Officiating

I've been officiating local junior tournaments. At first, I thought it would be a good way to give back to the game, but now that I am in my second year of doing it, I really enjoy being able to watch some of the area's top juniors compete.



Although the days can be long, especially as it was last Friday when the unpredictability of Michigan weather sent us inside to indoor facilities even though the tournament was supposed to be a clay court tournament. At the end of Friday night, knees and back a little sore, I went home and hoped for a better tomorrow. Although the tournament was open to all age groups, absent were the Boys 16s and 18s. Since the high school seasons switched here in MI (the boys now play in the fall and the girls in the spring), tournaments like this, late in the summer usually do not include the better high school boys. So, a little disappointed, I spent most of Friday night correcting rule oversights by competitors in the Boys and Girls 10s. Forgetting scores, serving to the wrong side, generally not paying attention to what is happening on the court, are all things that require constant addressing with these groups. As an official, I believe it is important to give just as much attention to these matches as the other, more experienced, players, but watching a fifty-plus moonball rally is not my idea of good tennis. I admire these young players though. I can't tell you how many times I am told to "keep the ball" in play and these players, some six or seven years old, can do it better than most.



But driving home Friday night, all I could think was if some of the matches were that slow on hard court, it is going to be slower on clay.



On Saturday as the draws dwindled toward finalists, both in the main and back draws, the quality of tennis did improve. My favorite player was a young woman in the Girls 18 division who has inspired me to learn to slide. The older boys do it all the time, even on hard court. But with the boys' draw being so young, I didn't get to see much sliding that was done on purpose. (An eight-year old boy slid into the net at one point. Another little one slid/fell/tripped on his way to the bench for a drink of water.) But this teen-aged girl rocked at sliding.

The tournament was held at the Birmingham Athletic Club in Bloomfield Hills with a few matches being put on courts next door at the Oakland Hills Country Club. Even though there was a tournament happening, there were courts available to members of the clubs. It was kind of sad to see that the effects of the economy left so many courts empty. Many times when you hear broadcasters of professional tennis talking during the clay season, mentioning how kids need to play more on clay and how it helps their game by developing better footwork and generally allowing them to be exposed to a surface that Americans tend to not succeed on. A lot of the better players in this tournament were playing simply because this was one of the few, if not, only, clay tournaments available locally to the juniors of this area.

Overall the tournament was decent and, as always, I was inspired to play better, to practice harder, to do well.

Stay tuned...