Gearing Up for League Tennis: The GEAR (Giveaway)

1 Comment

From that pop and hiss of a fresh can of tennis balls to the feel of a new racquet, to the latest tennis apparel trends, having the gear to get your season of USTA Mid-Atlantic Leagues started right is just as essential as it is to making sure you’ve got your rating and registration all taken care of!

Turn sound on! ^

There’s just something alluring to having new tennis gear items in your bag at the start of the season. When your tennis gear is ready, you’re another step closer to fun competition.

We’ve been getting you prepared for the season with our “Gearing Up” series of articles. So far, we’ve covered:

Now, let’s talk a little bit about gear. Any tennis player knows that your basic essentials include a tennis racquet, tennis balls, the proper shoes and attire, and towels or items to keep you dry/cool. A bag is helpful to keep everything organized, too, and don’t forget a water bottle. You may want some additional accessories such as grip tape, vibration dampeners for your strings, and of course if you are playing outside, protection from the sun (hats, visors, sunglasses) and sunscreen.

And you’ll want to proudly rep the Mid-Atlantic Section this league season, so you’ve got to get some gear in our official “color wars” color for 2019: ROYAL BLUE!

To go a little more in depth, there are excellent articles on USTA.com that have helpful information about tennis gear, from selecting the right racquet, to the importance of the strings in your racquet, to buying the right shoes. Check them out here.

As tennis enthusiasts ourselves, we love new gear just as much as you do! So we want to get you “geared up” and ready to play with a fun GIVEAWAY to kick-off the spring adult tennis league season.

You have a chance to WIN our Gearing Up prize pack that includes tennis strings from @MainandCrosses, 10 grips from @AlienPros, a case of tennis balls, a foam roller, and $100 in gift cards. To enter, simply leave a comment on this Facebook post telling us “I signed up for my local spring league” and let us know which one. The contest is open now, March 6, 2019 and will run through Friday, March 22, 2019. One winner will be drawn at random at the end of the contest period; good luck!

Read the official rules here.

What tennis gear do you have in your tennis bag? Let us know on Social Media. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and subscribe to the blog.

The 2019 calendar is here for you to see which leagues are registering in your area. Contact the listed Local League Ambassador for your local area or our Tennis Connect service to get playing!

DIY Holiday Decor Sports Theme: Tennis Ball Wreath

1 Comment

The holiday season is here and for so many of us in the Mid-Atlantic that means a time to take a break, relax and enjoy some down time with friends, family and loved ones. We love the holidays for so many reasons, but a big part of what makes it special is the chance to do certain activities that maybe we don’t often get to do other times of year, such as baking, binge watching Hallmark Channel, hanging out in PJs all day and maybe doing crafts and other hands-on activities or special outings. For all of our tennis friends out there, we know (hope) this time of year means extra time to get in lots of tennis too!

But if you’re looking for fun DIY activities during the holiday break, either for yourself to try or to do with your kiddos or grandkiddos, look no further. Tennis fans will be sure to love this DIY Tennis Ball Wreath activity! This wreath is great for the holidays and really, can be transitioned to use any time of year, especially during your tennis season and hung during the US Open too! Just leave off the holiday embellishments or make a version with out those holiday touches for more versatile use throughout the year.

Alright, let’s get making! Grab those used tennis balls and fire up the glue gun, and get ready to have some fun!

Tennis Ball Wreath

Gather your supplies

What you need:

16-17 used tennis balls

1-2 sleeves of ornaments

1 wire clothes hanger

Ribbon or Bow

Glue Gun

Scissors

Box cutter or X-Acto knife

Instructions

Step 1: Unravel your wire clothes hanger and shape into a circle. Step 1

Step 2: Cut two 1” slits on each tennis ball. If doing this project with kids, make sure an adult is there to supervise or this is a step that only an adult does.

Step 3: Feed tennis balls one by one onto the wire hanger, filling the wire hanger. Step 2 and 3

Step 4: Re-twist the wire hanger at the top to leave a hook for hanging. Note: at this point you can decide if you want your tennis balls in line with each other, or want to rotate them up or down to add dimension (see two final wreaths below for layout).

