Get Ready For Fall Tennis!

Well, I've received e-mails from all of my tennis captains reminding me to pay my league dues. I've started "Ladies Fall Tennis Boot Camp" and I've taken in my racquets to have them restrung. I broke out my new tennis shoes, which I was saving to keep them clean for league, and I've bought a case of balls at Costco. All of which can only mean one thing - time for fall tennis! Hooray!

After a spring season where I felt like I played mediocre tennis, at best, I've decided to turn it around this fall. So here's my new fall tennis mantra - "I'm here to have fun!" Last spring, I wasted way too much time and energy worrying about winning and losing and whether my captains were trying to find a nice way to kick me off the team. I kept track of my win/loss record and compared myself to every player on every team trying to justify why I was worth keeping. Not only was that un-fun, it was exhausting. That's why this season I've decided to relax and have a good time out on the court. Win or lose. Kicked off the team or not.

So how about you? What are you hoping for tennis-wise this fall? And do you have a great tennis mantra? Let me know what's working for you.

Happy Fall Tennis! 



© Kim Selzman 2012 All Rights Reserved

Retro Tennis Fixation: How To Be A Great Tennis Team Member!

Slowly, ever so slowly, it's coming back to me . . . why I am not a tennis team captain anymore. I agreed to be the substitute captain for one of my teams, just for two weeks, while the real captains take well-deserved summer vacations. But, as I sit here writing this post on the night before our league matches, and as I patiently wait for people to return my calls and confirm whether or not they're playing tomorrow morning, and as I actually start feeling that little knot of desperation start to tighten in my stomach over this ("what if they don't return my calls? who can I sub in at the last minute?"), I'm remembering just how hard it is to be a tennis team captain.

And I'm also remembering this Tennis Fixation post I wrote a while ago, a Retro Tennis Fixation post as I like to call it, about what it takes to be a great tennis team member - something that all of us should strive for. Just so our tennis team captains aren't developing stomach ulcers as they sit and wait for us to return their calls. So here it is from December 2008: How To Be A Great Tennis Team Member!

After you've captained a tennis team, you realize that your best team member is not necessarily your most highly skilled player. If you want to be the team member that your captain plays again and again, follow these tips:

1. Be available. Nothing is worse for a captain than forfeiting a line because she can't find anyone to play that day. So make sure that you are always available to play. Captains love the team member who is ready and willing to play at the last minute. This means if you are on a Wednesday team, don't schedule your manicure for Wednesday morning. Keep your Wednesdays open for tennis.

2. Play at whatever line you're needed. You may think you are a Line 1 player - and maybe you are. But sometimes your captain needs a player at Line 4 so she won't have to forfeit Line 4 that day. Sometimes she needs someone to play with that team member that others find "difficult" to partner with. Sometimes she has a strategy that includes playing stronger players at lower lines. If you are always willing to play any line, your captain will not only appreciate your attitude but will play you more often.

3. Play at whatever location you're needed. Depending on where you live, this may not be an issue. But where I liveand the leagues in which I play, getting to a match can often involve a 30 minute drive. If you exclude yourself from playing those "far away" matches, you will definitely cut down on the number of times your captain can use you.

4. Be a willing partner. Nothing is harder on a captain than having one team member who no one else wants to play with. I have had team members come to me and actually say, "Don't ever play me with her . . . ever!" While you may feel that way about certain players, the reality is that a captain has some obligation to play everyone on the team at least some of the time. And eventually someone has to play with that player that no one likes. And it should not be the captain over and over. So be willing to "take one for the team" occasionally and partner up with that unwanted team member.

5. Be a good partner. If you want to avoid being the "unwanted team member" referred to in No. 4 above, be a good partner to your fellow team mates. Be positive. Make good, honest calls. Don't throw in the towel in a match even when you feel like you can't come back. Don't blame your partner for her mistakes. Don't ever say to your partner "You have to get those." Be the partner that everyone enjoys playing with and your captain will be happy to play you often.

6. Appreciate your captain. Being a tennis team captain is not easy. A captain may have to set new lines each week. She is often strategizing ways to win points just to keep your team from being moved to a lower level. She has to deal with league directors, other captains and, of course, a whole team full of players, each with their own personal agendas. If the team is losing, players may blame the captain for making bad pairings and following the wrong strategies. If the team is winning, players may feel its only due to their superior tennis skills. So, appreciate your team captain. Tell her what a great job she's doing every once in a while. Your support will not only make her happy, but may result in you playing as often as you'd like!



© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

Retro Tennis Fixation: Get Ready For League Tennis!

The bad news: we are all in the grip of a killer heat wave as we roast under the latest weather phenomenon - the "heat dome." (Similar to Mad Max's Thunderdome in that you  might die but more sunscreen is required.)  The good news: fall tennis leagues are about to start up! 

Yes, I received the sign today when I got an e-mail from my captain telling me its time to pay my league dues. So, let's forget about the furnace outside and get ready for a fantastic fall season!  To help you (and me), here's a blast-from-the-not-too-distant-past "Retro Tennis Fixation" post (retro because its from the past, get it?). Originally titled, "Your 'Tennis Fixation' Personal Assistant," here's every tip you need to kick-off your best fall tennis season ever:


Summer is pretty much over, the kids are back in school and its time to start playing league tennis again - Hooray!

That's right - its time to get organized and ready for another fantastic season of tennis. This is the season you're going to be a winner! This is the season you're going to have fun and feel good about your game! This is the season you're going to beat the tennis skirts right off your opponents!

And, to get things rolling in the right direction, your Tennis Fixation Personal Assistant is here with everything you need to prepare. Just go through the list below and do as much as you can NOW to prepare for an incredible season of tennis:

1. Get your gear in gear. When is the last time you restrung your racquet? Do you even remember? (Read this post to figure out when you're supposed to restring: Quick Tennis Fix of the Day: Time to Restring!) Do you have balls in your bag? A towel? Any of the other stuff you should have in there? (Read this to find out what to keep in your bag: What's In My Tennis Bag?) Maybe its time for a new racquet, maybe its time for new shoes. Take some time to check all of your equipment out and make sure you're ready to play great tennis.

2. Tune-up your game. I love to take lessons, love to go to clinics, love to do drills. I always say - if they would just get rid of those match things, I'd be such a great tennis player! So I've been going to lessons and drills all summer long and am ready to play. If you have NOT, now would be a great time to do a tune-up session or two with your pro. Maybe get your team together for a group lesson. And if that sounds like too much work, get together with teammates or friends for some fun, practice matches.

3. Talk to your captain. Believe it or not, every captain has some kind of plan for the team. Whether the plan is to win the division or to just have a lot of fun, your captain is thinking about where she wants the team to go this season. So be sure and touch base with her and get an idea of what the expectations are for the team and for you, as a player. Find out who your partner is, if you don't already know, and let your captain know what you think of that. Offer to help in any way you can. Let her know your availability, or unavailability, now, before the season gets going. Being a captain is often a thankless job so any help you can give to your captain will be appreciated.

4. Have you paid your league dues yet? Your captain probably has to write a check to cover the league fee for the entire team and then waits for you to reimburse her for your portion. Don't stick your captain with the bill on this one. Send her that check today!

If you take these four simple steps, you and your team are sure to be off to a great start for this season!




© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

Tennis Fixation Giveaway - Win A Tennis Team Captain Party Pack!

It's time for another National Tennis Month Tennis Fixation Super Giveaway Extravaganza giveaway - and I know you are going to love this one!

I'm calling this my "Tennis Team Captain Party Pack" because it would make a great gift for a team captain or for a tennis team party prize. Now before I go on, please excuse the very unprofessional quality of these photos. I took them myself and, as they say at the local tennis pro shop, you get what you pay for. So here is what the Tennis Team Captain Party Pack includes:





1. Super cute and reusable hot pink gift bag covered in tennis balls (see the picture above),

2. Notecards that match the bag and say "Team Player" on the front:

3. Pack of 4 appetizer spreaders each having 3 stacked tennis balls as handles - perfect for using with your party treats:

4. Tennis ball-covered ankle socks from K-Bell in the usual sock size 9-11:

So here's what I would do with this pack of goodies - give the notecards to my captain in the reusable gift bag, make some kind of fancy over-the-top appetizer that requires spreaders and pull out the darling tennis-ball handled spreaders to impress everyone with, and keep the socks for myself since they are too adorable to part with. But that is me. You might actually be generous enough to give this all to your captain.

So how do you win the Tennis Team Captain Party Pack? Easy!

•  For your FIRST entry, leave me a comment on this post before midnight Central Time on Saturday, May 28, 2011. To get to the comment form, click on the title of this post and you will find the comment form at the bottom of the page. You can do this one time for this post. Just go ahead and leave your comment right now so you know you're entered!
• For additional entries, leave one comment on each post that appears between now and midnight Central Time on May 28. I'll try to do several posts so you have lots of chances to comment (and enter).

