Tennis Ticker
Over-the-Net Tennis

Ridgeland QuickStart Program Growing
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07/08/2011  05:48 PM

Turpin Park Ridgeland Community Tennis Program
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07/05/2011  02:28 PM

Join the Flex League this Fall!
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06/27/2011  12:48 PM

More QuickStart Tennis Coming to Ridgeland in Fall 2011!
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06/22/2011  01:15 PM

Registration Session #2 NOW OPEN Ridgeland QuickStart Tennis
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06/22/2011  11:25 AM

Boys Girls Club Summer Hours Reduced for 2011
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06/07/2011  10:44 AM

Register NOW for Ridgeland Summer Session #1 QuickStart
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05/16/2011  02:59 PM

To Teach Inspire
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05/06/2011  06:59 PM

Boys Girls Club Benefit
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04/14/2011  10:20 AM

QuickStart Demonstration
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04/10/2011  11:13 AM

Meet the Boys Girls Club Staff
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04/07/2011  05:37 PM

QuickStart at Boys Girls Club
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04/02/2011  06:13 PM

First Tennis Volunteer Extraordinaire
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03/28/2011  04:48 PM

Summer Tennis Volunteers Needed
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03/23/2011  04:59 PM

Feet, Feet, and MORE Feet!
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03/12/2011  04:22 PM

Hungry Dog Award: What is It?
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03/08/2011  01:22 PM

February Over-the-Net Hungry Dog Award
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03/06/2011  04:30 PM

March Group Drill: Bounce and Pounce
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03/03/2011  12:50 PM

Tennis Equipment Instructional Aids
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03/02/2011  05:43 PM

Coming in 2011:

• The Code: We All Need One
• The Art of "ZEN" Ball (March)
• Fitness After 50 (April)
• Tennis Specific Stretches (May)
• Training for Tennis (May)
• Speed Workouts for Tennis (May)

Doubles Strategy 101:
The Importance of Moving as a Team

Avid tennis players spend the majority of their time putting a tennis ball over the net over and over again with various goals in mind and motivational forces in play. Some do so simply for the exercise and camaraderie, a few solely for the prize, the prestige or to notch another "W" in their belt, many for pride of accomplishment and the competitive challenge, most for a bit of each, but all do so ultimately for the sheer love of the game. I know this less from conversations over-the-net than from observation of the dedication on and off the court I witness every day.

Imagine what could be learned if we could tap the wealth of personal knowledge and motivational stories hovering just on the other side of the net. Consider the wealth of information and experience that could enrich our lives as well as our tennis game if only we had the time and a common place to share the wealth. Over-the-Net website for all things tennis was created to be just that place.

Through my Over-the-Net BLOG, I encourage you to participate and comment, expand upon, and contribute to the ideas, concepts, and tennis information presented, and hope you will discover for yourself the wealth of information, ideas, and inspiration to be discovered here.

As time permits, I hope to expand services to include an open Tennis Forum and Video Demonstrations & Analysis. Granted, this may seem an ambitious endeavor, but ideas accompanied by open discussion plant the seed of achievement just as surely as repeated visualization of that perfect backhand leads to self-confidence and better performance when it counts, when we don't have the time to stop and think about it, when everything is on the line.

Specifically, you might want to check out my articles and blogs on What I've Learned from Whom Along the Way, featuring individuals who have placed their mark on me, some inadvertently, all indelibly. For each of them, I am most grateful. Inspiration, Mentors, Teachers.

Lastly, I dedicate this web site to Bluffton High School, SC tennis Coaches Bob Brown and Kristen Kelly Finlen who have given me the opportunity to teach, and to my Bluffton Bobcat PE students who challenge me with their energy, inspire me with their spirit and desire to learn, who consistently remind me how much fun life can be, who make me laugh, and who unfailingly renew my faith in the power of wonder, and who, with every lesson, teach me something new about myself.

Are you new to tennis? Do you need to improve your footwork? Are you looking to improve your fitness to quicken that first step to the ball, or sharpen your mental focus to build and maintain courage and confidence under pressure? Do you need help honing basic stroke production by learning to structure your practice sessions to reinforce those skills while building new ones? Maybe all you need is a new shot, a new perspective, or help with game strategies to beat that rascal next door. Call me and visit this site often.

Let's all get out on the courts to play and promote this great game of tennis. Let's learn something and teach something, but most of all, let's be kind. Remember: We need each other. We can't play this game if there isn't someone on the other side of the net.

See you on the courts!   –Jude