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Retro Tennis Fixation: How To Be A Great Tennis Team Member!

Slowly, ever so slowly, it's coming back to me . . . why I am not a tennis team captain anymore. I agreed to be the substitute captain for one of my teams, just for two weeks, while the real captains take well-deserved summer vacations. But, as I sit here writing this post on the night before our league matches, and as I patiently wait for people to return my calls and confirm whether or not they're playing tomorrow morning, and as I actually start feeling that little knot of desperation start to tighten in my stomach over this ("what if they don't return my calls? who can I sub in at the last minute?"), I'm remembering just how hard it is to be a tennis team captain.

And I'm also remembering this Tennis Fixation post I wrote a while ago, a Retro Tennis Fixation post as I like to call it, about what it takes to be a great tennis team member - something that all of us should strive for. Just so our tennis team captains aren't developing stomach ulcers as they sit and wait for us to return their calls. So here it is from December 2008: How To Be A Great Tennis Team Member!

After you've captained a tennis team, you realize that your best team member is not necessarily your most highly skilled player. If you want to be the team member that your captain plays again and again, follow these tips:

1. Be available. Nothing is worse for a captain than forfeiting a line because she can't find anyone to play that day. So make sure that you are always available to play. Captains love the team member who is ready and willing to play at the last minute. This means if you are on a Wednesday team, don't schedule your manicure for Wednesday morning. Keep your Wednesdays open for tennis.

2. Play at whatever line you're needed. You may think you are a Line 1 player - and maybe you are. But sometimes your captain needs a player at Line 4 so she won't have to forfeit Line 4 that day. Sometimes she needs someone to play with that team member that others find "difficult" to partner with. Sometimes she has a strategy that includes playing stronger players at lower lines. If you are always willing to play any line, your captain will not only appreciate your attitude but will play you more often.

3. Play at whatever location you're needed. Depending on where you live, this may not be an issue. But where I liveand the leagues in which I play, getting to a match can often involve a 30 minute drive. If you exclude yourself from playing those "far away" matches, you will definitely cut down on the number of times your captain can use you.

4. Be a willing partner. Nothing is harder on a captain than having one team member who no one else wants to play with. I have had team members come to me and actually say, "Don't ever play me with her . . . ever!" While you may feel that way about certain players, the reality is that a captain has some obligation to play everyone on the team at least some of the time. And eventually someone has to play with that player that no one likes. And it should not be the captain over and over. So be willing to "take one for the team" occasionally and partner up with that unwanted team member.

5. Be a good partner. If you want to avoid being the "unwanted team member" referred to in No. 4 above, be a good partner to your fellow team mates. Be positive. Make good, honest calls. Don't throw in the towel in a match even when you feel like you can't come back. Don't blame your partner for her mistakes. Don't ever say to your partner "You have to get those." Be the partner that everyone enjoys playing with and your captain will be happy to play you often.

6. Appreciate your captain. Being a tennis team captain is not easy. A captain may have to set new lines each week. She is often strategizing ways to win points just to keep your team from being moved to a lower level. She has to deal with league directors, other captains and, of course, a whole team full of players, each with their own personal agendas. If the team is losing, players may blame the captain for making bad pairings and following the wrong strategies. If the team is winning, players may feel its only due to their superior tennis skills. So, appreciate your team captain. Tell her what a great job she's doing every once in a while. Your support will not only make her happy, but may result in you playing as often as you'd like!

Retro Tennis Fixation: Get Ready For League Tennis!

The bad news: we are all in the grip of a killer heat wave as we roast under the latest weather phenomenon - the "heat dome." (Similar to Mad Max's Thunderdome in that you might die but more sunscreen is required.) The good news: fall tennis leagues are about to start up!

Yes, I received the sign today when I got an e-mail from my captain telling me its time to pay my league dues. So, let's forget about the furnace outside and get ready for a fantastic fall season! To help you (and me), here's a blast-from-the-not-too-distant-past "Retro Tennis Fixation" post (retro because its from the past, get it?). Originally titled, "Your 'Tennis Fixation' Personal Assistant," here's every tip you need to kick-off your best fall tennis season ever:

Summer is pretty much over, the kids are back in school and its time to start playing league tennis again - Hooray!

That's right - its time to get organized and ready for another fantastic season of tennis. This is the season you're going to be a winner! This is the season you're going to have fun and feel good about your game! This is the season you're going to beat the tennis skirts right off your opponents!

