TENNIS

One of the events Mark Hancock as the newest tennis director has planned for the 2018 fall/winter season is an adult fall league.

If you are interested, do not hesitate to call and he will help you find a team.

The other event is a junior tournament. This will be great for local players as they do not have to travel far for a tournament.

One tip Hancock has for anyone looking to get involved is to visit the United States Tennis Association website where one can find all the tournaments listed for the year.

His second piece of advice for anyone looking to play a tennis tournament is to know why you want to play. If you are looking for points as part of a club, start with something local. If it’s just to have a fun weekend and socialize, this is the place for you.

One of the perks he enjoys the most about being a tennis coach is helping lead players to self-discovery. They often come to him not knowing what makes them tick and if you don’t know who you are as a person, you can’t handle adversity.

He has one basic philosophy or question. Ask yourself “Who am I?”

“If you don’t know, you lose,” he said. “It’s easy to pack it up and quit. It’s tough to stay when things are tough and you hear hundreds of voices in your head screaming ‘Quit’. That’s when you listen to the one whisper that says “I know who I am. I do not quit.”

When it comes to playing tennis with your family, Hancock simply advises to play for fun with your family as nothing else will work. If you want to get serious about tennis, get the instruction from an outside person.

Overall, tennis is a primarily a social sport and a great sport to play as you get older.

Even business deals and networking can occur on the tennis courts. The main reason is that is great exercise.

Junior tennis has dropped in the area because of several factors.

High school tennis has turned into almost an after-school program instead of a hard sport. Plus, tennis is hard to master, so kids who do not get immediate success move on.

As a coach, Hancock believes it’s the responsibility of tennis coaches to keep players interested in the sport. Research has shown when you reach a particular level, you play forever.

In general, he also believes that tennis should be active at the grassroots level.

It can be tough to travel 20 miles to go to them, but more local tournaments, whether USTA-sanctioned or not, would help keep kids playing.

At Topspin, Hancock and his staff want to try to help you as player to become number-one in the world... at being you. Come and play some tennis.