"Playing Indoor Tennis" this Winter in Ocean City, New Jersey
I play most of the spring, the summer, and the fall outside on various courts in Ocean City. But in the winter we make the move indoors over in Somers Points playing twice a week for exercise ... and to keep a bit of the polish on our "less than polished game."
I have been playing tennis for most of the years that I have been here in Ocean City dating back to about 1996 when I got into real estate full time. I played "singles tennis" throughout my 20s, 30, 40s and a bit in my 50s, but I also started to play "doubles tennis: starting in my 40s, and I continue to do that today.
I love tennis like many guys love golf. But golf is a bit too slow for me, takes 3 or 4 hours often, plus a few drinks after the game. I played golf in my 20s and 30s mostly with my father and my father-in-law after I got married. It was difficult to for my wife to complain with that group. But I could never determine what I was doing ... when I hit well or poorly ... I could not determine why.
So I quit the game deciding that I would never play golf again unless I took lessons ... or maybe my wife and I could take lessons. But with tennis I learned to play back in my early grade school days at the park programs down in Elizabethtown, PA which were held all summer during the morning hours. I continued to play since that time ... with a great forehand and an improved backhand. Plus my serve right now at 71 is the best that it has ever been.
These days you have good days and bad ones ... a lot depending on your partner and on how the opponents are doing. It is still enjoyable ... a lot of fun, but I do get upset later sometimes when my game does not go as I want it too. My goal for the rest of the summer is to keep the ball in play, don't hit it out, either cause the opponent to do that, or just simply keep returning the ball waiting for them to make a mistake. Sounds fairly simple ... if only it would be that easy.
Dustin A. Peters is a sales and rental agent with Goldcoast Sotheby's International Realty in Ocean City, New Jersey following a 32 year career in public education in Pennsylvania as a teacher and a high school principal for 17 years. He's never been able to identify his game status ... but he's better at 71 than he was at 50 (that, at least, sounds good).
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