And, to get things rolling in the right direction, your Tennis Fixation Personal Assistant is here with everything you need to prepare. Just go through the list below and do as much as you can NOW to prepare for an incredible season of tennis:

1. Get your gear in gear. When is the last time you restrung your racquet? Do you even remember? (Read this post to figure out when you're supposed to restring: Quick Tennis Fix of the Day: Time to Restring!) Do you have balls in your bag? A towel? Any of the other stuff you should have in there? (Read this to find out what to keep in your bag: What's In My Tennis Bag?) Maybe its time for a new racquet, maybe its time for new shoes. Take some time to check all of your equipment out and make sure you're ready to play great tennis.

2. Tune-up your game. I love to take lessons, love to go to clinics, love to do drills. I always say - if they would just get rid of those match things, I'd be such a great tennis player! So I've been going to lessons and drills all summer long and am ready to play. If you have NOT, now would be a great time to do a tune-up session or two with your pro. Maybe get your team together for a group lesson. And if that sounds like too much work, get together with teammates or friends for some fun, practice matches.

3. Talk to your captain. Believe it or not, every captain has some kind of plan for the team. Whether the plan is to win the division or to just have a lot of fun, your captain is thinking about where she wants the team to go this season. So be sure and touch base with her and get an idea of what the expectations are for the team and for you, as a player. Find out who your partner is, if you don't already know, and let your captain know what you think of that. Offer to help in any way you can. Let her know your availability, or unavailability, now, before the season gets going. Being a captain is often a thankless job so any help you can give to your captain will be appreciated.

4. Have you paid your league dues yet? Your captain probably has to write a check to cover the league fee for the entire team and then waits for you to reimburse her for your portion. Don't stick your captain with the bill on this one. Send her that check today!

If you take these four simple steps, you and your team are sure to be off to a great start for this season!

How To Make Me Quit Your Tennis Team

I am a quitter. I admit it. I'm a quitter and I'm leaving one of my tennis teams at the end of this season because I just can't take it anymore.

Now, I am the first person to tell you that a good team player doesn't quit just because she's "unhappy" with the team. A good team player puts the team's success above her individual success. A good team player plays when and where her captain sticks her, no questions asked. That may mean playing with the player no one else wants to play with. That may mean playing the "sacrifice" line. That may mean playing a much lower line than you believe you deserve to be playing. That may mean playing with sub after sub after sub. That may mean playing the late match EVERY SINGLE WEEK. But does it mean playing in the face of ALL of those things?

I think not.

But that's what I've been putting up with on one of my teams and, this past week, I reached my breaking point. And what was it that finally gave me the last push I needed to come to this decision?

This past week, I was once again playing with a sub I had never met before we stepped on court to be partners. She was very sweet but somewhere during the 3rd or 4th game of the match she told me, "I am having a really hard time when I'm up at the net and you come up to the net. I don't know how to play when we're both at the net. It's confusing to me."

Did I mention we were playing doubles? And she was having problems with both us of being at the net?

We won that match but to say it was a struggle would be a huge understatement. I worked really hard as did my partner (no surprise there). But I just can't keep playing every week with different partners and trying to figure out how my partner plays on top of trying to figure out how my opponents play.

So I'm quitting this team.

And this has not been an easy decision for me to come to. I have really questioned myself - do I have the wrong attitude about all of this? Am I really justified in thinking I should be playing a higher line? Does my captain actually believe I'm so strong that I can win with any old sub she can dig up to stick with me? Is there some secret over-arching strategy in place here to win lines that I am unaware of? Or is there some subtle message I'm being given that I'm not wanted on this team? Am I possibly over-thinking this and veering into some kind of tennis team paranoia?

Guess what? I don't care anymore.

Just to make clear - I know its hard to be a team captain because I've captained several teams. You are constantly balancing winning against keeping your team cohesive and happy. But as far as I can tell, my captain is not the least bit concerned about my happiness. Maybe she cares if I win my line or not but she is making it way too hard for me to do that.

So, to my captain I say - Congratulations! If you hoped to come up with some way to get me to quit because you didn't have the guts to tell me to leave, you have succeeded. Good luck finding another player who shows up every week and plays with subs who apparently are oblivious to the basic strategies of doubles.

Because I quit!

This post originally appeared on Tennis Fixation's blog page on the Tennis Now website. Click here to read this and other great Tennis Fixation posts on Tennis Now!

Why I Love Playing Tennis Indoors

Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and a bunch of other ATP guys are in Basel, Switzerland right now playing in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tournament.

And guess what? I played an indoor match today too! Me indoors . . . Roddick and Federer indoors . . . mere coincidence? Or some kind of strange tennis destiny. You decide.

In the meantime, I was thinking how much I love playing on indoor courts. Because when you're scheduled to play indoors, you know you're going to play! You never have to worry about the weather. Or the sun. Or the wind. Or the lawn care guys blowing leaves. Or little kids walking by the court going, "Hey lady!" (Yes, it happened.)

