My Own Kind Of Wimbledon

The Utah Tennis Association and T.R.A.I.L.S., the same program who I took my ski lessons from, put together a Wheelchair Tennis Camp last weekend. I had a lot of fun with it because it allowed me to be athletically competitive against someone but mostly because I sweat my ace off which is very rare!

The last time I had played, no I mean the last time that I had tried to play tennis was in the 9th grade when I had gone with my Dad to go hit some balls. Seeing that he had been a tennis star in his day and seeing that the patience was quickly leaving as his balls were quickly doing so as well, that play time was short lived. Needless to say, I had no clue how this was going to all work. I understood how to play "able bodied" tennis but the concept of wheelchair tennis just did not make sense so I was curious to see how it all worked.

I talked Trevor into coming up with the kids so it made for a good Saturday morning activity. They had a chair waiting for me which is very similar to a wheelchair bball chair so that was the first thing that I learned. Second, instead of allowing one bounce, they allow two bounces and third, everything else, all of the rules, are all the same.

The instructors were so nice and even did some work with the kids which Kindra just ate up!
Here they are "walking the dog" as they called it? (I have no clue when it comes to the terminology of tennis!)

...the kids practicing up their techniques...

The best part about having the kids up there was that they were able to get so involved. Kindra really got excited about playing around and Carter was the official ball collector as we were hitting the balls into the other end/side of the court. It was a perfect way to keep them occupied...

We made sure that we understood our balance. That we understood the way that the chair would manoeuvre. We practiced some hitting techniques and finally, our serve. I really got into it and my competitive nature came right out. I wanted to understand it, catch on like that, and to be perfect. I will admit that I can be too hard on myself by having to be a pro right from the start but feel that that is why I am able to succeed. Interesting and something to think about....hmmmmmm.
The last time that I had been over to the park area was literally when I was 6 yrs old right about that same time that the movie "Savannah Smiles" came out. There were some rides, some peddle boats, and some nasty looking animals. It was horrible and actually frightened me because I was worried that I was going to be kidnapped like "Savannah"! Seriously, I'm not kidding!!!

So I was really surprised when I saw the play area for the kids. We were only there for a few minutes but they had fun. They always do when they get to play on "new toys".

Like I have said before...I have to try and do everything. I would go crazy if I didn't. I don't want to ever feel like I am giving in or giving up. NEVER!! Such a fun morning and such a great workout. The next day I woke up sore since I used muscles that I am not used to using. NO COMPLAINTS though...it's that good kind of sore that proves to yourself that you worked really hard and gave it your all. No regrets from that activity! They have weekly court times so that will not be the last time that I am going to go out and play. I had that much fun!