The Female Demons of Tennis

I believe I, we, us started Moose Tennis about eight weeks ago.

I had, have been rehabbing soreness from my neck to my deltoid on my right side since we began. I was taking it easy on my serves and trying not to over-reach or slam overheads.

I love playing net and volleying, so I would, if not already at net, work my way there and take life easy for a while. Moose is all doubles and I am comfortable at net, usually.

We had all become accustom to one another's play and although we were all wanting to win the point, no one was ripping the crap out of the ball.

I played 4.0 for quite a while and was also the idiot that would enter a tournament occasionally as a 4.5. This wasn't two decades ago, but it wasn't yesterday either. I can recall how to play at that level, but it's not instant and Moose is my once-a-week tennis gig.

At Moose, I was getting sort of comfy making the smart shots and using junk when need be.

Well, that changed last Saturday. I work out, cycle and my career requires a lot of me physically. I am thankful I can still do all this, but I told a friend and tennis friend of mine a few months ago that I am not in tennis condition. Note: I also stretch a good bit, but none of this could have prepared one for what happened next.

This jovial woman named Monica shows up anxious to play. She was personally warm and friendly; yet, when hitting with any new group, it takes a while to warm up. She said she had a friend coming out shortly, Amy.

Not long after, Amy appears outside the fence and soon she is warming up. Amy had a slightly higher spirit than Monica - I didn't excuse this for lack of intensity on court.

This is what I love and have always loved about Moose - a few new players show up or some returnees come back and the dynamic changes.

I was having to get off my ass as M and A started placing shots with pace and making me move way more than I had planned. Okay, there were some completely laughable shots by all, but the level of intensity changed. This didn't bother me at the time, but two days later I realized my adductors and abductors were sore because of these two demons - love 'em.

During one battle of volleys, Amy almost assured me my chances of raising a child would be reduced, had it not been for my quick-handedness.

Most of us played for about three hours last Saturday and it was a blast until Monica felt walking her dog was more important than tennis - imagine that.

It was a fun day of tennis.

Moose Tennis will be this Saturday, June 8 at 8:00am at Trenholm Park - come when you can. If you are a first timer simply wa(o)nder around for a while and look for the disorganized group pretending to play organized tennis.

Oh, I am not building a separate blog for Moose Tennis. Instead, this will be a section of my current blog, Shoots and Matters. I will be posting some old tennis stories from many years of tennis and some new ones about Moose Tennis.

Thank you!

See you Saturday!