Tennis News from SunBird

Kenny and Rhonda Nelson

Kenny and Rhonda Nelson

Kenny and Rhonda Nelson

Once again, as Jen reminded us last month, we cannot decide how to play if this COVID-19 does not get covered, distanced, and hand-wiped! Our numbers at the Tennis Club are down by COVID-19, but also the governments of our two countries are keeping our neighbors from the North away until late January, as I understand it!

Our numbers are as steady as we could hope for now, and with the election of our board members for this coming year, we are as ready to go as we can be.

President: John Schlenker

Vice President: Jack Barber

Secretary: Barb Hall

Treasurer: Pam Tiffany and the new guy, me, Kenny Nelson, volunteered for Director of Publicity.

Yeah, I know, if I do not, who will—Jimmy Olson was not an ordinary news boy!

The Welcome Back Tournament we had last weekend was a blast and my first here! I have been in the Sun Lakes area for 10 years now, and SunBird is as friendly a place as Rhonda and I have lived. We already know that this place is the best kept secret in the U.S. of A.; folks in Phoenix do not know we are here! I have children and grandchildren in Maricopa city across the freeway, and they do not even visit. If folks want to visit, they have some work to do.

Well, since I have the job and, as you can tell, I hope, I am a talker and I am going to do my best to introduce the Tennis Club to me by writing a little interview about the players, that is, if they will talk to me, and we will all get to know one another!

If you see me out and about on my bicycle near the first hole, holler at me or stop by for some chat and maybe a cold one. I started golf when I retired in 2013 after my mom passed, and I cannot wait to get some kind of a regular schedule that will allow me to be the sports nut that I am!

Our schedule, as Jen mentioned last month:

Monday-Ladies: Doubles 8:30 to 10 a.m. Holly Benson is coordinator.

Men’s Doubles: 10:30 a.m. to noon. Mel Terechenok is coordinator.

Tuesday-Men’s Doubles: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Jack Barber is coordinator.

Friday-Mixed Doubles: 9 to 11 a.m. Jack Barber coordinates here also.

Sunday-Men’s Doubles: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sonny Sanico is coordinator.

You can find the court schedule for tennis and for our cousins in the Pickleball Club on the bulletin board near the concession stand. For more information, contact one of the coordinators. If you play and you are not in the club, please reserve your time by signing up on the schedule—better yet, just join the club.

The old grey mare and filly ain’t what we used to be, so please do a little stretching and bending and such, so you do not tear or hurt something with all your sports activity.

Watch the ball, get your racket back, and for all of us athletes, you cannot hit what you cannot see, so watch the ball, goofers, I mean duffers. I will get it right in a second—golfers, keep your heads down.

That is a good start for now, and we will see you on the tennis courts! Remember, if you want a soft serve, go to Dairy Queen!