DATE: March 2008 [PDF]
Feature Article| From the Manager | Hunter's Lair | Results | New Members | Last Month's News
Its historic moniker has been the "sport for a lifetime". But, is
this really true? According world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines,
there is no doubt that tennis is one of the best sports for you to play.
Here are the facts:
(1) People who participate in tennis 3 hours per week (at moderately vigorous
intensity) cut their risk of death in half from any cause, according to physician
Ralph Paffenbarger, who studied over 10,000 people for 20 years.
(2) Tennis players scored higher in vigor, optimism and self-esteem while scoring
lower in depression, anger, confusion, anxiety and tension than other athletes
and non-athletes according to Dr. Joan Finn and colleagues at Southern Connecticut
State University.
(3) Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, it may generate new
connections between nerves in the brain and thus promote a lifetime of continuing
development of the brain, reported scientists at the University of Illinois.
(4) Tennis outperforms golf, inline skating and most other sports in developing
positive personality characteristics according to Dr. Jim Gavin, author of The
Exercise Habit.
(5) Competitive tennis burns more calories than aerobics, inline skating, or
cycling, according to studies in caloric expenditures.
With these results in mind, let's list 34 specific reasons why you should consider
playing tennis regularly!
Tennis helps your:
Physical Reasons to Play:
1. aerobic fitness by burning fat and improving your cardiovascular fitness and maintaining higher energy levels.
2. anaerobic fitness by offering short, intense bursts of activity during a point followed by rest which helps muscles use oxygen efficiently.
3. ability to accelerate by practice in sprinting, jumping and lunging to move quickly.
4. powerful first step by requiring anticipation, quick reaction time and explosion into action.
5. speed through a series of side-to-side and up and back sprints to chase the ball.
6. leg strength through hundreds of starts and stops which build stronger leg muscles.
7. general body coordination since you have to move into position and then adjust your upper body to hit the ball successfully.
8. gross motor control through court movement and ball-striking skills which require control of your large muscle groups.
9. fine motor control by the use of touch shots like angled volleys, drop shots and lobs.
10. agility by forcing you to change direction as many as 5 times in 10 seconds during a typical tennis point.
11. dynamic balance through hundreds of starts, stops, changes of direction and hitting on the run.
12. cross-training by offering a physically demanding sport that's fun to play for athletes who are expert in other sports.
13. bone strength and density by strengthening bones of young players and helping prevent osteoporosis in older ones.
14. immune system through its conditioning effects which promote overall health, fitness and resistance to disease.
15. nutritional habits by eating appropriately before competition to enhance energy production and after competition to practice proper recovery methods.
16. eye-hand coordination because you constantly judge the timing between the on-coming ball and the proper contact point.
17. flexibility due to the constant stretching and maneuvering to return the ball toward your opponent.
Psychological Reasons to Play Tennis
Tennis helps you:
18. develop a work ethic because improvement through lessons or practice reinforces the value of hard work.
19. develop discipline since you learn to work on your skills in practice and control the pace of play in competition.
20. manage mistakes by learning to play within your abilities and realizing that managing and minimizing mistakes in tennis or life is critical.
21. learn to compete one-on-one because the ability to compete and fight trains you in the ups and downs of a competitive world.
22. accept responsibility because only you can prepare to compete by practicing skills, checking your equipment and during match play by making line calls.
23. manage adversity by learning to adjust to the elements (e.g. wind, sun) and still be able to compete tenaciously.
24. accommodate stress effectively because the physical, mental and emotional stress of tennis will force you to increase you capacity for dealing with stress.
25. learn how to recover by adapting to the stress of a point and the recovery period between points which is similar to the stress and recovery cycles in life.
26. plan and implement strategies since you naturally learn how to anticipate an opponent's moves and plan your countermoves.
27. learn to solve problems since tennis is a sport based on angles, geometry and physics.
28. develop performance rituals before serving or returning to control your rhythm of play and deal with pressure These skills can transfer to taking exams, conducting a meeting or making an important sales presentation.
29. learn sportsmanship since tennis teaches you to compete fairly with opponents.
30. learn to win graciously and lose with honor. Gloating after a win or making excuses after a loss doesn't work in tennis or in life.
31. learn teamwork since successful doubles play depends on you and your partner's ability to communicate and play as a cohesive unit.
32. develop social skills through interaction and communication before a match, while changing sides of the court and after play.
33. have FUN… because the healthy feelings of enjoyment, competitiveness and physical challenge are inherent in the sport.
Summary and Reason #34
Is it any wonder that scientists and physicians around the world view tennis as the most healthful activity in which you can participate? There may be other sports that can provide excellent health benefits and some which can provide mental and emotional growth. But no sport other than tennis has ever been acclaimed from all disciplines as one that develops great benefits physically, mentally and emotionally.
Tennis is a sport for kids to learn early in life. What parent wouldn't want their children to get these benefits through their growing years?
It's not too late for adults and seniors too! The human system can be trained and improved at any stage of life.
Here's the key… you must begin playing tennis now to get these benefits throughout your lifetime. And that brings us to reason #34: Tennis is truly the sport for a lifetime! It's been proven.
By Dr. Jack Groppel
Ball Machine and Guest sign-ups
Remember that Timberhill works on the honor system when it comes with using
the ball machine or bringing guests. All guests should be signed in on the sheets
upstairs before using the court. The ball machine should also be signed up before
you head out to court 4 or 6 to use it.
