Family, Festivities & Tennis Tournament

Happy Holidays to all.

We just finished up our annual Holiday Open and it was a very festive tournament. It felt like such a family affair with moms, dads, sons, and daughters all participating.

We had a dad in the finals of the 3.5 men’s while his 15-year-old son wowed us all by making the Men’s Open semi’s and having a set point on Alex Arovin the eventual champ.

We had a young Junior girl capture the Women’s Open singles and then team up with her mom and lose a close match in the finals to our own AnnElise Anderson and Alexandra Lucas.

And we had the Kuhn’s (Jacob and MaryAnn), the Anderson’s (AnnElise, Cooper, and Nannette McGrath), the Salvatierra’s (Bernadine and Bernard), the Gresham’s (Jim, Tom, Lowa, and Whit) 3 generations, and the Adelstein’s (Ari and Rick) who have played more BTTC tournaments than any family.

It felt so good seeing families brought together by tennis.

I like to think of these holidays as a time to enjoy family and friends. Fall is such a busy time around here that I really appreciate this aspect of the season where we take time to be together and show our appreciation for one another.

I am particularly looking forward to having my adult children returning home. It brings back memories of when I would return home and feel good in my old bed, Mom’s cooking, and the excitement of seeing not so old friends.

When both Kids expressed that they would like to play some tennis on this visit I was more than pleased. Of course, throughout their earlier years we had them in the clinics and upon request I would hit with them. They both liked it enough to have fun and success for their high school teams.

Once high school tennis ended, they both put down their rackets. This did not bother me because I know there are so many other things to experience, and they had their own journey to go through.

I also knew that they had a great introduction to the game and that they will always have the skills to pick it up again when they wanted to. I truly enjoy this game and do believe it is a game for a lifetime.

I have been to two weddings of my brothers’ kids and each one had a large family tennis day prior to the other wedding activities. The tennis was fantastic because between my mom and myself most of the family had some tennis instruction.

I am really looking forward to enjoying time on the court with my kids. Like the holidays, tennis can also bring families together.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season.

~Matt