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Passing
Shots
June/July
2009
Volume 3, Issue 3
New process required for playing USTA at Cupertino Tennis Club –
See the CTC website for details. http://www.cupertinotennisclub.org
WE HAVE A WINNER!
Dana
Gill turned 40 on April 21st and about 20 pass holders took
their best shot at winning points and tennis balls.
No one walked away empty-handed, but Richard Chuang claimed a victory
and 40 cans of new tennis balls.
On his second 9-point tiebreaker, Richard went on to win 5 points
to 4 as he hit a winning lob over the aging tennis pro :-) Way to go Richard! Dana says he'll run the same promotion next year.
Tip of the Month Staying COOL
when the Temperatures are HOT
By Dana Gill, Executive Director Lifetime Tennis
Last year I played
in a Men's Open Tournament at Santa Clara University. I played 5 matches over 48 hours in 90-100 degree weather.
Even though I was playing guys half my age, I was able to weather
the heat better than most of them. Here are some of the things that helped
me endure the heat, physically and mentally.
Things To Do Before
And After The Match:
* Eat carbohydrates
(pasta, bread, fruit, juice) the day/night before
* Avoid excess salt
throughout the event
* Drink plenty of
water the night before the match (over-hydrating the morning of or during
the
* Wear white clothing
and a white cap
* Sit in a cool (shade
or air-conditioned, etc.) space at all times when not playing
* Apply sunscreen
1-2 hours before the match
* Skip the 20-30
minute pre-match warm-up many people do before arriving at their league
or
Things To Do During
The Match:
* Drink a little
water on EVERY changeover
whether you're thirsty or not
* Take a full 90
seconds on changeovers to cool down and slow your breathing
* Sit in a shaded
area if one is available on court (you don't have to sit on the benches
provided)
* Apply water onto
a towel and drape over your neck on changeovers (to lower your core temp)
* Reapply spray-on sunscreen (to prevent greasy fingers) as needed
during the match
* Change clothing
as convenient. This provides
a sense of regrouping.* Change socks after sets.
This helps prevent blisters and provides a sense of regrouping
also.
JUNIOR TENNIS CAMP SPECIAL!
Register
for a morning tennis camp and receive a 50% off voucher for an afternoon
tennis camp.
SUMMER PRO SHOP SPECIAL!
This summer, Lifetime Tennis will
sell all drinks at ½ price and give away FREE popsicles on any
day that reaches 100 degrees.
Meteorological Musings
Feeling The Heat
By Jan Null, Certified Consulting Meteorologist
- What does that temperature
really mean?
- When is too hot to play tennis?
- What are the signs of heat
cramps, exhaustion or stroke?
- What should you do if one
of the players experiences heat-related symptoms?
What does that temperature really mean? The temperature reported on the local
weather station, or in the newspaper or Internet, is usually for a temperature
at a local airport. For example,
if you type "Cupertino" in a search engine, you will often get
the forecast and temperatures for Moffett Field in Mountain View. And on a typical warm summer day,
Cupertino will be 3 to 4 degrees warmer than Moffett.
When is too hot to play tennis? For example, on a 90-degree day, a
dark concrete surface like a tennis court, can easily have a surface temperature
of 150 degrees or higher and the air above it can be over 100 degrees.
Add to this playing in direct sunlight and there are very real
possibilities of heat-related health issues.
These can include cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
All of these are serious unto themselves, but they can also aggravate
existing medical conditions.
Heat
exhaustion: Cool, moist, pale, or
flushed skin; heavy sweating; headaches; nausea or vomiting; dizziness;
and physical exhaustion. The
body temperature will be near normal.
- Heat stroke: Hot, red skin; possible loss of consciousness;
rapid, weak pulse; and rapid, shallow breathing. The body temperature can spike as high as 105 degrees
F. If the person was sweating from heavy work or exercise, skin may
be wet; otherwise, it will feel dry.
Heat Emergency Treatments*
Heat cramps: Get the person to a cooler place and have them rest in a comfortable
position. Lightly stretch the affected muscle and replenish fluids. Give
a half glass of cool water every 15 minutes, but no liquids with alcohol
or caffeine.
Heat exhaustion: Get the person out of the heat and into a cooler place. Remove
or loosen tight clothing and apply cool, wet cloths. If the person is
conscious, give a half glass of cool water every 15 minutes, but no liquids
with alcohol or caffeine. Make
sure the person drinks slowly.
