USOpen

It's that time of year again and this time... I'm close enough to be part of the action! I'm heading into Flushing Meadows tonight for the night session of the US Open! Nadal... here I come! :)

Sometimes all it takes is an email...

I have had a rough week with Jazz stuff (no surpsise, I know) and tennis wasn't the BEST in the middle of the season but we had our school wide athletic awards night Tuesday night and the emails I received after that night remind me why I do this...

Dear M,

Sometimes, in the flury of excitement, the opportunity for the genuine expression of sincere appreciation escapes. Just want you to know how deeply (our daughter) was touched when she received the Coach's award from you last night. Knowing her as we do, it was easy for (my husband) and I to recognize the special light in her eyes.

As a coach you may never know how important your influence in a person's life will be, not only now, but in the distant future. At this point, it's difficult to predict how profound an influence a gesture like this can have on a young person; but, I can assure you, that (she) will never forget last night and the thrill of being recognized for tennis by her Coach. Thanks to you and for the lovely things you said about, and to, our daughter.

Tennis Mom & Dad

and

M,

I can't begin to thank you enough for the lovely words about (my daughter) and for any influence you may have had on the awards she won. She had a rough spring, summer and fall missing prime soccer recruiting season, her club season and her senior year of soccer. As a result gained zero recognition on a high school level of her soccer abilities. Somehow I feel that last night and your little speech made up for it all. As a mother, this means a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to her. My only regret from last night is that (my husband) was out of town and missed it all!

Fondly,

Tennis Mom #2

More Tennis Drama

Will it ever end? They don't PAY me enough money to deal with this some days...

Story time again, I hope you guys are ready.

High school tennis in Vermont allows for 9 players to play. 5 singles players and 4 doubles players. We have 14 girls on the team and 10 girls who can be competitive in matches which creates a little bit of a problem so I've been trying to rotate those last couple into matches. It's been pretty easy so far because our first match someone was missing so #10 got in, our second match someone else was missing so #10 got in again. Well, #10 was in the line-up again for our third match but, she had an appointment (that she didn't let me know about) and drove herself to the match. This. is. not. allowed. For whatever liability reasons the students MUST leave the high school on the bus then can leave the match with parental persmisssion.

So, when she showed up at 3:40 for a 3:30 start time in her school clothes I had to tell her, sorry, you're not playing today. She acted very surprised (I'm not sure why...I give them all the rules at our first meeting) and stalked to her car. She came back 3o minutes later, sobbing, claiming a family emergency had come up and she must leave. Immediately.

She was NOT in the line-up for yesterday (she knew this since last Friday) but came to the match in her uniform and warmed up with the team which was FINE because, again 9 players... that 9th player needed someone to warm up with and she would have played in the exhibition match. When we read the line-up and she was not in it she was again, upset and walked away. (This is what I can't figure out... she KNEW she wasn't playing Did she think that I was going to make it up to her the next day because she broke the school policy?)

So, the match starts and I'm watching a doubles team when she walks over to me, uniform in hand, and goes,
"Yea, M? After today, I'm done. And if you have a problem with it, you can call my Dad. I just got off the phone with him."

I asked her if she was sure and she said yes. Okay, fine. (Really I'm thinking, CALL YOUR DAD?!? IF I HAVE A PROBLEM? CALL YOUR DAD?!?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!? IF YOU HAVE PROBLEM YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CALL ME!!!!! I'M NOT CALLING YOUR DAD!)

So... twently minutes later a jeep pulls up and she gets in and leaves. Without telling me.

So she quits without even trying to have a conversation with me about why she is upset and what she would like to see. High school girls...I don't remember being this dramatic.

May Day

Happy May everyone! We did see snow flurries yesterday, but today is looking a little better...here's so a WARM, SUNNY SPRING!

I had a tennis match last night and the assistant coach of the opposing team tried to start a fight with me. Not a physical fight, obviously... but she was super-annoying and CONDESCENDING. That's my biggest pet peeve, I may not LOOK old enough to be a head coach but, I am. And a pretty darn good one at that. And quite frankly, I was RIGHT! (Obviously.)

The issue was that her player (who was also her daughter) made some REALLY bad calls (I don't get too stressed out about this because- - it happens- - you've gotta let the girls work it out) when she started losing the second set.

She lost the second set (making it 1-1), and my player (who is also my sister) wanted to play a 10 point tiebreaker instead of a full third set. The match was already decided (they KILLED us) so that substitution is permitted. And, it was freezing and snowing so I was thinking...the sooner we get out of there the better.

Well, a tiebreaker was unacceptable and they wanted to play out the third set. Fine, not a huge deal. Then their player (the daughter) was adament that the ball hadn't bounced twice on her side when it had, so my player (the sister...) asked for a line judge. When a player (from either team) asks for a line judge, line judges (one from each team) are sent out regardless of whether the other player wants one. Their assistant coach lost it.

