SHOULD I, OR SHOULD I NOT, JOIN A USTA TENNIS LEAGUE?
December 4, 2011 By Billy E. Crawford
Since April of this year, I have been writing articles, doing tennis book reviews, as well as conducting over 20 interviews with CPTC members and other tennis enthusiasts. It has been a great experience. A special thanks goes out to all the members who have volunteered to share their stories with us all, and to Big Al for being so helpful and patient as he posts the information on our club website. As I have attempted to improve my writing skills, the same can be said for my tennis skills.
After fully retiring, I have enjoyed playing tennis with members of our club. Since January of 2010, I have been in several doubles groups playing regularly –improving my game somewhat and making friendships that will last a lifetime.
Then, several months ago I started looking into the possibility of joining a USTA League team. First I surfed the net for league information. These sites, which are very helpful, include:
usta.com and
louisianatennis.com, and neworleanstennis.com which is known as New Orleans Metropolitan Area Tennis. This website is well organized and informative for local tennis information. I love their slogan, “We play tennis NOMATA what!”
Coincidentally, I received an email sent to CPTC members from Rodger Wheaton about joining a Fall doubles league team based out of our club. So, I asked myself, “Should I, or should I not join a league team? I pondered the issue, questioning: “are my game skills competitive enough? What if I let down my playing partner, or my team? Can I see well enough at night? Can I give up a Saturday morning? Did I incorrectly self-rate myself (since it was a 7.5 Adult combo league, being a 3.5 player I would be matched with a 4.0 player)? It has been a long time since I have generated the competitive juices—how will I react?” You get the picture.
Bottom line: I decided to email Rodger back and ask that he consider me for membership. Thus I was included along with 16 other guys.
Rodger then tutored me through the process, addressing such issues as:
1.Being a USTA member, $42.00 yearly dues
2.Registering online with the team code provided by the team captain using my USTA Membership Number, $15.00
3. Paying an assessment to the team for paying court fees, tennis balls etc. $30.00 or so.
4. Checking my email for games and playing schedules and confirm information with the team captain.
Then, later this Fall, David Tate and Mark Passafume needed 3.5 players, so I joined their senior’s doubles team.
Reflecting on these experiences, I would encourage our members to join a USTA league. Many of my self-doubts were dissolved. We won some matches and lost some. We enjoyed the competition and sportsmanship in all the matches. The Captains had enough players so that everyone on the teams got to play, often conforming well into our personal schedules.
If you are interested, you can email me at billyecrawford@gmail.com.