So leave a comment right now to make sure your entered in this giveaway. And then continue to check in and comment to gain entries throughout the week! I will draw the winning entry after midnight on May 28 and announce the winner on May 29.

Please note: Winners will be announced on this site. Winners must respond to me with their e-mail address within 3 days (by June 1) of being named. If I don't hear from the first winner within the 3 days, another winner will be selected.

If you are the least bit confused about how to enter this giveaway, just send me an e-mail at this address - kimselzman(at)gmail(dot)com - and I will give you all the help you need to become a Tennis-Fixation-giveaway-enterer!



© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

So I Quit My Tennis Team . . .

So I wanted to follow-up on my big decision to quit one of my teams which I ranted about several weeks ago in How To Make Me Quit Your Tennis Team. This was my team where my captain consistently placed me on a very low line with an endless stream of subs who seemed only vaguely familiar with the game of tennis. And although we usually won our matches, it was always after a long and hard struggle that just wasn't any fun. I got really tired of "taking one for the team" week after week after week.

So I quit.

At the last match of the season, which my partner and I won 11-0 (this league plays one pro set, first to 11, rather than regular sets), I went to my captain and told her that I had decided to leave the team and would not be returning for the next season. I told her that I did not feel "challenged" at the line I was playing and was having a hard time with subs being rotated in so often. I was (I thought) very nice about it and did not indicate what a poor job I thought she had done in captaining the team.

And her reaction to my gut-wrenching decision to become a quitter? Nothing. Nada. Zip. And I mean that literally. She didn't say, "Sorry to see you go." She didn't say, "At last, you're leaving!" She didn't even say, "What did you say? I didn't hear you." She said nothing.

A few days later, I got an e-mail invitation to the team's Holiday Luncheon (that was nice of her) and after that I got an e-mail saying that "several ladies" were leaving the team but would hopefully play as subs next season.

Can you have a team populated by nothing but subs? That seems to be where she's headed.

Anyway, I thought my departure was going to be traumatic for someone (me?) and I was going to get to report the fireworks here. But it's turned out to be not that big of a deal. I can, however, say that I'm happy I quit that team and I find it extremely unlikely that I will be playing for them as a sub. I thought I would dread giving up one of my tennis days but I'm now looking forward to having some free time to work out more (I just signed up for a half-marathon in September which is another story) and maybe I'll start looking around for another team to join up with.

Finally, I want to say thanks to the very many of you who read my post about quitting and provided me with some moral support on taking the position that I did. Believe it or not, I really struggled with putting that info out there and it meant a lot to me to hear that I wasn't completely crazy in wanting to leave the team. Thanks to you my fabulous Tennis Fixation Followers!



© Kim Selzman 2011 All Rights Reserved

How To Make Me Quit Your Tennis Team

I am a quitter. I admit it. I'm a quitter and I'm leaving one of my tennis teams at the end of this season because I just can't take it anymore.

Now, I am the first person to tell you that a good team player doesn't quit just because she's "unhappy" with the team. A good team player puts the team's success above her individual success. A good team player plays when and where her captain sticks her, no questions asked. That may mean playing with the player no one else wants to play with. That may mean playing the "sacrifice" line. That may mean playing a much lower line than you believe you deserve to be playing. That may mean playing with sub after sub after sub. That may mean playing the late match EVERY SINGLE WEEK. But does it mean playing in the face of ALL of those things?


I think not.

But that's what I've been putting up with on one of my teams and, this past week, I reached my breaking point.  And what was it that finally gave me the last push I needed to come to this decision?

This past week, I was once again playing with a sub I had never met before we stepped on court to be partners.  She was very sweet but somewhere during the 3rd or 4th game of the match she told me, "I am having a really hard time when I'm up at the net and you come up to the net. I don't know how to play when we're both at the net. It's confusing to me."

Did I mention we were playing doubles?  And she was having problems with both us of being at the net?

We won that match but to say it was a struggle would be a huge understatement. I worked really hard as did my partner (no surprise there). But I just can't keep playing every week with different partners and trying to figure out how my partner plays on top of trying to figure out how my opponents play.

So I'm quitting this team.

And this has not been an easy decision for me to come to. I have really questioned myself - do I have the wrong attitude about all of this? Am I really justified in thinking I should be playing a higher line? Does my captain actually believe I'm so strong that I can win with any old sub she can dig up to stick with me? Is there some secret over-arching strategy in place here to win lines that I am unaware of? Or is there some subtle message I'm being given that I'm not wanted on this team? Am I possibly over-thinking this and veering into some kind of tennis team paranoia?

