Sunday, December 30, 2018

Saturday tennis/Carlos Pueblo


Saturday tennis/Carlos Pueblo

After our tennis team was dismantled, I was concerned with no Saturday
tennis any longer till the e-mail came in from another team captain. He
needs players to fill up three teams for his club, B1, B2, and B3, to play
at the West Houston Men’s League. My old teammate Roger and I gladly
join them to get Saturday tennis and we manage to continue our own
tennis meet on Tuesday night at our courts. Time goes by quickly and it
has been more than a year after our courts got flooded during Hurricane
Harvey.

There are 5 lines double for B1 and B3 league playing on the same Saturday
that means 20 players for the captain to worry about while B2 has 6 lines
with 12 players on an alternative weekend. B2 team usually is combined with
his B1 and B3 players; therefore, his club players get to play every Saturday.
He is a retired geologist and also serves as B1 league commissioner. Jim and
my old captain Bill are more like each other found of tennis. I shall receive
my assignment on Friday for the time and place to play on the next day and
report to him our match thereafter.

All match for three levels is a regular 11 games match with add and ahead
of two games to win, tie breaker at 11 and 7 points to win and two points
ahead required. It has been a traditional activity for Americans during the
weekend while ladies league play during the weekdays.

I love to play tennis. I have joined the league ever since 1996. I began my
Interest in tennis when I was at junior high school playing rubber balls
Japanese tennis at our sugar plant subdivision and also playing the school
team for a semester. Due to expansive cost of regular tennis, Japanese
have developed the rubber balls tennis with a lighter racket. Before my
time to immigrate to the U.S., Rubber balls were still popular in several
areas with Japanese relation, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Hawaii.
We use slice a lot while playing Japanese tennis; therefore, I have built
that habit ever since. I would credit to that slice habit to avoid tennis
elbow of any kinds.

I no longer have the overhead power, instead I would carefully tap the
ball back and volley softly and wait for inexperience opponents to make
an unforced error for me to make a point. It is very hard work to win a
match and I like it very much because of that I make a lot of exercises.
I believe that it is more exercises than 2.2 miles walk in the morning.  



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