I Don’t Think I Have What It Takes….
…. To be a “tennis mum”.
This week has been somewhat of an eye-opener so far.
It’s one thing to be told of the kids who cart around massive tennis bags with multiple raquets and tennis mum’s who push their kids to achieve.
It’s another to see it first hand.
Some people just live, eat and breathe tennis.
And the money that must go into it!!!!
It’s unreal.
And some of these kids are just AWFUL!!!! Arrogant and nasty.
Not all of course but enough that I really wouldn’t want Lleyton to be spending too much time around them. 
We’re very much the “poor country cousins” down here.
I’m kind of hoping that we do badly enough to be placed in the other group of teams next year. Not sure what it will take for that to happen though.
I was told that they have “divisions” but it’s not quite like that. It just so happens that the Adelaide teams that play here have pretty much all the states top players. The country teams get divided up and sent to different “sections” of Adelaide. I think we kind of drew the “short straw” having to play where we are.
HOWEVER…
It has been an amazingly challenging experience for Lleyton.
I think his tennis has really improved having to play against such well trained and experienced players.
Here he is with his doubles partner after they have just had to play a couple of the state team. They were ecstatic because they actually managed to get a game from them (they lost 6-1). A pretty awesome effort from a couple of “country kids”.
It’s really cute watching them play together. They’re both tiny compared to most of the other kids and out on the court, they’re not that easy to tell apart.
I’m just so proud of Lleyton’s sportsmanship. He hasn’t been playing at his best and has struggled not to get down on himself but he keeps pulling himself out of it and playing on. I really think his tennis game will benefit from this experience. And he keeps encouraging other team members and even his opponents when they play good shots.
I’m proud of me too because I managed to drive over here and drive in Adelaide. Something I haven’t done for very MANY years. I always avoid it. I’m still kind of avoiding it as we’re staying close to the courts but it’s a start.
I think I might collapse in a heap when we get home though. It wouldn’t surprise me if Lleyton does too!!!
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Oh goodness, there is nothing more terrifying than full on tennis parents, which is a pity and probably puts off more players than it should.
Good on you for doing the drive - he does look quite chuffed!
Is that BF?
Congratulations to your big boy, I am sure it will create lots of memories for him to keep.
And well done you for driving around a strange city & putting up with the obsessive parents.
Well done Lleyton.
I think I would hate to be a tennis mum, or any other kind of sport mum.
you are doing way better than most parents.
WAY TO GO LLEYTON!
sounds the same as life here except it’s hockey not tennis
Sounds like a standard SAPSASA experience when you play city players - the kids are usually not allowed to have a life outside their selected sport and usually play that sport 12 months of the year. They usually have 2 practise sessions a week for their school team as well as playing in their school comp. They then have a practise session for their junior team an play that, an most of these kids also play seniors so they have a practise session an play that. Oh an don’t forget the private coaching most of the kids have 1/2 sessions each week. I like to think our kids are more normal an more rounded.
Swimming is the worst sport for this (you don’t get to realise this with SAPSASA though because of the set up) these kids truly don’t have a life because to compete at the top level they need to be in the pool minimum of 8 times a week and usually it’s a lot more (and the parents are the scariest of the lot, they know all of their kids stats by heart - truly a frightening bunch!!!