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Cupertino Tennis Club News
March, 2008
My
Spin on Things
by Bob McCord,
President
Dialing 777-3160...beep,
beep, ….....
Dialing 777-3160…beep, beep, .….
Dialing………
That busy signal at 8:00 in the morning is not a pleasant sound. Whether it’s a sign of the rain having gone away for now, or the number of new CSC pass holders, or practices starting up for the Adult League, some days it can be pretty difficult to reserve a court for the time you would like. Membership at the Sports Center has more than doubled since the building was remodeled a few years ago and each year there are more tennis players looking for court time.
In that vein, I’d like to remind everyone of a few of the CSC rules. You can reserve a court one week in advance. (You may want to start calling for your reservation at 8:00 a.m.) One person can make one reservation per day. One person may not reserve more than one court, even if you use another person’s membership number. If you have reserved a court and need to cancel it, the cancellation needs to be done 24 hours ahead of time.
These days, when
it can be hard to reserve a court at your preferred time, it’s annoying
to discover that reserved courts are going unused. That’s just not
fair to people who want to play but can’t get a court. I fear that
if the CSC gets enough complaints about this, penalties may be imposed
on the people whose membership number is associated with the unused reservation.
A “heads-up” to captains - true or not - there is a belief that
much of the unused reservation problems stem from team practices where
more courts are reserved than are needed for the number of people who
show up
to play.
Changing gears, here is a plea on behalf of the USTA captains. If you have talked to a captain about being on their team, please don’t wait until the last minute to register. If you have made a verbal commitment but change your mind, please let the captain know as soon as you can. Last minute sign-ups or changes can cause the captains to worry about not having enough players for a viable team and there can be a huge penalty assessed by NorCal on teams that don’t have enough players to avoid defaults. Also, when you register late, both CSC and the CTC Membership Chairperson must spend additional time to verify your eligibility. None of this impacts individual players but it does cause extra work for the other captains and the Club’s USTA coordinator. Eligibility means being a CSC passholder AND a 2008 CTC member so please, please, if you haven’t done so, renew your CTC membership. I hope this doesn’t seem like a long complaint. Sometimes what is difficult for some is not readily apparent to others. These are just things where we can help each other and helping is a good thing.
Play well and have fun
Bob McCord
A
Reminder to Help Ourselves
by Mike Wilkens
It only takes a few extra seconds, but could mean a lot to the next person (which might even be you!). Many of us take for granted the quality of the court rollers that the CSC provides for our use, but they come at no small expense. Those replaceable sponges run in the ballpark of $100 (each!) and part of what makes them work so well unfortunately also leaves them vulnerable to poor storage practices. They are susceptible to sunlight, so they need to be hung in the shade. And, did we mention hanging them? If they are left on the ground, they will dry with a flat spot, which will be very, very frustrating for the next user, not to mention they also rot quickly.
Please hang them up, and, on the shady side of the fences. The next user thanks you!
The CTC Spring Social is Here!
George Bassi, Social Chair
The Cupertino Tennis Club will be putting together a Social Mixer get-together on Sunday, April 6th, starting at 12:00 p.m. It will be a fun, mixed doubles type tournament format, yet to be decided, with prizes awarded at the end of the day. There will be no fee for this first tournament.
The length of playing
time will depend on the number of members participating in the social.
We have reserved 7 courts until 6:00 p.m. to provide playing time for
as many players as possible, however, each player will not be obligated
to spend more than 3 hours at this event.
Again, depending on the number of entrants, we may split the mixer into two separate flights starting at different times of the day.
The Spring Social will be FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED for sign-ups.
Sign up by emailing the Social Director. Make sure your email includes your name, rating, email address, and/or phone number. If you sign up and are notified that you are on the roster for this event, please understand that you are expected to show up.
Hope to see you on the courts……………George Bassi
Watching Your Pennies, Nickels and Dimes?
Lifetime Tennis is offering many specials for spring. You will find special prices on grips, restringing and shock absorbers just to name a few! Come by, get your racquet tuned up for the season and take advantage of the savings! See Jennie at the Pro Shop for details.
Pro of the Month
Tom Uyehara
During his 8 years at Lifetime Tennis, Tom has consistently been one of
our most popular youth and adult instructors. He is personable, patient,
and is rated in the top of his field as a USPTA P-1 instructor. Over the
next 12 weeks, Tom will be available during weekday mornings and early
afternoons to help USTA players sharpen their skills for the 2008 season.
Feel free to contact the Tennis Office at (408) 777-3169 to schedule a
private or group lesson with one of Lifetime’s best instructors.
Solving the Puzzle of Doubles
Ten Tried and True Doubles Strategies
by Dana Gill
- Receive a high volley…hit towards the closest person’s feet.