Guess what? I don't care anymore.

Just to make clear - I know its hard to be a team captain because I've captained several teams. You are constantly balancing winning against keeping your team cohesive and happy. But as far as I can tell, my captain is not the least bit concerned about my happiness. Maybe she cares if I win my line or not but she is making it way too hard for me to do that.

So, to my captain I say - Congratulations! If you hoped to come up with some way to get me to quit because you didn't have the guts to tell me to leave, you have succeeded.  Good luck finding another player who shows up every week and plays with subs who apparently are oblivious to the basic strategies of doubles.

Because I quit!


This post originally appeared on Tennis Fixation's blog page on the Tennis Now website. Click here to read this and other great Tennis Fixation posts on Tennis Now!




© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Your Tennis Team Needs To Practice

What makes a tennis team great?  A good captain?  Strong players?  Cute uniforms?

Having been on all kinds of tennis teams, good and bad, I think that part of what makes a tennis team great is that they are working together towards a common goal.  Whether its moving up to the next level, winning a team tournament, or just having a really fun time playing tennis with friends, a happy, successful team is the one where everyone's on the same page.

A good way to get on that page is to have team practices.  I'm not saying you need to have weekly practices throughout the year to succeed, although that would probably help your team get to a higher level, but rather to get together as a team at least a few times before the next season starts.

Why?  Well, this is just my opinion, but I think practicing as a team instills some camaraderie or "esprit de corps" that you can't get any other way.  Even if you practice regularly with your partner, practicing with your teammates is different and beneficial to the team as a whole.

Now, how do you make these team practices happen?  If you're the team captain, just call a practice.  Do NOT send out an e-mail asking if everyone thinks this is a good idea and asking for their availability.  I guarantee, if your team has not been practicing together in the past and you ask for your team member's opinions, half the people won't want to do it at all and they will all have different and conflicting schedules.  (I'm speaking from experience here and I have the chain of 24 e-mails to prove it.)  So, captains, just call a practice.

If you're not the captain, suggest it to your captain and offer to help get it going.  If your captain isn't going for this idea, let her know you'd like to try it and set something up just for whoever's interested and see what happens. 

Now, once you schedule a practice, make sure your team actually gets some benefit from it.  So here are a few tips for ensuring a great team practice:

1. Schedule practices when you're going to play.  Team members need to start making themselves available to play league matches.  So if your league play will be on Tuesday mornings, schedule team practices for Tuesday mornings.

2. Try to get most of your players there.  I'm saying this because I promise you - you will never have a team practice where every single team member shows up.  But if you can get at least enough people to play tennis, singles or doubles depending on what your team plays, then that's probably a good practice.

3. Have a plan for your practice.  You don't have unlimited time for a practice, probably only an hour to an hour and a half.  So have a plan.  For example, if your team has regular partnerships, try playing them against each other to determine who will play what line.  If your team switches partners regularly, try pairing different people together to see who works well together.  And don't try playing entire matches or even entire sets.  You can get pretty much all of the information you need by playing as few as 8 games.

4. Remember - it's just practice. Make sure it's fun. Enough things are going to go wrong once league starts. So team practice needs to be a place where everyone gets along and enjoys themselves.




© Kim Selzman 2010 All Rights Reserved

Become A Tennis Sub!

Almost every tennis team I've ever been on, I joined by first becoming a sub. The only team I didn't start out with as a sub was my very first team - it was my neighborhood team and I think it would have violated the deed restrictions for them to have refused me a spot (I was really, really bad).

So, if you want to play league tennis or join any kind of team, being a sub is probably inevitable. Its the best way for a team and its captain to see you play and to see how you get along with other team members. And, in most cases, becoming a sub is as easy as calling a captain up and asking to be added to the sub list. I have seen very, very few teams where someone had to "try out" to become a sub. Most captains are desperately looking for people to make sure they fill all their lines week after week. And even in cases where there is some kind of try out, this usually consists of just hitting with the captain to make sure you're close to the team's level and have the kind of personality that will fit with the team.

Become a sub - this is absolutely the best way to get on a team. And don't consider being a sub to be beneath you. Think about it - you play when you want with who you want because you can always say no. But don't say no. Because today you're a sub, tomorrow you're the reliable sub filling in for the team member who got injured and the next day, you're the great player that the team needs as a regular member. And if you're looking to move to a higher level team, becoming a sub ensures that you'll get the challenging match play you need to make that leap up.





© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

Tennis Snack Fix: Custom Artisinal Cereal!

Custom artisinal cereal? What?

I was recently contacted by Me and Goji to try mixing up my very own "custom artisinal cereal." Me and Goji lets you choose from over 50 healthy, organic ingredients to mix your own cereal or granola. They have an incredibly easy site that holds your hand through the whole process.

First, you pick the base for your cereal. There are a lot of them (too many for me to sit at my computer and count) and they are all over-the-top in how good they are for you. I picked the "Flaxed and Flaked" cereal base as I'm going through this thing with flax seeds lately.

Then, you get to add the fun stuff - all kinds of dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Again, there are plenty of these and for each and every one, a simple click tells you exactly why you would want to put that ingredient in your mix. I picked goji (lots of antioxidants, plus I had no idea what this was), mulberry (full of resveratol so I don't have to just depend on drinking red wine), banana (sweet and yummy), currants (a top source of boron, who knew?), chia (lots of omega-3s, plus it just sounded weird) and amaranth (plenty of lysine, surely I'm low on this).

And then comes the absolute best part - you get to name your cereal! My mix is called Tennis Fixation "Fix My Forehand!" Mix.  I've almost eaten the whole "capsule" full and I can't tell that my forehand has really improved that much.  But I can no longer blame my on-court performance on low boron levels.  And these capsules that your cereal comes shipped in are also too cute.  Just bigger than a tennis ball can, they ensure that, upon arrival, your cereal mix is in perfect shape. 

Now, let's say you're not that creative or you aren't sure exactly what to put with the raw 5-grain muesli mix.  Me and Goji has all kinds of custom mixes they've created and can recommend for you.  I'm very interested in trying the "cereally Invigorating" and the "Whoa! Protein" mixes.

Is this stuff cheap?  No.  With these high-quality ingredients, of course it's not.  But it's also not expensive.  In fact, the cost is comparable to what you pay for a good, organic cereal in the grocery store.  And you can monitor the cost of your mix as you add each ingredient.  While shipping for your first capsule runs $4.99, Me and Goji is running a special right now where additional capsules are shipped for only 99 cents.


I think this is a great way to get a healthy breakfast or snack and, with all of the clever naming possibilities (Save My Serve!), can see my tennis team captains getting custom artisinal cereal as a thank-you gift.  We at Tennis Fixation recommend you check out Me and Goji!






Photo courtesy of Me and Goji
© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

Your "Tennis Fixation" Personal Assistant!

Summer is pretty much over, the kids are back in school and its time to start playing league tennis again - Hooray!

That's right - its time to get organized and ready for another fantastic season of tennis. This is the season you're going to be a winner! This is the season you're going to have fun and feel good about your game! This is the season you're going to beat the tennis skirts right off your opponents!

And, to get things rolling in the right direction, your Tennis Fixation Personal Assistant is here with everything you need to prepare. Just go through the list below and do as much as you can NOW to prepare for an incredible season of tennis:

1. Get your gear in gear. When is the last time you restrung your racquet? Do you even remember? (Read this post to figure out when you're supposed to restring: Quick Tennis Fix of the Day: Time to Restring!) Do you have balls in your bag? A towel? Any of the other stuff you should have in there? (Read this to find out what to keep in your bag: What's In My Tennis Bag?) Maybe its time for a new racquet, maybe its time for new shoes. Take some time to check all of your equipment out and make sure you're ready to play great tennis.

2. Tune-up your game. I love to take lessons, love to go to clinics, love to do drills. I always say - if they would just get rid of those match things, I'd be such a great tennis player! So I've been going to lessons and drills all summer long and am ready to play. If you have NOT, now would be a great time to do a tune-up session or two with your pro. Maybe get your team together for a group lesson. And if that sounds like too much work, get together with teammates or friends for some fun, practice matches.

3. Talk to your captain. Believe it or not, every captain has some kind of plan for the team. Whether the plan is to win the division or to just have a lot of fun, your captain is thinking about where she wants the team to go this season. So be sure and touch base with her and get an idea of what the expectations are for the team and for you, as a player. Find out who your partner is, if you don't already know, and let your captain know what you think of that. Offer to help in any way you can. Let her know your availability, or unavailability, now, before the season gets going. Being a captain is often a thankless job so any help you can give to your captain will be appreciated.

4. Have you paid your league dues yet? Your captain probably has to write a check to cover the league fee for the entire team and then waits for you to reimburse her for your portion. Don't stick your captain with the bill on this one. Send her that check today!

If you take these four simple steps, you and your team are sure to be off to a great start for this season!




© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

Common Tennis Etiquette: When To Forfeit

So I'm getting ready to play a match for my indoor league this past Friday. I'm literally about to walk out the door when the captain of my team calls: Can I come by her house and get the score sheet to take to my 9am match? She was also going to play at 9 but the opposing team's captain just called her, at 8am THE DAY OF THE MATCH and FORFEITED 2 OF THE 4 LINES!

While my match is still on, my captain's match, and those of 3 other people on my team, have just been cancelled. So whatever plans those 4 people had made for the day to accommodate playing tennis have just gone out the window. No tennis for them today. And its probably too late for them to make any other tennis arrangements for that morning (let alone any other arrangements at all for that morning).

And since one of the cancelled matches was to occur at 9 am and one was set for 10:30am, and it is now 8am, it is too late to move the later match up to the 9am time slot because those players are all set to be there at 10:30, not at 9. So I will play at 9, my teammates will wait around to play at 10:30, and there will be an empty court just sitting there for several hours. Despite the fact that my teammates would have loved to play at 9am. Had they known this was going to happen.

Now, lest you think I am ranting here about nothing and this kind of gamesmanship and decision-making is just part of the game, let me add that, after my match, my partner and I talked to our two opponents who indicated their distress over the fact that this forfeiting of 2 lines had been going on ALL SUMMER LONG. They couldn't remember a match where their team had been able to get more than two lines worth of players together and, in fact, some weeks they had forfeited ALL 4 LINES!

If you don't see any problem here, don't read this post. If all you see is the opposing captain strategically holding out in the hopes that, at the last minute, her subs will come through, then you don't get it and you're not going to.

But if you see MULTIPLE problems with this situation, as I do, let's talk about the etiquette of forfeiting. When exactly do you call in a forfeit?

Now, I'm not talking about the forfeit that occurs during a match because someone is injured or sick. That is, for the most part, unavoidable and forgivable. I'm talking about the forfeit that occurs because you can't get enough players to fill your lines.

The reality is that, as a captain, you usually know this is going to happen several days before the day of the match. Sure, there are last minute forfeits because a player gets sick or her child gets sick or her car breaks down and you can't find a sub at that point to take her place. These are going to happen and you can't do anything about them (although reshuffling players and bringing in subs often does work).

But when you forfeit 2 lines - you know that's coming (I'm pretty sure the captain who forfeited to my team knew this was going to happen WEEKS in advance).

So, please, be polite to your opponents. Have some manners and FORFEIT THE NIGHT BEFORE. That is my rule and I think it should be everybody's rule. Don't get me wrong - I too have played the game of waiting until the last minute to forfeit, hoping that either my subs will come through or, even better, the other team will forfeit a line, saving me from forfeiting (and, of course, giving me some points). But the bottom line is there are many people making plans to play and whether they play or not depends on you. If these people are on your team, of course you would not think of inconveniencing them. But if they are your opponents, why screw them around? Have some "Common Tennis Etiquette" and call in your forfeit the night before.




© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

I Love Tennis Moms

Today is Mother's Day and I am proud and happy to be a Tennis Mom. I love Tennis Moms but not everyone agrees with me on this. In fact, some people seem to have a lot of resentment built up against Tennis Moms. (See, e.g., the Urban Dictionary's definition of Tennis Mom: "Tennis Moms live off their husbands' wealth and resent accusations that nannies don't provide adequate parental instruction.")

Well, here are my top 10 reasons to love Tennis Moms:

1. Tennis Moms have a lot of cute matching outfits and are willing to wear short skirts no matter what shape their legs are in.
2. Tennis Moms may seem sweet at the PTA meeting, but on the court their true competitive nature comes out. (Example: hitting you in the face just means you got in the way of the ball.)
   
3. Tennis Moms love being outdoors as evidenced by their willingness to play tennis in any weather. Despite tropical heat weaves, gale force winds and/or drenching rains, the true Tennis Mom prefers to finish out the match.
4. Tennis Moms like to watch the Slams not so much to pick up tips as to see what unfortunate outfit Adidas has put Ana Ivanovic in.
5. Many Tennis Moms also enjoy catching a glimpse of Rafael Nadal changing shirts between sets.
6. Tennis Moms will use any excuse to go out to lunch after a match: it's the end of the season, someone's moving, someone's having a birthday, we have a new captain, we won all 4 lines today, we lost all 4 lines today. Any occasion can be celebrated with lunch.
7. Tennis Moms will be nice and friendly to you during the warm-up but will trash talk you relentlessly to their partner during the match.
   
