Our Burritos have started playing tennis this Spring and they are loving it. We missed that opportunity last year but we did practice hitting the ball although we didn't know the rules. This year, when a friend texted me that Spring lessons is opened, we made sure to go and registered them, well at least one of them because the program is only open for 4th graders and up but the coaches are nice and let EJ practice anyway. They said that he can come to practices but could not compete in the matches. He ended up being good at it so they let him play in the matches.
Last Sunday (June 5th), was the second time they went to the matches. The first time they came, they only attended 2 practices so they didn't know much, they didn't even learn the rules yet so it was like kind of a practice too but they played with two other beginners who obviously know stuff than them but it's okay, it was a learning experience anyway.
This time though, they were excited to play, they were ready. What they didn't know is that, they won't be playing as a team. They were teamed up with other kids from the Milli Mulhern Middle School Tennis so they were a bit nervous.
EJ was even teamed up with kids that aren't beginners. It made us proud that they get to play with big kids and he is not even officially registered to play in the matches but he did great for a newbie.
He is tiny compared to other kids but he proved them that size doesn't really matter, he played like a champ (at least in my eyes, he did). He is partnered with one of Rylie's classmates who started tennis last year and they won the match.
Rylie did not get picked to play in the first rounds of match ups but she did play in the second and third rounds. On her first match, she was teamed up with a boy from the Milli Mulhern and she was bummed as she doesn't know him bu-t she did great just like his brother did. They also won the match up.
The weather threatened to rain that day so they decided to do the matches on the Bubble court. I was sweating because I dressed for some windy atmosphere and it ended up being inside the Bubble and it was hot there.
She was partnered with this boy who was very timid and quiet so there was no chemistry between them lol. They played without talking to each other which was kind of awkward but they played well so it was okay I guess.
The coaches talked to us and and said that the Burritos have a very good future with tennis because they are very good at it. They are hoping that they would stick to it which I assured them that the kids would because they love it.
EJ was partnered with this big kid from the other team and he played like he's been playing for a food amount of time. It was nice to see. They were tied to the other team when they ran out of time.
Rylie's last game was with one of the girls that just like EJ, she wasn't also officially registered to play in the match but she's also good at it so she was able to play.
They also won this match which was awesome.Over all, they were really impressive with their performances in Wheeling.
These four are great friends and they are very happy that they get to play tennis together especially now that school is off.
The team from our city is small compared to the team from Wheeling.
These four are the newbies from the WEirton team or Baseline Bandits but I think that they did great.
Here's a group picture of all the participants including the coaches from our city and the Wheeling-Oglebay Tennis Club.
With her BFF.
They will have one more match this Sunday but it will be here in our city. The other team would come here to play with them. After the pictorials, there was a pizza party where everyone gathered up and enjoyed the food and drinks.
There was also raffle draws with prizes and the awarding of certificates after wards. I am so glad that both of them did so well and that they love playing tennis.
The advantage of them playing tennis is that they get to teach us the rules so now we can all play and keep scores. Mind you, they are very competitive and they always wore us out every game we played lol. Our energy is no match to their level of energy, ours run out fast but it is always a great bonding for the whole family.