Step 5: Pull out those ornaments and glue gun. Place ornaments throughout the wreath using hot glue to secure them. Step 5

Step 6: Add your ribbon or bow to the top, below your hook.

Step 7: Hang on your door for a festive tennis feel or gift these out to all the tennis fans and players in your life!

We’d love to see your finished products! Make some tennis ball wreaths and send us a picture or post it to social media tagging us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram! And keep on playing and using those tennis balls up so you can make more crafts! Learn more about playing tennis with USTA Mid-Atlantic.

Shell Wood is the Events Manager for USTA Mid-Atlantic. She enjoys crafting and repurposing items, especially tennis equipment, to bring a little pizzazz to our events.

Wishing You all the Joy the Holidays Bring (VIDEO)

We hope that this year has brought joyous memories of fun tennis played and friendships made. Of laughter, and aces and serves for the ages! Of taking your game to the next level, and matches and points with which you can revel. Through tennis we hope that you’ve fueled a passion, and taken your tennis goals and proceeded to smash ’em. We hope you’ve enjoyed staying active and fit, and building new skills that work great on the court and even off of it.

It’s our pleasure serving up the game of tennis for all of you in the Mid-Atlantic Section. Wishing you a Happy Holiday and a joyful New Year – from your friends at USTA Mid-Atlantic!

Top Things we are Thankful For About Tennis

At USTA Mid-Atlantic we often say tennis is so much more than a game played with a racquet and ball.

As Thanksgiving is upon us, we started thinking about the sport we love and why we are so thankful for being able to grow the game in the region. Number one on our list: YOU! We are thankful for players like you that make the Mid-Atlantic Section a great place for tennis. USTA Mid-Atlantic tennis creates community, character, and well-being.

By reflecting on this appreciation we hope more people can understand why tennis is special and feel motivated to show their support during the charitable giving season. When you make a gift, your support for tennis is felt today and always.

Here are a few other reasons tennis makes us thankful. What would you add?

Tennis makes us thankful for…

A double fault-free day
A sport that may help us live longer than adults that play other sports
Drop shots that only fall on our opponents side
Hitting an ace here or there
Physical activity that doesn’t feel like exercise because tennis is too much fun
Giving kids a healthy, enriching outlet that builds character skills for life
Teammates, that become best friends, that become family thanks to tennis. Want to find some tennis friends too? You can start here!
A way for all generations to connect through a shared passion and being able to play at any stage of life
Red, orange, green tennis balls; racquets and courts sized right for kids to have fun and fall in love with the game right away
Confidence that comes from being on the court and goes well-beyond the court

Oh, but there is more!

An NTRP rating and the excitement coming our way on December 1, 2022
Life-lessons learned through the game – mental fortitude, honesty, sportsmanship and so much more
Leadership opportunities that are meaningful – being a captain, playing in the first line, volunteering, coaching
Volunteers who get involved and make a direct impact on the section! Volunteers are truly the heart of USTA Mid-Atlantic.
We’re thankful for the Summer Smash and all who participated. Thanks to them, we were able to respond to the overwhelming amount of youth scholarship applications and award a second round of funding to deserving youth players!
Competition and a chance to continually improve, even win a Regional, Sectional or National title in adulthood thanks to USTA Mid-Atlantic Leagues.
Recognition earned for good sportsmanship
Stress relief from hitting the fuzz off the ball
Programs that provide not only access but also social emotional learning such as our USTA Mid-Atlantic Girls Rule the Court™ program. Through this program, young girls build self-esteem and gain confidence while learning tennis at low to no cost.
The next generation of tennis greats and their coaches and teachers innovating around the game
The satisfaction that comes from hearing the pop of the tennis ball off your racquet when you hit it just right
Giving back through the sport and being able to support programs that are making a difference such as the Mid-Atlantic Section’s Junior Player Scholarships, Facility Restoration Grant, and our Community Engagement Grant.
Amazing Mid-Atlantic’s own Pro tennis players that do big things on the biggest stages: Frances Tiafoe, Robin Montgomery, Clervie Ngounoue, Denis Kudla, Hailey Baptiste and so many more
Diversity and bringing people of all types, ages, abilities and backgrounds together through a shared passion

What would you add to the list that we have not included? Leave a comment or tweet us (@USTAMidAtlantic) with your comment using #ThankfulforTennis. Happy Thanksgiving from USTA Mid-Atlantic!

