The Exhausted Dad: Waiting on JV tennis
Some youth sports just aren’t meant for spectators.
I loved watching my seventh grade daughter play softball this past fall. Even when she wasn’t batting or getting much action in the outfield, I found myself caring about the outcome of the game and the performance of her teammates.
Basketball season was even more entertaining. Constant activity! My daughter showed monster defensive prowess, on par with Jaden McDaniels or Rudy Gobert.*
*This author caught Minnesota Timberwolves fever. Side note: Anthony Edwards is THAT DUDE.
Unfortunately, I can’t ramp up my excitement for the junior varsity tennis season. All the kids on the team are essentially beginner-level tennis players, and they play schools with other beginner-level tennis players. Technically, I don’t think these matches qualify as real tennis.
It doesn’t help that I don’t understand the rules. The kids play sets? Games? Matches? Love 15? I don’t know. The JV girls play doubles and the first team to three (of a set? Match?) wins the round. Because these kids only just barely learned how to hit the ball, these matches take an average of 12 total minutes.
Occasionally, a girl lands a serve over the net in the appropriate square (I personally think it should count if you keep the ball inside the fence, but nobody asked me). Rarely, the girls will return an in-play serve with a volley(?) over the net again. I’ve never seen a play go back and forth more than twice.
I’m OK with the length of the match itself, as I’m not exactly watching good tennis. Still, some of these “away” games require a 20-plus-minute commute. At 4:30 p.m. Alongside everyone else on the road. But I support my kids’ extracurricular activities, so I’ll travel to watch 12 minutes of “tennis” played by one in my Team Wilson Crew.
If only it were just those 12 minutes. Too many girls wanted to play JV tennis, which means a meet(?) consists of several of these 12-minute rounds. However, each school only has between four and six courts. First, the varsity players play singles matches. They play much better, but, sorry, I’m not too interested in watching any youth sport that doesn’t include one of my kids. Next come the countless doubles matches, and the coaches have no way of scheduling your kid onto a particular court at a particular time.
It means waiting around. Waiting with other bored parents. Waiting in the belligerent Inland Northwest springtime weather.
My other three kids wanted to support their sister too, but they hate waiting even more than I do. These middle schools don’t have playground equipment, and we obviously don’t want to be the “lazy” parents who allow their kids on electronic devices.
Bored kids are irritating kids. Ask anyone.
On the bright side, we have learned that we can show up at least 30 minutes after the start time and be nowhere close to missing our daughter play. When her 12-minute game ends, you’d think we could pack up and go home. But no. Coach wants the whole team to be there and support every match. And my daughter still needs a ride home, so I can’t leave her there!
One last beef about JV tennis: Apparently, spectators should be “respectful” and only occasionally applaud in a polite, non-distracting manner. What nonsense. This is sports! People yell, “Get in the hole!” at professional golfers nowadays.
On the rare occasion that my daughter hits the ball (again, anywhere within the fences), I’m cheering. What’s the worst that could happen? Oh, they might ban me from watching her future tennis matches?! Oh no, how will I be able to fill those 12 minutes of my life?
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Tyler Wilson is a freelance writer, full-time student, and parent to four kids, ages 6-12. He is tired. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.
The Exhausted Dad