctor but even I know that this sounds REALLY, REALLY BAD. How heartbreaking for a child!!

Shortly after that, I was chatting with her incredibly nice father & I told him how sorry I was to hear about his wife. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?!?!?!?" Turns out Lucky had never told A SINGLE SOUL about her mom's condition... but for some reason, this tiny 12yo confided in me!! 

I sure hope I'm wrong but I may never see her again... However, I know I'll never forget her & that's why I decided to surprise her with a cute tennis candle... in her favorite color... with her nickname. Can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it (!!!) but it looks similar to the cute tennis candles I've prepared for breast cancer fundraisers except instead of a ribbon, it says 'LUCKY' on the front & August 2016 on the back.

I'd kinda forgotten all about the candle & the cute kid but NOT LUCKY!! Look at the sweet letter that touched my heart at just the right time. It was waiting for us when we returned from a recent trip to FL to deal with a very painful family emergency situation:

At HIGH-TECH TENNIS, we are definitely committed to helping junior tennis players achieve their goals but very often, it's about soooo much #MoreThanTennis!

2nd ANNUAL COLLEGE RECRUIT VIDEO DAY IN NC

We can help you take your first step!!

THIS IS OUR ONE & ONLY TRIP TO NC so don't miss your chance!!

 WHO: You & Your Hitting Partner

WHAT: 2nd Annual College Recruit Video Day in NC

WHEN: Sunday, July 24, 2016 from 2:00-6:00 PM

WHERE: Hard Courts @ Olde Providence Racquet Club, Charlotte, NC

WHY: So you can achieve your recruiting goals!! 

THE FINE PRINT

We normally charge $399 for a College Recruit Video but if you bring at least one other person who purchases a video <your hitting partner?>, we’ll reduce BOTH of your costs to $349. Finally, we encourage recruits to consider these two OPTIONAL services:

1.  We can upload & attach your College Recruit Video to your player profile on TennisRecruiting.net so that coaches can discover you there. Cost: $30 & need your login info to access your paid account <will not work if you have a free account.>

2.  We can record your Match Play Video during the NC Clay Courts <July 25-26> & send you a video link via email for training or sharing w/ college coaches. Cost: $30.

Please refer to our website for much more info & contact us ASAP to reserve your specific time. Note that it’ll take approximately one hour-ISH. If you have questions, we’ll be happy to answer them – just contact us via video@high-techtennis.com or text 678.640.2723 bcuz phone calls always slow us down, LOL ...

A TRIBUTE TO TENNIS DADS

As you may know, we're pretty close to the junior tennis scene & that means we see A LOT of stuff. Unfortunately, too much of it is downright troubling --- I'm thinking of the father who screamed uncontrollably at his 12yo son that he spent "way too much blankety-blank money for you to play like that" while the child trembled & sobbed...or the terrified look on the 14yo boy's face as he sat in the supply section of a tournament site while the police interrogated his father after reports that he'd been physically abusing his son...or the father who lost his temper & yelled at his sad daughter <who'd had the sheer nerve to lose in the finals of a tournament> that they were LEAVING, to get in the car & get in the car RIGHT NOW!!! Those are unhappy memories FOR SURE & wish I could forget them - actually, wish the kids could forget them - but we know that's not likely. :(

However, today is FATHER'S DAY & we're not thinking about the bad ones... Instead, we're thinking about all the terrific fathers who do it RIGHT!

Tennis moms get all the credit bcuz they're normally the ones who travel with the juniors (since the majority of tennis moms don't work, which is a whole other story) while the dad works to pay the bills (!!!) but fortunately, we've been able to capture some super-sweet moments of tennis dads with their tennis kids... Can't stop thinking about a wonderful line by Barry Buss in a beautiful FB post & it went something like this: "[My dad] had no idea what he was doing other than just giving me a chance to be good at something."

Happy Father's Day to these & all the other tennis dads who make it happen!

AS TIME GOES BY

As you may know, our calendar really keeps us hopping from state to state & junior tournament to junior tournament. OF COURSE we meet tons of tennis people <coaches, parents & KIDS> as the weeks, months & years fly by in a flash. While we are so consumed with keeping the lights on & the general busy-ness of our business <you wouldn't believe the struggle/resistance we've faced & STILL DO>, we tend to overlook what else is happening: THE KIDS ARE GROWING UP.

We select the events on our calendar based on whether the TD

• is nice to us &
• values what we do.

Unfortunately, you'd be shocked to realize how few meet such stringent criteria :( but TD Carlos Lozano @ the Topspin Swim & Racquet Club in Columbia, SC was one who did & when he invited us to his Topspin Classic tournament in March of 2007, we were happy to accept. We loved that tournament, it was our only stop in SC & were happy to go for the next 6 years... until the non-stop changes in junior competition finally forced us to drop it from our schedule in 2013 <& Carlos later moved on anyway, as tennis pros do>. BUT before that happened, a mother from NC said "You guys should come to our tournament!", "Where's your tournament?", bada bing, bada boom & we've been going to the NC Clay Courts @ the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, NC every July since 2011... AND THAT IS WHERE WE RAN INTO THESE TWO SISTERS FROM NORTH CAROLINA. 

We were super-busy @ the tournament <AS USUAL> & basically forgot about these cuties after the tournament was over. 

