Is tennis as exclusive as people think?

I was sitting in a non-tennis-related meeting/luncheon last week and when I looked around, I noticed that I was one of only 4 women in a group of about 75 people. I only saw one person of color in the room. I thought about how different it was from my normal working environment. At Tennis Memphis, there are African-Americans, Whites and Latinos. There are men and women of different ages, including teenagers and senior citizens. Same goes for the players at the tennis centers. We have kids as young as 5 and adults as old as-- who knows? 70? 80? People come to the tennis courts from different neighborhoods, backgrounds, occupations and income levels. Some of them have played their whole lives, while some started last week. It is really nice to see. It is really nice to be a part of it. Tennis really is for anyone and everyone--at least at the public tennis centers. Whoever you are, you fit right in. Isn't that the best way to be? Maybe it takes more effort to get along with people who aren't just like you, but it has to be worth it. Hey, if all else fails, you can always talk about tennis.

The craziness of summer camp

Summer Camp started on June 9 and the public tennis centers have not been the same since-- but in a good way. Even though it takes a lot of work and a lot of sunscreen, it is always rewarding to see the kids get started in tennis or continue from last summer. You wonder which ones will stick with it and which ones will be gone at the end of the week. We hope that they all will come back, but realistically, we know they won't. But, we will do the best we can to get them to love the game of tennis. With the use of the QuickStart program (mini-tennis), the new Latino program and 3 new camp sites this year, there is no reason that any kid in Memphis can't give it a try this summer. The instructors are fun to watch, too. They really put themselves into it and seem to enjoy it as much as the kids. There is plenty of smiling, laughter and tennis to go around.