...a tennis thank you

How do you thank people for sincerely improving the quality of your life? I guess the answer is to publically thank them on social media. Then it’s official.

Around 2010, I stopped playing volleyball and spent a few years hiking, kayaking and mountain biking. While these activities were fun and physical- it wasn’t enough. I missed having teammates, the ACE serve, the big WIN, big LOSS, the team that “always cheats”, the travel, the opponents you love to hate…I missed playing a team sport.

Some of my favorite people in the world are athletes and tennis helped me reconnect to many of them…and myself. I want to thank Deborah Madden Zippel and Carolyn Hawks McClam for nudging me to play tennis and always sharing their adventures with me.

But, I would never have begun playing if it weren’t for my friends, Shelby L. Provencher and Heather Roth. These two literally took me out the tennis courts and taught me how to hold the racquet and keep score. Then they helped me find a team and buy the right equipment and filled me with encouragement and confidence.

I don’t know how to thank these women for helping me get into tennis or how to thank all the amazing men and women I’ve met since, but here it is…publically, and on social media…THANK YOU.