So to the super-annoying coach of that ridiculous team:

Apologizing after the fact because, "It was very obvious that I was frustrating you" is NOT an acceptable apology. I walked away from you because the issue was over. Walking over to me three times after that, just to see if you can get on my nerves is rude. And guess what? I won't let you know you're bothering me so it's a very unsatisfying endeavor try as you might. Please don't EVER accuse me of trying to "get into" your player's head. She did that ALL on her own and I have enough to think and worry about without trying to sabotage a 17 year old's tennis match. Have a little common sense. And, Really? Lady? I've got bigger fish to fry than a 50 year old mother of three. Please. And don't think that winning that match 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 was anything less than COMPLETELY gratifying. Bet you're REALLY glad you insisted on that third set.

Whoever complains about soccer moms has obviously not met a tennis-mom. Oh, they're similar to soccer moms...but they've got pleated skirts, botox, have perfected the art of calling you an incompetent imbecile while smiling and have enough "experience" from playing at the "club" to be high school tennis experts. Yea... soccer moms RUN from tennis moms.

Blah

It's raining...for the second day in a row and while I really shouldn't be complaining when the weather was SO gorgeous last week, I am. Deal with it. It's also freezing and my fingers haven't completely warmed up yet today. And rain with a busy tennis schedule means lots of rescheduling which is a PAIN IN THE BUTT.

Because tennis was cancelled yesterday and I had secured a sub at jazz I offered to work the evening shift at my beloved scoop shop...I'm addicted to that place I think.

Today I would just like to put on sweatpants and a HUGE, WARM sweatshirt, pull the hood up and crawl under my covers for a nice long nap...

If anyone does have the opportunity to do this today, let me know. I'll be living vicariously through you.

Happy Tuesday.

Fed Cup

If you recall, I went to the Fed Cup right before vacation and now I have finally gotten around to uploading my pictures! It was incredible- - the setting (Stowe, VT), the people (I saw Venus up SO close!), and the FUN! I took a few of the girls from my tennis team because this was such a great opportunity to see some awesome tennis and my boyfriend came with his two roomates (all tennis pros... they were in heaven). Venus played first which was just awesome because she was who I was most looking forward to seeing and then she played doubles as well.

The U.S. lost (who's keeping track?) but it was a great experience anyway. And to think... all of these people were in Vermont. :)

The court that was built specifically for this event

The flags...

The teams

The serve :)

The win! :)

Friday Free Write

Ahhhhh, the sweet sounds of Friday. It's easier to get out of bed knowing that I have the weekend in front of me! The past week has been really busy with end of the year school activities (being a coach, you're expected to attend many functions). We had our tennis banquet last night, it was dessert only since we couldn't start until 7:15, but the girls enjoyed it. My assistant coach and I picked out the highlight of each girl's season (their best match) and talked about each of them individually. We also presented them with their "match ball" (a tennis ball with their name, opponent and score of their best match of the season), their certificates, letters, and Paper Plate Award. Have you heard of those? Paper plate awards? They are informal awards written on the backs of paper plates, it keeps things light and fun and the girls love seeing what theirs will be. For example, we had the Discovery Award, for always finding a way to win, the 11th Hour Award, for taking the match to it's last possible point the most times, the Third Set Specialist Award, for always winning third set matches... you get the idea. It was over by 8:30pm, short and sweet, just how I like it. The girls also got us coaches gifts, my assistant got an embroidered hat with our team info, and the girls got me a gift certificate to Monelle's in Burlington- - my favorite store EVER. (Those of you who've been to it, you know what I mean.) They carry Jen's belts too... who knows what I'll pick out for myself!

We went out to dinner after the banquet last night, of course, dinner wasn't enough for the boys so I brought them downtown on our way home. They wanted to go "out, out." I went to bed but, they woke me up when they got home... at 3:30am talking a whole bunch of ridiculousness. I don't think I've mentioned... summers are crazy at my house between my parents, my three sisters, myself, our boyfriends/friends there are at least 10 people in my house at all times. This makes for extremely creative driveway parking. :)

I had my exit meeting with the Athletic Director this morning because the season is over. I can handle criticism, critiques, suggestions very well but do you ever get the feeling that someone TRIES to find bad things to say about you? It's been a challenge this year with the AD and it's a bit of a touchy situation because he is my best friend's father and I've known him my entire life. He didn't say anything REALLY bad, but just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Oh well... I have 9months before I need to deal with him again. :) While I was walking out of school I ran into my youngest sister talking with the principal, they stopped to say hi and tell me that she had just been approved to graduate a year early! She is *so* excited and had been working towards this goal since middle school. She can always change her mind, but she wants this so badly. If she does go through with it, it means that she and my second-to-youngest sister will graduate and go to college together. They both want to go where my other sister and I did so now they're focusing on getting in. :) I hope this ends well. My youngest sister just called me too, she passed her driving test today. What a day for her, I feel as though the day will end with some celebratory drinks... bring 'em on!