To stay up to date on the latest news in the Mid-Atlantic, make sure to subscribe to USTA Mid-Atlantic’s YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

USTA Mid-Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to promoting tennis and its physical, social, and emotional health benefits. Learn about our impact in the Section and how USTA Mid-Atlantic creates community, character, and well-being.

Fun DIY Halloween Decorations – Tennis Themed

One thing tennis lovers know is that there is always a creative way to reuse dead tennis balls. With Halloween season upon us, we’ve put together three spooktacular DIY Halloween decorations you can do with those scary dead tennis balls lurking in your basement, garage, trunk or bag.

We found these DIY craft projects are great activities to do with kids or grand kids or even during a Halloween party as an activity station.

Tennis coaches and tennis clubs, you can incorporate these craft projects into a Halloween-themed tennis lesson or tennis tournament for kids too.

So let’s raise the dead (ahem tennis balls that is) and have some Halloween fun making these awesome tennis inspired DIY Halloween tennis ball decorations.

DIY Halloween Tennis Ball Craft

What you need:

1 can of tennis balls
Glue
Scissors
4 googly eyes
Orange, green and black markers
3-4 pipe cleaners
1 piece of colored paper
Bottle tops (Gatorade or milk container tops recommended)

Start by making the base for the three Tennis Ball Halloween figures by gluing a bottle top to the bottom of each tennis ball.

Grab your markers and color 1 ball green, 1 ball orange and 1 ball black.

Let’s make a Tennis Ball Witch!

Step 1: Grab the green tennis ball on base; the top to the tennis ball can, glue, paper, scissors, 2 eyes, green marker and a pipe cleaner.

Step 2: Take your paper and cut out a half moon shape.

Step 3: Roll the half-moon shape to form a cone.

Tip – Stapling the corners together will secure it quickly

Step 4: Glue the cone to the top of the tennis ball can – you made a witch’s hat!

Step 5: Glue the witch’s hat to the tennis ball.

Tip – Tilt the hat a little off to the side so that your eyes fit later

Step 6: Take a pipe cleaner and cut it in half. Take half of the pipe cleaner and fold it over two times, twist together to keep secure – you made a witch’s nose! Glue the nose to the tennis ball.

Step 7: Glue 2 googly eyes to the tennis ball – good job! You’re tennis ball witch is complete!

Let’s make a Tennis Ball Pumpkin!

Step 1: Grab the orange tennis ball on base; the other half of the pipe cleaner you just cut for the witch’s nose, glue, and the black marker.

Step 2: Take the pipe cleaner and fold it in half two times, twist together to keep secure and glue onto the top of your tennis ball.

Step 3: Take the black marker and draw on your pumpkin face. Whew! That was a quick one – you made a tennis ball pumpkin!

Let’s make a Tennis Ball Bat!

Step 1: Grab the black tennis ball, 2 pipe cleaners, glue, and 2 googly eyes.

Step 2: Glue on your two googly eyes to the front of the tennis ball.

Step 3: Take a pipe cleaner and twist it closed at the end to make a loop. Do this to both pipe cleaners.

Step 4: Create indentations in the bottom of the pipe cleaner to form the bat wings. Do this to both pipe cleaners. You made bat wings!

Step 5: Glue the bat wings to the left and right side of your tennis ball. YAY! A tennis ball bat!

Step 6: Bonus step if you have any extra pieces of pipe cleaners. Cut two 1” pieces of pip cleaner and bend to form a triangle. Add these two “bat ears” to the top of your tennis ball.

Enjoy your tennis ball witch, pumpkin and bat to decorate your house for this haunting holiday – Happy Halloween!

Are the winter holidays quickly approaching? Learn how to make a DIY Tennis Ball Wreath.

Shell Wood is the Director of Adult Programs and Events for USTA Mid-Atlantic. She enjoys crafting and repurposing items to bring a little pizzazz to our events.