But when I first joined my indoor team, I wasn't too crazy about being indoors. It was always too loud. Or too echo-y. Or too air-condition-y. Or too weirdly lit (I can go on and on with this stuff. Just see the post Top Excuses For Losing In Tennis.)

So there are a few things to watch out for when playing indoors. Here's the list I've come up with:

1. Court Surface - Not all indoor courts are "hard" courts. They may be made with a softer material that results in a slower or lower-bouncing ball. You may know this about your own home courts (as I do since mine are like this) but it can take a few games to figure it out if you're playing a match in a new place.

2. Ceilings - Surprisingly, there is no standard indoor court ceiling. They can be flat or pitched. They can be solid white or have dark wooden beams running all over them. They can have hanging light fixtures. So you need to look up at each indoor court you play on and see what's going on. And I mean look up before that first lob comes your way.

3. Noise - While you may not have a small child pestering you (see above), these are often strange noises to contend with on indoor courts. Fluorescent lights buzz. Air conditioners switch on and off. Bystanders are seated very close and talk very loud. They may be watching your match, which can be intimidating, or they may be talking about their new tennis shoes, which is just rude. Be aware of these distractions and blow them off.

4. "Wind" Conditions - OK, so you don't have to deal with the real wind. But I have played at a place where the air conditioners were hung over one end of the court and blew on me every time I served. This is exactly the kind of stupid thing that bothers people with tennis ADD like me. And exactly why I never serve from that end of the court whenever I have to go play there.

5. Temperature - Amazingly, indoor courts can get pretty hot. At my club, I think the strategy is to run the air conditioners during the winter and on major Jewish holidays. That's the only logic I can come up with. So don't overdress - wear layers and adjust to the temperature as you play.

6. Players - Watch out for these indoor players. In my experience, I feel like people who play indoors just play a different, trickier kind of tennis. They're often older and have been playing tennis for a long, long time. They know they can't use the outdoor elements to wear you down. So they come up with an unending supply of spin shots, slice serves, sharp angles, short balls and perfect lobs. I've gotten to the point where, if I have an indoor match and look over and see a couple of old ladies, I take a deep breath and try to mentally prepare myself to work my butt off.

Your "Tennis Fixation" Personal Assistant!

Summer is pretty much over, the kids are back in school and its time to start playing league tennis again - Hooray!

That's right - its time to get organized and ready for another fantastic season of tennis. This is the season you're going to be a winner! This is the season you're going to have fun and feel good about your game! This is the season you're going to beat the tennis skirts right off your opponents!

And, to get things rolling in the right direction, your Tennis Fixation Personal Assistant is here with everything you need to prepare. Just go through the list below and do as much as you can NOW to prepare for an incredible season of tennis:

1. Get your gear in gear. When is the last time you restrung your racquet? Do you even remember? (Read this post to figure out when you're supposed to restring: Quick Tennis Fix of the Day: Time to Restring!) Do you have balls in your bag? A towel? Any of the other stuff you should have in there? (Read this to find out what to keep in your bag: What's In My Tennis Bag?) Maybe its time for a new racquet, maybe its time for new shoes. Take some time to check all of your equipment out and make sure you're ready to play great tennis.

2. Tune-up your game. I love to take lessons, love to go to clinics, love to do drills. I always say - if they would just get rid of those match things, I'd be such a great tennis player! So I've been going to lessons and drills all summer long and am ready to play. If you have NOT, now would be a great time to do a tune-up session or two with your pro. Maybe get your team together for a group lesson. And if that sounds like too much work, get together with teammates or friends for some fun, practice matches.

3. Talk to your captain. Believe it or not, every captain has some kind of plan for the team. Whether the plan is to win the division or to just have a lot of fun, your captain is thinking about where she wants the team to go this season. So be sure and touch base with her and get an idea of what the expectations are for the team and for you, as a player. Find out who your partner is, if you don't already know, and let your captain know what you think of that. Offer to help in any way you can. Let her know your availability, or unavailability, now, before the season gets going. Being a captain is often a thankless job so any help you can give to your captain will be appreciated.

4. Have you paid your league dues yet? Your captain probably has to write a check to cover the league fee for the entire team and then waits for you to reimburse her for your portion. Don't stick your captain with the bill on this one. Send her that check today!

If you take these four simple steps, you and your team are sure to be off to a great start for this season!

© Kim Selzman 2009
All Rights Reserved

Quick Tennis Fix: Pack Some Balls!

League tennis is starting up. Do you have a can of balls in your bag? I sure do.

After being the partner-who-never-remembers-to-bring-the-balls all last spring, I have now transformed myself into the partner who has a case of balls in the garage and always has at least one unopened can in her bag. So pack a can or two in your own bag so you're always prepared for your next match!

And, PS, those balls that were only used once, they don't count as new balls.