My boyfriend's parents are coming to VT for the first time today for the weekend... I could predict exactly how the weekend will go for all of you, but I'll wait until I have the "real" stories. I promise, there will be some. Please think of me this weekend. ;)

I usually don't share people pictures, but two of my guy friends came to my Jazzercise class this week, and well... I couldn't resist!

For those of you in the Northeast, you might recognize these guys... former UVM basketball stars Taylor Coppenrath and TJ Sorrentine, yea, they caused quite a scene.

Game, Set, Match

We won! :) (I didn't think it was possible...) We are the 11th seed, out of 13- - bad, I know- - but we beat the 6 seed yesterday 6-1! The girls are so excited, this is the first time they've made it past the first round in over 11 years! The score doesn't exactly reflect how close the match was, for those of you familiar with tennis, here are the scores:

2-6/ 6-4/ 7-5
6-1/ 6-2
6-2/ 6-1
6-4/ 6-3
7-6/ 6-7/ 2-6
6-2/3-6/ 6-3
2-6/ 7-5/ 7-5

Four three-set matches. Now, we have to play the #3 seed tomorrow, but they're a southern, VT school with a weaker schedule so, I'm hoping that we can beat them! :)


*Totally in a funk the past couple days... I need something new.

Whatta Weekend!

I hate to bore you with a run-down of the weekend, but here I go! :)

Friday I received a phone call from my aunt saying that my uncle had suffered a heart attack. He is only 54 years old and leads an active life. Luckily he got to the hospital in time and they admitted him for (I'm forgetting the name...)the "balloon treatment" immediately. Out of 4 arteries, 1 was 100% blocked, 1 was 80% blocked, 1 was 70% blocked and 1 was completely clear. He hadn't been feeling "right" all week but thought that he had walking pneumonia. Let this serve as a reminder to GO TO YOUR ANNUAL DOCTOR'S VISITS. He hadn't been to the doctor's in a *very* long time. He is doing well though and coming home today, unforunately he'll be out of work for a month recovering, here's to a speedy recovery!

Saturday morning I was up early for my all-day quilt class! The woman who was hosting it lives on Lake Champlain in the Islands and her home is beautiful. She lived next door to my mother's family when they were growing up and was good friends with my Grandmother (my mom's mother) whom I never met. I love visiting with her because she always tells stories about "Margaret" (my grandma) and it's so nice to learn about my grandmother/family from an oustide perspective. (And a neighbor at that! :)). I *love* my quilt! I don't have pictures to post yet, and it's not done but it was so much fun! The pattern is Color Splash and after working on a Stack & Whack and star patterns, this pattern offered a MUCH NEEDED break! I've completed about 1/4 of it but finishing the rest shouldn't be too difficult.

When we arrived, there were gift baskets at each person's sewing area- - what a great idea! In the baskets were: small hand lotion, wooden dowel for pressing seams as you sewed, fabric chalk, pen, three pieces of coordinating fabric tied with bow, and an embroidered handkerchief! This woman is a hostess extraordinaire...I wish you could have seen the lunch she prepared. I'm not going to post on it now because it warrants it's own post-- yes, it was that good! :)

She has an entire room dedicated to sewing and it's incredible, lots of light, huge windows, triple sized ironing boards, industrial irons... many of you would be in heaven there.

Here is an example of a Color Splash Quilt

Saturday night I headed over to my cousin's (remember that trip I was taking on Sunday?) and walked in to 25 high school kids partying. Great... my cousin knew that I was coming over but didn't think I would be there so early so she threw a pre-prom party instead of a post-prom party. After getting them all to the prom I headed back to clean up the MESS they had made. It was a disaster but by the time I was finished the house looked spotless. I tried to go to bed early because we were leaving early in the morning, but I was woken up numerous times by phone calls. Finally, at 4:15am I got up and headed downstairs to get ready when my cousin walked in the front door... she was just getting home. Kids... ;) She slept the whole ride down so I just hooked up my ipod. It actually didn't end up taking me too long and I was home by 11:20am.

I did a few errands yesterday afternoon for today and taught Jazz at 4:15. I finally got in bed at 9:00pm to watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters but I fell asleep and missed them both- - damn it. I've gotta catch them somehow.