- Receive a low volley…..hit toward the far person (they’re usually at the baseline)
- Be aggressive when hitting your warm-up overheads (opponents will lob less during matches)
- Return down the line during your first return game (opponents will stay closer to the doubles alley)
- Move to the net when you successfully lob over your opponents head (most return lobs will be short and can be hit as overheads)
- When your partner serves, you (netplayer) should stand farther from the doubles alley (towards the middle) than you feel comfortable with (you want your opponents to notice you and try to hit down the line)
- Try poaching sometimes – even if you miss, the opponents will wonder what you’re going to do next and may miss more returns as a result of watching you.
- Learn a sidespin second serve so that you can swing freely and still make the serve. Good players will wallop dink 2nd serves again and again.
- Encourage your partner in between points; especially if they just missed a shot
- When returning, both you and your partner should move in closer on a second serve. The serve is usually weak and moving in causes concern for your opponent.
2008 Cupertino Summer Classic
John Sperinde, 2008 Tournament Director
Save the dates 8/9
– 8/10 and 8/16 – 8/17! Put them in your calendar so that significant
other doesn’t plan any conflicting activities. I’m sure you
wouldn’t want to be traveling in some far off land and miss the opportunity
to play and work in this tournament.
Entries open 6/29 and close 8/2. Playing levels are Men’s/Women’s
3.0 – 4.0 Singles, Men’s/Women’s 3.0 – 4.0 Doubles
and Mixed 3.0 – 4.0 Doubles. Line up your doubles partners early
before they make other plans.
Singles play mostly
the first weekend with finals the second weekend. Doubles play mostly
the second weekend. We will do our best to schedule around your time conflicts.
For example, if you are a doubles player and can only play the second
weekend, it is likely that we can accommodate you.
Many of you will want to be on the tournament staff, both in planning
and preparation on the playing dates. You can get in touch with me by
email
or just holler at me when you see me at the Sports Center.
Last year we were
a 3.5 Tournament of the Year. This year we will make every effort to be
a Tournament of the Year at all levels.
| CSC will be
part of the Cupertino Parks and Recreation OPEN HOUSE on MAY
4th from 1 - 4 p.m.. There will prizes, fun activities and perhaps
a surprise or two for all who participate. Quinlan Community Center,
Memorial Park and the Senior Center will also have activities for
you and your family to enjoy.
If you have
any questions, the staff at CSC will be happy to help you. |
USTA Update
by Bob Larocca, UTA Coordinator
Senior Playoffs – at least two senior teams are heading to Districts!
Playoff matches are underway for seniors. All four of our men’s teams qualified for the league playoffs as well as Sue Williams’ 3.5 women’s team.
Ron Lee’s 4.0 team faced the first place team from Courtside and won a tough-fought match 2-1. All three individual matches were decided in the third set. Ron’s team won the league title and will be playing in Elk Grove in next month’s Districts.
Irwin Horowitz’s 3.0 team caught a tough break against Saratoga when one of his players injured his leg in the first set and had to retire. They still nearly pulled out a win, but ended up with a very close 2-1 loss.
Sue Williams’ 3.5 ladies won their first round match 3-0 and will host Los Gatos in mid-March for the league championship.
One of our two 3.5 men’s teams will also be heading to Elk Grove in April. Each team won a first round match 2-1 and they will play each other for the right to go on. George Bassi’s team edged out Courtside and Fred Tierney’s squad got past Cupertino Hills to set up the all-Cupertino final. That match will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 15th.
Mixed Playoffs
Starting Soon!
Three mixed teams are in the post-season including Sarina Tafarella-Gonzales’ 8.0 group and a pair of 7.0 squads captained by Anne Neeter and Bob Larocca. Any league winners from this group will advance to the District Championships at Stanford in April.
Spring Season is Just Ahead!
The Adult and Super Senior 65 seasons will begin play later this month. The good news is that we’ve added 4 more Adult ladies teams this year. The bad news is that we now have 17 teams competing for courts and practice time. Once league play starts in earnest in April, practice courts will be in even shorter supply. Please make sure you cancel any reservations that you won’t be able to use so that we can give everyone a chance to play.
Coming to a Tennis Court Near You!
Fifty Mixed teams will be forming in April and play will begin in late May. Players who will be at least 50 years old by the end of 2008 are eligible.
NOTICE! WARNING!
How to put this kindly?If you haven't renewed your 2008 CTC membership by now, you are late, tardy, overdue, belated, and behind time. Send in or drop off your 2008 membership form and dues and you'll be caught-up, just in time, cleared, paid, a member in good standing. Questions? Email
ATP Tennis Pro's at the Cupertino Sports Center
Dana Gill, Executive Director, Lifetime Tennis
On Wednesday, February 20th, 200 people came out and saw Mardy Fish and his coach, Kelly Jones, on #1 at CSC. Two days later, we were able to (re) schedule our 2nd professional appearance of the week with the Bryan Brothers. Although the courts were wet, the Bryans were very generous with their time. They answered questions for thirty minutes and spent another half hour signing nearly 250 autographs. The best part is that they will be back next year to play a set against our Bryan Brothers Cup Junior Doubles champions.
Those guys are the
best!
Send us your suggestions and feedback if you see any opportunities for improvement.