8. Tennis Moms are not above wearing a knee brace, an ankle support, a tennis elbow compression-thingy and Icy Hot on their backs all at the same time just to play a "fun" match.
9. Tennis Moms know how important it is to get their children involved in a lifetime sport like tennis. Maybe golf.
10. No matter what their age, weight or income level, Tennis Moms get along because they have a few important things to discuss - tennis, tennis and more tennis.
    

Happy Mother's Day Tennis Moms!



© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

What Our Tennis Team Needs Is . . . A Cool Name!

The spring tennis season is practically over and summer season is on its way. You know what could really turn it all around for your team this summer? A really cool tennis team name! I've been collecting these for awhile since I was once "questioned" about a team name I chose (I stand by the team name I selected - The Tennis Chicks. It was fun and hip and our team t-shirt was very cute. The lady who questioned me was in her 70s and smoked.).

Below is a huge list of fun tennis team names for you to choose from. Be sure and send me your own list of great tennis team names!

VERY TENNIS SPECIFIC: Acers, Ad-Ins, Alley Cats, Alley Gators, Court Jesters, Dare Doubles, Double The Fun, Double Trouble, Hot Shots, Love Hurts, Love Stinks, Match Makers, Net Nuts, Net Setters, No Faults, Poachers, Queens of the Court, Racqueteers, Racquettes, Slammers, Shot Girls, Slice Girls, Smash Girls, Super Shots, Sweet Shots, Sweet Spots, Tennis Addicts, Tennis Angels, Topspinners, Volley Girls

CLEVER: Banger Sisters, Double Shots (I'm reading this as alcohol-related but maybe that's just me.), Drop Shots, Good Gets, Got Its, Grand Slammers, Kiss My Ace (you better have a good team if you pick with this name), Match Points, Miss Hits, Net Assets, Racquet Scientists (very clever), Serves You Right, Servivors, Sets In The City (clever), String Courtets, Terminetters, Tightly Strung

NOT TOO TENNIS-Y BUT I LIKE THEM: Dream Team, Laser Shots, Pure Insanity (I know no one will use this but I like it), Violet Offenders (you wear purple - get it?)




© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

How to be a Great Tennis Team Captain!

So you've joined a tennis team, you're a great tennis team member, and now they've asked you to captain the team! Here's what it takes to be a great team captain:

1. Familiarize yourself with all tennis and league rules. If you haven't done this already, you will have to do it now. Part of being a captain is making sure the rules are followed and this may mean you have to resolve on-court disputes on behalf of your team. So learn the rules now, before those disputes arise, and then be prepared to back up your team members when necessary.

2. Let everyone know what your "goals" are. If you just want to have fun and the team is laid back and relaxed, let everyone know. If you're hoping to win your division, move up in the rankings, or desperately need to make points just to stay where you are, tell your team members. It not only helps explain what your strategy is, it also lets people know whether or not this is the right team for them.

3. In doubles play, try to pair people up on a regular basis. No matter how compatible two players are, it can take a few games for them to figure each other out. And by that time, they may be down too far to come back. The more players partner up, the better their results should be. While it may not be possible for each member of your team to have a regular partner, try to form groups within the team and partner up within those groups. So you may have 4 players who usually play at Line 1 or 2 and those 4 can pretty much expect to play with each other each week.

4. Keep everyone informed. Let your team members know what's going on so they feel included and can contribute in every way possible. Be sure they have a roster and know everyone's name and phone number, especially cell phone number. Let each member know when and where you are playing. Definitely keep them all updated on how the team is doing each week and where you stand in the rankings.

5. Make it fun. Even when your team is at the bottom of its division, especially when it's at the bottom, make sure everyone is having fun and feeling appreciated. If team members don't enjoy themselves, even when they're losing, they'll find some other team where they do have a good time. So have a team name! Have a uniform! Have lunch together! Have an end-of-season party! Give out your own end-of-season awards! Do whatever you can to develop some camaraderie!

6. Be there for your team. This seems like the easy step but it can often be the most difficult. As team captain, you should really try to be at every match. Of course, you may not be able to be there each and every week. You may actually have to do something NOT pertaining to tennis every once in a while! But, most of the time, you should be there to support and help your team. Your team needs you not just to keep track of the score sheet, team members may also need you to resolve disputes (see No. 1 above) and to "handle" the opposing team's captain and members.

How to be a Great Tennis Team Member!