FAST FORWARD 4+ YEARS 

The little one on the left <now 12> approached me @ the Icy Hot Championships in Chattanooga, TN last Halloween with this question: "Aren't you the one who brings animal crackers to tournaments?"

I'd forgotten but clearly she hadn't... HOW FUN!! She was especially friendly, super-chatty & I was happy that she spent so much time at our tent during the tournament. It was fun getting to know such a nice young lady who was there w/ a group of kids & a coach but when I asked about her grades at school, that's when things got serious: UGH----This girl had some seriously bad grades & I scolded her repeatedly that she should be ashamed of herself & that she absolutely HAD to do something about them. She wasn't convinced that her grades really mattered <typical> but I stayed on her case pretty much non-stop. She follows HIGH-TECH TENNIS on social media & she texts me often, asking about our next tournament & where we might meet each other again. Unfortunately for both of us, our paths probably won't cross again until the Icy Hot @ Halloween in Chattanooga, TN. :(

So as our friendship has developed over the past 6 months, I don't think a single solitary chat has gone by without me asking about grades & encouraging her to SHAPE UP, lol. Well, guess what?!?!?!?

The entire purpose of this blog post is to let you know that this nice young lady from North Carolina improved her overall grade from 39% <Halloween 2015> to 95% <today>!!!!! I am sooooooo incredibly proud of her & of course I had nothing to do with it but it occurs to me that staying on her case didn't hurt :)

WAY TO GO & KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, Cheekie Girl!!

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!

YOU ARE INVITED

After months of planning & dreaming, we burst onto the tennis scene in Atlanta in late 2005 but we were quite unprepared for the THANKS BUT NO THANKS reaction we received from the tennis community. Like it or not, we were essentially out of business before we were even it. :(

We went to our very first tournament @ the Racquet Club of the South in January 2006 to meet the tennis community & to share what we thought was a brilliant idea: stroke analysis services for players before or after the tournament. Instead, we quickly learned that players enter a tournament to play the tournament & they have ZERO INTEREST in analyzing their strokes at that time. Bummerrrrrrr.

Then a mother in a mink asked Danny to videotape her daughter's match... BINGO!! And the rest is history! Well, not quite. We were asking people to think outside the box but not everyone was open to it. In fact, we encountered unbelievable resistance wherever we went... ugh.

It was a struggle back in the early days <actually, it's still a struggle but for different reasons, LOL> but things began to change for the better when we met 16 very special people who "GOT" it: 

• Greg Amerson
• Turhan Berne
• Eric Dobsha
• Duey Evans
• James Harrell
• Torrey Hawkins
• Joe Hill
• John Irvin
• Luke Jensen
• Craig Jones
• David Marquina
• Chris Mather
• Fred Myles
• Jason Parker
• Bryan Shephard
• Jeff Weaver

Each of you believed in us before we even knew who we were & did what you could to lend early support... & WE'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN IT. We know we'd never be where we are if you hadn't done what you did when you did it!! 

We realize that it may not be possible due to scheduling or geographic constraints, but we want everyone to know that you guys stepped UP & WE'D LOVE TO THANK YOU IN PERSON!

WHO: YOU

WHAT: Join us for a hot dog, a cool drink & a fun game of bocce

WHERE: Our House in Paradise
@ 1105 North Valley Drive, Decatur, GA 30033

WHEN: 4PM-?? on Sunday, May 8, 2016

WHY: We appreciate what you did!

We really hope you can join us so please let us know, o.k. 

THANKS AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU DID...
WHAT A TERRIFIC LIST OF AWESOME TENNIS PEOPLE :)

THE ARMANDO CONNECTION

As you may know, we travel all the time to junior tourneys in the Southern Section. And when I say all the time, I mean almost like gypsies, lol. So we obviously meet loads of people. Many are forgotten immediately but occasionally we meet someone who just stands out & a connection is made. That's exactly what happened the one & ONLY time we crossed paths with Armando Gray, Jr. of Riverdale, GA.

We met this impressive young man at the North Georgia Open in May of 2014 @ the Rome-Floyd Tennis Center. I can't tell you why but I know that Armando & I connected...BIG TIME. We recorded his match for him, which I think he lost - badly :( & I felt bad for him, encouraging him to take it for what it was & to learn from it. I'm assuming he did both but more on that later.

As usual, I was snapping cute pics of cute tennis kids @ the tournament & when Armando asked if he could take a picture with me, of course my answer was yes because I knew we were connected.

As we chatted with Armando & his mom, I realized that I really liked this kid so I gave him a wristband & wished him well. We didn't see him again - ever - but I was so happy to see that he graduated with the Class of 2015. While researching for our Alumni Corner <players we've supported through junior tennis who have transitioned to college tennis>, I learned that he was in college & it didn't surprise me at all. Remember he impressed me when we connected.

So that brings me today... While I was prepping for backtoback national tournaments in March <you have no idea how much hard work goes into making this video stuff look easy, lol>, Armando made my day by sending me this pic w/ the message that he was still moving his feet!

He told me he's @ Alabama A&M & that he's doing well, majoring in Computer Science & playing for the tennis team.

Something made him reach out today <completely out of the blue> & I think it was the connection we made @ a tennis facility almost two years ago. That's how I know that CONNECTIONS COUNT & that it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with winning or losing a tennis match. GO ARMANDO GO!