Tennis turnaround

Travis’s first tennis lesson was this morning. We headed to nearby Lions Park and arrived in time. I walked up to a young man sitting at a portable table and proudly announced that we were here for the class.

“Uhh, class? Hold on a second,” he said, pulling out his cellphone. After a few minutes of concerned talk, he looked up.

“I’m sorry but there’s no class here,” he said.

I looked over his shoulder at the courts. Every one was being used for singles games. There is almost never a soul on these courts and here they were, full. I glanced at the paper in front of the man: it was a tournament bracket.

A moment later, a woman walked up, leading a few kids and their moms. She also asked the man at the table about the class. I soon learned it was Coach Kay, Travis’s coach.

Apparently the group playing was a tennis club. They were supposed to be playing on only four courts but took it upon themselves to take them all, though our class was scheduled far in advance and by the park rules should’ve taken priority. Kay was polite with the errant group and told the gathering students and their parents that we couldn’t kick them off now that their tournament has begun. She began asking the group if another court might work.

After some discussion we selected Pullen Park, so everyone drove to the new location. We found an open court there and Kay and the kids spent the next 75 minutes working on basic skills. It seemed all seven kids loved every minute of it, too.

Things could’ve ended poorly. Kay could’ve been rude to the trespassing tournament players. Some parents could’ve refused to go to another court. Once there, some kids and their parents could’ve left the lesson at the originally-scheduled time. Amazingly, none of that happened. Kay was patient and understanding with everyone and gave the kids the lesson they had come there to get. Everyone rolled with it.

I’m thinking there’s more to be learned here than just the game of tennis.