The cost of "membership"

The other day at the Leftwich Tennis Center, some players were admiring the new courts and landscaping. One of them said, "well, I guess this means our membership will go up this year." We at Tennis Memphis want to assure the public tennis players that this is absolutely not the case for two main reasons. One is that the money for court repairs and other capital improvements at the tennis centers comes from the City of Memphis, not Tennis Memphis. We are not financially responsible for these projects. We only make recommendations to the City every year when they put together their CIP budget and hope that they give them high priority. So, the fact that the courts at Leftwich were resurfaced this year has little to no effect on Tennis Memphis' budget or any of our programs, except that we hope to have more players at Leftwich now because of the nice courts, which would increase our participation numbers and revenue.

More importantly though, is the fact that "membership" fees will not go up because we do not have any "membership" fees at the public tennis facilities. Memberships never have been and never will be (as far as Tennis Memphis is concerned) required for anyone to play on the public courts. What we do offer is a Player Card, which gives the card holder a list of benefits that are available at the 7 tennis centers that we manage. The only instance in which someone would have to have a Player Card is if he or she wanted to participate as a regular player in Permanent Court Time. Otherwise, anyone, Player Card holder or not, can come to any of the 7 public tennis centers during their operating hours and pay for and play on an available court, attend a clinic or participate in a program or league. Anyone, Player Card holder or not, can call and reserve courts in advance. The Player Card holders can reserve courts a lot farther in advance than non-Card holders-- that is one of the benefits. Once a person purchases a Player Card, they can play on the outdoor courts as many times as they want at no additional charge-- that is another one of the benefits. A lot of people have purchased Player Cards to get the discount for Team Tennis. We are glad that benefit has been so well received.

When you think about it, it is really not much different than having a library card (or not). Anyone can go to any of the public libraries during their operating hours and access their resources and programs. But, if they want to check a book out of the library, they have to have a library card. Nobody has to have a library card to walk in the door, but most people get one because they want to be able to check out books. (Yes, you could point out that library cards are free and Player Cards are not, but you get the idea).

So, public tennis players, don't worry-- your "membership" fees will not go up because of the recent court repairs at Leftwich! Do not even worry about that. Come on out to any of the public tennis centers and enjoy playing in the nice weather. If you want to purchase a Player Card, great. We will be happy to help you. If not, that's okay. Play public tennis anyway. See you on the court!

This is the guy!

This is T. Mann, the one responsible for the new landscaping at the Leftwich Tennis Center. He stopped long enough the other day for me to get his photo. We really appreciate his hard work.

Reflections on the Bullfrog

Everyone at Tennis Memphis knew the Bullfrog tournament was coming. April 12-14. The dates were burned into our brains. Some of us ordered the t-shirts. Others contacted businesses for donations. Everyone crossed their fingers that the courts at Leftwich would be done in time. All of the Tennis Memphis staff was put on notice to not make any plans for that weekend because they would have to help with something. I didn't mind that so much, except that I had heard so many horror stories about junior tournaments-- parents harassing officials, players throwing racquets, making bad line calls and generally acting like little punks. I was a bit nervous about getting in the middle of all that.

After working 24 hours at the tournament desk at Rhodes (12 hours on Saturday, 12 on Sunday), I can say that with regard to junior tournaments, stereotypes may not come out of thin air, but they are not always true, either. We did not have any trouble out of any of those kids or their parents. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The kids were polite and respectful. Some of them made a point to talk to us beyond asking if they were the next court up. The parents reassured us that we were doing a good job, and said over and over again how appreciative they were of our time and effort. Having to sit and/or play all day in the cold weather could have put any of us in a bad mood, but we all tried to keep our spirits up. I guess a bad day playing tennis is better than a good day . . . well, you can fill in the blank for yourself.

Certainly, I would not want to help run a tennis tournament every weekend, but next year, when the Bullfrog rolls around again, I'll be willing to lend a hand. Who knows, maybe we will see some of these kids on the pro tour in a few years, and we can say we knew them when.

Leftwich has a friend-- with a green thumb

The court repairs are not the only thing going on at the Leftwich Tennis Center. Thanks to "T" Mann, the patio area now has new landscape beds with flowers planted in the shape of tennis racquets and a tennis court. T built the beds, planted the flowers and laid the mulch at his own expense and labor because he just wanted to do something nice for the tennis center. What a wonderful complement to the court repairs and great start to spring tennis. What a difference a little bit of caring can make. Thanks, T.