Pet Peeve Program
Want to sound off about Timberhill. Gary will have a place on the outside of
his office to write down a Pet Peeve you have, either positive of negative about
your experiences here at TTC. Please feel free to write down a short comment
about your pet Peeve and we will publish them in the newsletter. You can also
e-mail Gary or leave a short message in his mailbox and we will use that also.
All comments that we use must be accompanied with our name or they will not
be used. Let's sound off about TTC. Here's the first one.
One of the biggest complaints I get is from the morning players who come first thing and they find tennis balls and trash all over the courts. Remember that we are very liberal when it comes to having balls available to practice with. If people continue to leave without picking up all the balls (behind the curtains as well) and putting the baskets and ball machines back in place then we may limit the access to these items. It is very frustrating to sow up in the morning to play and need to spend 10 minutes of your court time getting balls picked up and putting things in their place. If you are one of these players late at night just be aware of your actions that could affect players in the morning. Let all enjoy the benefits of the friendly confines of TTC.
Sunriver Adult Tennis Camp
Gary will be hosting his 25th annual Bend Tennis Camp this year at the beautiful
Sunriver resort on May 29-June 1. This is an adult camp that is a great way
to enjoy central Oregon as well as improving your tennis. We start camp Thursday
late afternoon at 4pm and stay on court until 6:30pm and then have a BBQ around
7pm. Tennis continues Friday with a morning and afternoon session. Then we have
a long Saturday session from 8:30-12pm and finish Sunday morning going from
8:30-12pm as well. We will be using the North Court in the Sunriver and the
cost will be $199 per person which includes instruction, prizes, T-Shirts and
a Thursday night BBQ. Applications are in the TTC clubhouse or give Gary a call
at the club for more details.
First of all, good luck to all of the players from the club participating in USTA League tennis this spring, as well s to our junior members playing on the high school teams and representing TTC at tournaments and on club teams throughout the Northwest. This s always a fun time around here, as we hear tales of competitions from far and near. Remember, we like to stay current on all member's tournament results--either let us know while you're at the club or call us and leave a message so we can get the results in the newsletter and newspaper. The inaugural Willamette Valley Junior Team Tennis League has been a big success. TTC has 2 teams participating with a total of 22 players involved. We hope to increase that during the upcoming summer and fall league seasons. Becky and I are running some team practices for USTA League adult teams before the season begins. Let us know if this is something your team would be interested in. Our Adult/Junior Challenge on January 27 was a success drawing 34 players for run tennis and good times. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who came out for a great day. The lesson programs are staying very busy--thanks to the members for their support. Look for some new offerings this spring and summer, including Boor Camp drill classes and Mixed Doubles Clinics. The Tennis Welcome Center classes are continuing through the spring, so encourage anyone you can who has an interest in the game to come try them out. This way, we can build more tennis players, more members, and perhaps more future practice partners!
2006 Adult Junior Challenge Results
Gold Division
1st place: Rajul Chiklingaiah/Sebastian DeAssis
2nd place: Steve Chapman/Clay Higgins
Silver Division
1St place A: Ben & John McNair
1st place B: Scott & Brett Cowden
JOHN & PHIL'S TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Timberhill hosted the annual John & Phil's Toyotas Championships played
Jan. 18-20
Over 115 players played in 15 different divisions. The final results are listed
below.
Men's Open Singles: Daniel Chu (Vancouver, BC) def. Colby Jager (Corvallis)
7/5,6/4
Women's Open Singles: Ilaria Alessi (Albany) def. Liz O'Donnell (Corvallis)
6/4, 6/3
Men's Open Doubles: Daniel Chu (Vancouver, BC)-Eric Pickard )Portland) def.
Brian & Brett Joelson (Beaverton) 3/6, 6/3, 7/6
Mixed Open DoublesL Colby Jager - Kasey Kuenzli (Corvallis) def. Rick Campbell
- Rebbeca Correll (Corvallis) 6/1, 6/3
Men's 35 Singles: Mike Wilson (Salem) def Greg Furukawa (Salem) 7/6, 6/3
Men's 35 Doubles: Craig Horn - Mike Wilson (Salem) def. Jay Clark (Albany) -
Jeff Cook (Eugene) 6/3, 6/2
Men's 40 Singles: Jay Clark (Albany) def. Jeff Cook (Eugene) 6/3, 7/6
Men's 45 Singles: Laird Davis (Hood River) def. Charles Tebbutt (Eugene) 6/7,
6/4,6/4
Men's 45 Doubles: Mike Manley - John Wong (Salem) def. Bruce Flory (Sweet Home)
- Hank Wright (Corvallis 6/1, 6/7, 6/3
Men's 50 Singles: Rick Campbell (Corvallis) def. Michael McDonnell )(Spanaway,
WA) 6/2, 7/6
Mixed 45 Doubles: Diane Alexander - Greg Fortier (Albany) def. Dale Dinwiddie
- Lynn Harper (Corvallis) 7/5, 7/6
Elton Chen 758-5552; Elton is a junior member that plays on the tennis
team at Crescent Valley boy's team. Elton plays single or doubles and plays
pretty high on the team.
Kent Welter 240-418-3248; Kent graduated from OSU 6-7 years ago and is
starting a new company here in Corvallis. He is a 4.5 player with some flexibility
right now.
Karin Krakauer 752-6813; Karin is a 3.5 player who has some flexibility
in her schedule. She prefers doubles or mixed doubles and is looking for a group
or two to break into.
With many new members this is a great time to expand your tennis horizons and
give some of these new members a call to play. They would welcome a call to
play. Remember that if you want to get some other players call Gary at the club
and I can help you get networked with other Timberhill members.