But there’s a lot going on off the tennis court and there is a particular cause that is very near and dear to my heart: May is ALS Awareness month. For those who aren’t in the know, ALS is a terminal illness that attacks motor neurons. It’s also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. For me, I have a close friend who is dying from the bastard disease. His name is “Strike Out ALS” bracelets for your hour-long hitting session after work.
- Gather your tennis buddies together and participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS.
- Host a tennis tournament with the proceeds going to ALS.
- Need some new duds to hit the courts with? Raise awareness by wearing ALS Fighter apparel.

And that’s all I’ve got at the moment. Any more ideas? Any stories of people you know with ALS? Comment away – it’s too important of a cause to let slide by without trying to make a difference.

Post from: EveryJoe

How to Use Tennis For ALS Awareness

Amazing how the number of people on the tennis court grows in leaps and bounds when the sun is shining warm, isn’t it? People I never thought would be seen holding a racket are out there chasing fuzzy yellow balls.

So what do you need to do to get ready for the summer tennis season?

1. Get in shape, yo. I know, I know – tennis is supposed to be the vehicle to get you in shape for the times you go to the beach. I’m not buying that, and you shouldn’t either. Why? Because if you hit the courts out of shape, you won’t actually enjoy your time playing tennis. The more in shape you are, the better you can move across the court and the harder you can hit the ball. Plus, you look good. Who doesn’t want that?

2. Inspect your equipment and update it if necessary. How’s the ball supply? I hit with a friend a few weeks ago and he had some old tennis balls. One was just a complete dud. Absolutely worthless. I hit it, and it went careening off over the fence and I swear it wasn’t user-error. Not that time. Does your racket need regripped or restrung? Maybe it’s time to add another racket or two so there’s actually something in that fancy tennis bag you’re always carting around.

3. The threads on your back – what to wear? I’ve never been a stickler for what people show up to play in. I’m of the mindset that it’s optional clothing (but never clothing optional – I’m liberal but not to the point where I’m promoting nudist tennis. That gives a whole different meaning to ballin’). I like to wear gym shorts and a t-shirt or tanktop. I’m also very much of a tomboy (yes, I’m still that way.) and I would never be caught wearing some tiny little tennis skirt. But if that’s what you want, by all means go for it. Just know that you better have some serious skills to back it up with, especially if you happen to be a male wearing that tiny little tennis skirt. Oh, and don’t wear jeans. Absolute no-no for any sporting endeavor but especially tennis. Please, please, PLEASE at least act like you’re going to give it your best whirl!

4. Hit the court! If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a hitting spree (or if it is your first time), don’t get discouraged. I was rusty when I first got back onto the court after a year’s hiatus. And when I say rusty, I may or may not mean that I lost 6-0, 6-0 in my first attempt at a little friendly competition. See how I did that there? I just publicly embarrassed myself to prove that it’s not just you. The more you play, the better you get and the sooner you can start turning those defeats around on the people who inflicted them on you.

Pretty simple 4-step process, isn’t it? Keep the faith. Keep losing until you start winning (it’ll happen…for most of you, it will probably happen much sooner that it has for me!). And remember what your friendly neighborhood tennis geek always adheres to: keep your balls in, kick your serves out and all is fair in love, war and tennis.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tennis Tips: Getting Prepped for Summer Tennis Season

Mark Keil sums up what it takes in a few short paragraphs for the Tennis Grand Stand. He doesn’t say anything profound; actually I could have come up with everything he did but he beat me to it. If I’ve learned one thing in my entire life it’s that reinventing the wheel is worthless. So I’m just taking Keil’s wheel and giving it some love here.

So if you wanna be a professional tennis player, check out the goods and see how far you’ve got to go before you probably fail.

Hey, I’m a realist, what can I say!

Post from: EveryJoe

How to become a professional tennis player

I enjoy giving gifts – seeing the looks on peoples’ faces when they open something they like…but there is the ever-so scary moment of “what if they don’t like this gift?” I think everyone has at least one person (and some of us have many!) they don’t know what to get for them.

And that’s where I come in to help you: tennis-related gifts. The staff of tennis.com put together a sweet little list of gift ideas for the holidays. There are some good ideas. Some really good ideas, so…if you’re wanting to buy something tennis-y and don’t have a tennis person to give it to – well, ah, I’m always willing to be a recipient. *cough – hint, hint – cough* :)

Happy shopping!

Post from: EveryJoe

Dear Santa

And so - I’ll keep it short and sweet with my tennis tip for the day:

If you see a hot guy (or girl) walking by while you’re playing your game and you think it would be really wicked awesome to impress said hot person with your slice serve; don’t. It’s a guaranteed shot into the net. Or ridiculously wide. Or a complete miss altogether.

Yep, take it to heart.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tennis Tip

Because of me pulling the home office card today, I was able to find this rather interesting column on tennis. Ron Waite writes a monthly column for Tennis Server and this month, Ron wrote his column on passing shots.

It’s a well done article. Very informative. Definitely worthy of a read with a lot of valid points. There really aren’t very many serve-and-volley players on the pro tours. Or at the collegiate levels. Or even in high school.  It’s a lot of baseline bashing.

Serve-and-volley is a lot of fun to watch. And it gives hope to all the old, doddering and injury-ridden tennis players out there.

I can already see the commercials:

“No cartilage left in your knee? Don’t worry, just read up on Ron’s tips on passing shots and never be embarrassed on the court again!”

Post from: EveryJoe

Tennis: Passing the Test

And while you’re subscribing, you have to check out Tomaz’s latest post on how to pick up a tennis ball. It’s quite funny – I’m totally going out this afternoon to work on my tennis-picking-up skillz…I have a long ways to go to reach the jedi master level!

Post from: EveryJoe

Great News!