After you've captained a tennis team, you realize that your best team member is not necessarily your most highly skilled player. If you want to be the team member that your captain plays again and again, follow these tips:

1. Be available. Nothing is worse for a captain than forfeiting a line because she can't find anyone to play that day. So make sure that you are always available to play. Captains love the team member who is ready and willing to play at the last minute. This means if you are on a Wednesday team, don't schedule your manicure for Wednesday morning. Keep your Wednesdays open for tennis.

2. Play at whatever line you're needed. You may think you are a Line 1 player - and maybe you are. But sometimes your captain needs a player at Line 4 so she won't have to forfeit Line 4 that day. Sometimes she needs someone to play with that team member that others find "difficult" to partner with. Sometimes she has a strategy that includes playing stronger players at lower lines. If you are always willing to play any line, your captain will not only appreciate your attitude but will play you more often.

3. Play at whatever location you're needed. Depending on where you live, this may not be an issue. But where I liveand the leagues in which I play, getting to a match can often involve a 30 minute drive. If you exclude yourself from playing those "far away" matches, you will definitely cut down on the number of times your captain can use you.

4. Be a willing partner. Nothing is harder on a captain than having one team member who no one else wants to play with. I have had team members come to me and actually say, "Don't ever play me with her . . . ever!" While you may feel that way about certain players, the reality is that a captain has some obligation to play everyone on the team at least some of the time. And eventually someone has to play with that player that no one likes. And it should not be the captain over and over. So be willing to "take one for the team" occasionally and partner up with that unwanted team member.

5. Be a good partner. If you want to avoid being the "unwanted team member" referred to in No. 4 above, be a good partner to your fellow team mates. Be positive. Make good, honest calls. Don't throw in the towel in a match even when you feel like you can't come back. Don't blame your partner for her mistakes. Don't ever say to your partner "You have to get those." Be the partner that everyone enjoys playing with and your captain will be happy to play you often.

6. Appreciate your captain. Being a tennis team captain is not easy. A captain may have to set new lines each week. She is often strategizing ways to win points just to keep your team from being moved to a lower level. She has to deal with league directors, other captains and, of course, a whole team full of players, each with their own personal agendas. If the team is losing, players may blame the captain for making bad pairings and following the wrong strategies. If the team is winning, players may feel its only due to their superior tennis skills. So, appreciate your team captain. Tell her what a great job she's doing every once in a while. Your support will not only make her happy, but may result in you playing as often as you'd like!

How to Join a Tennis Team

It's the end of the fall tennis season and all three of my teams are wrapping up. Thinking about the next season, I find myself talking with my team mates about where these teams are going - strengths of various players, weaknesses, who plays well together, who doesn't, who is staying on the team, who is leaving. But while all of this talk is interesting (at least I think it is), the truth is once you're on a team, it's almost impossible to get kicked off!

If only you could get on those really great teams . . .

So how do you join a tennis team in the first place? And how do you move up to a better team when you're ready?

Here are my tips for finding and joining a tennis team:

1. Talk to your friends - If you're interested in tennis, you must have friends who are playing tennis. And most likely, at least some of them are playing on teams. If you're already on teams, you know who is playing on the higher level teams. So find out if your friends are on teams looking for new players or if they know other captains who might need players. And, when you get those names, don't be afraid to "cold call" captains to find out if they have spots open - captains are always looking for players to join their teams.

2. Talk to your tennis coach or pro - Any good tennis pro not only teaches, he is also talking to his students to find out how their games are going. Are they winning or losing? And just how are their teams doing? Your tennis pro should know the teams that his students play on and he probably knows if they have openings. The great thing about talking to your pro about joining a team is that he knows what level you play at and can help you find a team that is appropriate for you.

3. Talk to the Tennis Director at your club - This is their job! If you're paying dues to belong to a club that has a Tennis Director, she better know what teams are playing out of her club, who is captaining each team, and hopefully, who is looking for new players. Have your Tennis Director give you names and phone numbers for these captains and, again, don't be afraid to cold call.

4. Play in mixers, tournaments, drills and clinics - In other words, play a lot of tennis! These events are always fun and attract people who are "in to" tennis, like you and me. Chat them up and you are sure to come across a team captain or someone who knows of a team looking for a player just like you.

5. Become a sub - This is absolutely the best way to get on a team. So offer to be a sub and don't consider it to be beneath you. Because today you're a sub, tomorrow you're the player filling in for the team member who got injured and the next day, you're the reliable player that the team needs. And if you're looking to move to a higher level team, becoming a sub ensures that you'll get the challenging match play you need to make that leap up.