Heat stroke:
Heat stroke is a life-threatening situation. Call
9-1-1.
Move the person to a cooler place. Quickly
cool the body. Immerse victim in a cool bath, or wrap wet sheets around
the body and fan it. Watch for signals of breathing problems. Keep the
person lying down and continue to cool the body any way you can. If the
victim refuses water or is vomiting or there are changes in the level
of consciousness, do not give anything to eat or drink.
Prevention: Heat-related
problems can be prevented or at least mitigated if you hydrate well, chooses the right clothing and takes adequate and timely
cooling measures.
- HYDRATE!!
- Start to drink even before warming-up and continue
drinking between games. In a match lasting longer than 1.5 hours it
is advisable to use an isotonic or hypotonic sports drink. This will
also replace electrolytes (salts in the blood) as well as carbohydrates. A general rule of thumb is to drink
at least one glass (8 oz.) every 10 to 15 minutes.
- Get Acclimated
- If you are not used to playing in the middle of
the day, pace yourself. Otherwise,
try and play early or late when the air is cooler and the sun angles
are less intense.
- Clothing
- Clothing is important
in preventing heat-related problems. Choose light, breathable and loosely
woven fabric so that sweat can evaporate more easily.
If you or any players experience
heat-related symptoms, promptly seek medical assistance and always contact
your captain and Cupertino Sports Center staff.
Jan Null
Contact
Jan with questions/comments at jnull@ggweather.com.
*To reference medical symptoms/treatments, please go to:
http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e4318
1aa0/?vgnextoid=a69ff6c5fd47b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Marie's Extraordinary
Broccoli Salad~Recipe submitted by Marie Shrodes
6-8 cups finely chopped
broccoli (raw or slightly blanched 1 minute)
3-4 green onions
(or red onion if your want a stronger flavor)
2/3 cup raisins (plump
them up with a hot water soak for ½ hr.)
6-7 slices cooked
crumbled bacon (or use Real Bacon Bits)
½ cup dry
roasted peanuts (salted or unsalted)
Then, for variety
and color add any or all:
Chopped water chestnuts
(at least ½ can)
Chopped peppers (yellow,
red, even orange)
Diced jicama
Chopped celery
Salad dressing:
1cup light mayonnaise
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
Mix all but the peanuts.
When ready to serve, mix in peanuts and salad dressing.
Cupertino Sport Center Updates:
NEW FITNESS CLASSES – Monday and Friday from 9:00 –
9:30 am. TRX Suspension Training harnesses your own bodyweight to create
resistance as you train. This
unique training apparatus builds strength, balance and core stability
for people of all fitness levels.
Qigong – Tuesdays
at 8:15 am and Thursdays at 5:45 pm.
Qigong is a form
of Tai Chi and involves methods of accumulating and working with your
breath and energy within the body.
This class will help reduce stress, increase range of motion, and
improve joint flexibility and resilience.
Hip Hop – Thursdays
at 9:45am. Come join the
fun and burn up to 400 calories per class with a great cardio workout!
What A Journey by Diane Detig
What
a journey, from zero to within 32nd in the nation in less than
20 months!
Two
years ago, in the spring of 2007, I was frustrated that there were no
Cupertino 3.0 woman's teams for me to join.
Inspired by Arlene Hanson, I started organizing and captaining
the "Snoopie" 6.0 Mixed Fifty team.
Arlene
soon suggested that I go a step further, thus the first Cupertino 3.0
Senior Women's team was born. Jean
Hassoun assisted in tutoring me on the USTA rules so I could be a better
captain and now, by the way, I am a USTA official! Erna Arnesen, Judy Davenport and I recruited hard and with
the help of the August CSC membership special, we were able to form a
team with 16 players. With unbelievably great coaching, a lot of help
and strong support from Arlene and Raymond Yan, the 2008 season Snoopie
team did quite well.
The
Snoopie teams were growing and now poised to have success in the next
three seasons. Winter went
by and we had another strong Adult Women's Snoopie team. As summer came, Anne Neeter asked me to co-captain a 6.5 team,
using a core group of the Snoopie 3.0 Senior team women. We all learned
some new skills and met some new players. By that fall, Cupertino had
2 Senior Women's 3.0 teams. Snoopies,
now older and wiser, came in number 1 in the South Bay and Lower Peninsula
leagues. Both of the Senior 3.0 Women's had great seasons and both went
to districts.