I've got a super-busy week, two tennis matches, the individual state tournament, work stuff AND my boyfriend is coming- - tomorrow. :)



Does anyone else get antsy waiting for Memorial Day weekend? I *love* this weekend- - it makes summer official! :)



Happy Birthday to my youngest sister... 16 candles... whoa. :)

Friday, Friday

Now that I am an "adult" and working an ordinary 9-5 I look forward to Fridays more than I ever have before! We're supposed to have a make-up tennis match today but it looks like it's going to rain again... have I mentioned that I hate the rain before? Well, I hate it.

Tomorrow I am taking a full-day quilt class. I'm really excited about it and the pattern is *very* easy to follow (read: fabric strip blocks) no fancy patterns this time! By the end of the day I should have the "top" of the quilt ready to go, I'll only need to add a border/s and the backing. I have my quilts machine quilted though, so someone else puts it all together for me! My color scheme is bright pink/green (obvi...) and while I would love to keep it for myself it's going to be a birthday gift for my youngest sister, she's turning 16 on Monday- - Big Day. :)

Sunday I am driving my cousin to her older sister's college graduation in Providence, RI. Her family is leaving for the weekend today but she has the prom on Saturday night and really doesn't want to miss it. I don't blame her, but driving the morning after prom at 4:30am hardly seemed like a great idea for a 17 year old so I offered to make the trip. I don't think it'll be too bad, and I may swing up to York, ME for lunch if I have time.

My boyfriend and I were discussing last night when he was coming to VT... his answer?

"Well, I think I'll be there on Tuesday, but Tuesday night is Wing Night and I kind of want to go, so maybe Wednesday."

Ummm... I'm second to WING NIGHT?!?!?! :)

Made the Paper

One of the girls on my team made the newspaper this week... it just happens to be my sister. :)

Pro Tennis + VT = A VERY HAPPY PREPPYINVT

Check this out...

Several of the world's finest women's tennis players will put their skills on display in Vermont when the United States and Russia compete in a Federation Cup semifinal at Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe on July 14-15.

The United States Tennis Association made the announcement Tuesday, marking the return of elite tennis to Stowe for the first time since the 1980s, when the Head Classic men's tournament brought such stars as Jimmy Connors, Ille Nastase and Ivan Lendl to the Green Mountains. The competition's rosters could include Venus and Serena Williams and reigning U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova.

"I can't believe we got that," exclaimed Barry Stone of South Burlington, a tennis devotee who conducts the Jeff Stone Memorial Tournament each year. "That is so great," Stone said. "It's huge. The Federation Cup is the most important competition in women's tennis. You can get some of the best players, and what a boost for tennis, not only in Stowe, but throughout the state of Vermont. "I will be one of the first in line for tickets."

In a news release from the USTA, U.S. Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison said, "Stowe, Vermont, is such a beautiful region of our country and we look forward to returning tennis to an area that has a proven commitment to the game. Our goal is to win the Fed Cup and we look forward to facing a competitive Russian team."

The Fed Cup is the women's version of the Davis Cup, pitting national teams against each other in elimination matches that feature four singles and one doubles matches. The concept was first proposed in 1919 but was not adopted until 1963, when it was sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation. This year's field included teams from 82 nations. The rosters for the U.S. and Russian teams have not been announced, although both had some of their premier players competing in their quarterfinal series.

The Williams sisters were among those playing for the U.S. in the 5-0 win over Belgium, along with the doubles team of Vania King and Lisa Raymond. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova led the Russians to a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Spain. Sharapova missed the event due to injury.

"I'm so excited. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," said Andrew Chmura, the event's promoter and the president of Grand Slam Tennis Tours. "This was a process a long time coming with three major entities coming together to make this happen: the USTA, Topnotch and Grand Slam," said Chmura, who organizes trips to the world's major tennis events. "To be able to bring a world-wide event of this size to a town like Stowe is pretty phenomenal. We're talking about world-wide competition." Chmura said he received word of the decision Monday.

"It puts Topnotch in the ranks of the other resorts that have been in the same pool of hosting international events," Topnotch director of tennis Milan Kubala. "I'm sure, if they're healthy, the Williams sisters will play, and the Russians the last two or three years have been such a force with all their players, whether or not Sharapova is healthy," Kubala said. "I don't think it matters who plays; it will be the highest level of women's tennis."

According to Chmura, the USTA will build a 3,000- 5,000-seat facility on the site of the former Head Classic stadium. He said the specifications of the hard-court surface will be decided by the U.S. team, which, as host, has the right to have the surface built to its liking.

We've (the company I work for) been asked to sponsor this event and I want it to happen *so* badly! I just have to show how we're going to generate enough additional revenue to make it worthwhile... Wish me luck!

If it doesn't work out I'll just buy tickets, get myself a room at Topnotch, and celebrity-watch. ;)