This
is where my migraines began. Our
original team lost five players to a neighboring Sunnyvale team, including
all but one of the players that had been promoted to 3.5. As one of the healthy remaining players, I soon became immobilized
with a foot injury. It was
clear that permanent partners were not an option at this point since as
anyone could be out at any time, changing the dynamics of our ragtag group
of 8. Weekly practices established
that we each had 2-3 potential partners.
Our
group of 8 had a meeting and decided to keep going; hopefully we wouldn't
have to default any matches along the way (which would result in a one
year suspension for the original team).
We practiced hard and with help from Jack Benkual arranging matches,
we played on. Many club members encouraged and coached us, including Becky
Yung, Nanette Vidales and Anne Neeter. This was a very difficult circumstance
for any captain, let alone a beginner, but many Cupertino captains showed
an interest in our dilemma and offered their advice to help us survive. Snoopies persevered due to our tough but
fair personas and with the support of others, we did what we had to do:
Play hard.
We
played through the teammate threats that if lineups didn't meet their
preferences, they would not go on.
We played through the hate mail concerning partners, as we were
seriously limited in our pairings options since there are only so many
ways to match 6 people with specific ad and deuce skills. We played through
the disharmony concerning the many other ways I could captain, as some
teammates, having been captains before me, had different views of the
situation. At times, it started to become more like
many 1-2 person teams than a cohesive team. I changed my style some and demanded more attention to teamwork
of everyone. I know I made mistakes but, in this case, such action was
necessary to keep the team together.
Our
outstanding co-captain, Eunice Yan, could not make it to districts so
new pairings were inevitable. Our
first day at Districts was tough.
We won 1 and lost 2 in 3rd set tiebreakers, to Walnut
Creek, the eventual winners of the sectionals.
Then, one out of our 7 players took ill and the remaining 6 players
had to play all 3 days. On
the second day, we were saved by a win due to the excellent playing of
Mary Ann Weingartner and Ellen Lee, winning in the #1 position against
two 3.5 players. In 100-degree weather, with no further illnesses or injuries,
we managed to make it through districts. Preparation for sectionals began.
For
Sectionals, new partners were assigned.
Arlene arranged for lessons to strengthen our partnerships and
CTC 3.0 Interclub organizer, Emi Kawamoto, gave us the option to play
together to continue our new partner experiences.
Weeks before Sectionals, Linda Chen, our most seasoned USTA Snoopie,
created practice scrimmages between the Snoopies and other members of
CTC/CSC. We were committed
to make our team better and members of the club were there to make us
work harder.
We
had just enough people to field a team with one person acting as captain
and alternate. Unfortunately,
disgruntled team members refused to be an alternate. Arlene Hanson graciously offer to come to Sectionals to be
our captain and alternate, even though she was injured. More last minute juggling occurred, issues
that could have been showstoppers if you let them, but we were not dissuaded.
We
placed 2nd in Sectionals, which put us in the top 32 senior
women's teams in the nation. We
won 2 days out of 3. Our
only loss was to the Sectionals winners, Walnut Creek, who has requested
that the Snoopies help then get ready for Nationals.
In the true spirit of Cupertino tennis, of course we will!
Looking
at the other teams in Sectionals, we had the fewest promoted 3.5's, the
fewest 3.0 adjusted from 3.5 and the fewest 3.0 self-rated players. We were just as we always saw ourselves,
3.0 senior women Snoopies, just trying to get better at tennis while having
fun! What a great journey
and experience for all. Our
bodies hurt from the playing and the heat, our families missed us, but
we learned that competition could begin at 50 or even 65 years of age,
if you are willing to work hard.
Our determination to participate and the support of the Club became
our greatest assets.
Only
at Cupertino could this happen.
So many people selflessly, with concern, love and support, helped
us to prepare and participate.
THANK YOU SO MUCH CUPERTINO...
FROM ALL OF THE SNOOPIES!!!!!
Unfortunately, we need to cancel the 2009 Cupertino
NTRP Summer Classic. The
construction currently in progress will not be completed in time to have
courts available for the tournament.
We apologize to those of you who were eagerly looking forward to
this event. ~ CTC Board
*Our thoughts, our
prayers, and our support go out to a very special CTC Club member, Diane
Olsen. Diane's beloved husband, Dr. Perry Olsen, passed away on May 16th,. Perry had been admitted to O'Conner Hospital
for surgery to remove two aneurysms. His operation was successful and
he was recovering slowly when he experienced a number of complications
that resulted in cardiac arrest.
Diane and Perry had
been married for 30 years and were constant companions in a variety of
activities that enriched their lives and their marriage each and every
day.
Since Perry would
have celebrated his 32nd year of sobriety on July 31st,
Diane would like to invite everyone to attend a Celebration of Sobriety
in his honor on that date. The
Celebration will be held at the First Congregational Church, 1980 Hamilton
Avenue (on the corner of N. Leigh and Hamilton) in San Jose, starting
at 7:00 pm. Refreshments will be served.
Champions!
Cupertino Senior 3.5 Men
WIN
2009 Palm Desert Senior Cup Tournament!
By Mark Bailey
Palm Desert hosted
the 16th Annual Palm Desert Senior Cup Tournament for Senior
and Super Senior 3.0 through 4.0 rated players, March 23-26, 2009. Four teams from Cupertino (Senior 3.0
Women, Senior 3.5 Men, Super Senior 3.5 Men, and Senior 4.0 Women teams)
attended the event along with 73 other teams from places such as Australia,
Nebraska, and Arizona with about 600-610 players. The Palm Desert Senior Cup Tournament is the largest Senior
Tournament in the Continental United States. Over 1000 matches are played in the 4-day event.
Last Year, a Senior
3.5 Women's and a Super Senior 3.5 Men's teams from Cupertino were Senior
Cup Champions. This year,
a Cupertino Senior 3.5 Men's team won keeping the Cupertino tradition
of winning at least one Palm Desert Senior Cup Championship over the last
3 years.
The 2009 Senior 3.5
Men's team consisted of eight (8) Cupertino Tennis Club members: Marc
Argabright, Mark Bailey, Dennis Campbell, Jerry Fox, Karl Gong, Bob Larocca,
Dave Lee, and Cliff Nishimoto.
This team played 10 round robin rounds Monday through Wednesday,
losing only once 1-2 to a Sacramento Team, amassing 251 of 270 possible
points. Only the Sacramento team had a higher point total than our
Cupertino Team. The two top
teams advance to the Championship match on Thursday. Fortunately, the Cupertino Senior 3.5 team came in second and
advanced to Thursday's Championship Match.
The Championship
Match was played at the JW Marriott Resort in Palm Desert. The Cupertino team played the Sac Senior Team from Sacramento
that had defeated Cupertino during the round robin play. The No. 1 Doubles Team of Bob Larocca
and Dennis Campbell managed a very close three set win at 7-5, 3-6, 1-0. Jerry Fox and Karl Gong managed a two
set win 6-4, 6-3 but the points were long and they were on the courts
the longest time of the three matches.
Marc Argabright and Cliff Nishimoto also managed a 6-3, 6-4 two
set win with Mark's serve setting Cliff up for some spectacular put-away
volleys at the net. So, the Cupertino Senior 3.5 men were declared Champions
and given an etched Crystal Dish trophy for their efforts.
All in all, it was
a very enjoyable 4 days of tennis at some really plush Palm Desert Resorts. What a way to live!!!!
CTC 3.5 Ladies Interclub – An Added Bonus!
By Gayle Dilley
Everyone who attended the
3.5 Interclub team social had a wonderful time on May 19th. We had
ideal weather and 6 full courts of ladies doubles. We played 4 rotations
allowing us to meet our newest club members and reunite with our veterans.
After tennis, we had a delicious potluck lunch on the deck of the Sports
Center. We had an abundance of homemade food and even extra desserts!
This year, as a bonus, we
collected donations for the Second Harvest Food Bank. In this time
of economic uncertainty and with more families finding themselves needing
help, our players felt this was a good choice for community support.
We had an outpouring of generosity and were able to bring 109 pounds of
food and $125 to the food bank in the name of Cupertino Tennis Club.
What a great team of gals
and they're good tennis players, too!
... And a note from
EMI Kawamoto, organizer of the CTC 3.0 Ladies Interclub:
The ladies attending the
CTC 3.0 Interclub play day were delighted to bring donations of food and/or
money to the end-of-the-year tennis round robin at the Sports Center. They collected and donated 80 pounds of
food and $115.00 to the Second Harvest Food Bank in the name of the Cupertino
Tennis Club.
Send us your suggestions and feedback if you see any opportunities for improvement.