Tennis More Than Ever By Lonnie Mitchel

By Lonnie Mitchel

Let's start by writing about things you may know and probably have to be reminded about, especially in this COVID-19 world we live in. Yes, we have to talk about COVID-19 because it is a reality that has hit us all in the face. The pandemic of 1918 was not in our lifetime and certainly those types of things can never happen to us, right? With the modern world we live in, the technology, entertainment at your finger tips and social media, a pandemic could never happen!

It hit us like a slap in the face, and it’s very real.

We need tennis to come to the rescue now more than ever to: l Increase aerobic capacities l Lower resting heart rate and blood pressur e l Improve metabolic function l Increase bone density l Lower body fat l Improve muscle tone, strength and flexibility l Increase reaction times l Improve mental health and well-being

I retur ned to Long Island from my duties at SUNY Oneonta, coaching the men's and women's tennis teams, and have been on hiatus since March with the hope that I can be reunited with my squads very soon. I want desperately to be on campus to see and feel the energy that college students bring, and certainly the tennis competition. I consider the practice courts and competition days to be my salvation. I am sure you feel very much the same about our precious game. It is precious and as you read on, I hope I will have reinforced that fact.

What disturbs me, other than the COVID-19 atmosphere we are forced to function in, is how out of shape our youngsters look. I pondered my article subject for this issue for quite some time, and then when I subbed in as an instructor for the camp at my local club here on Long Island, I observed the youngsters and knew I had to write about what I was witnessing.

I saw 10-12-year-olds not being able to focus on the instruction for more than 10 minutes, rushing to their phones at every turn during ball pickups as if the news of the world would stop if they didn't check their technological device. While this trend was already occurring prior to the pandemic, it seems to have led to more youngsters being out of shape and having a hard time focusing. While it might be counter-productive to say, “back in my day, we could run for what seemed like forever, the instructor

knew better and there was not as many distractions.”

However, those in my generation probably know this already, but the situation is getting worse. My patience was being exercised to the core and I relied on my coaching instincts to be poised and patient throughout the instruction so the youngsters could learn valuable information despite all the extra hurdles they place on themselves. I asked several of the children if they did any exercise in the last three months. The answer was, at best, very little.

We are lucky in the sense that we can get back to playing tennis during a pandemic because tennis, as the USTA says, is the “Sport for a Lifetime". We can play tennis, and we can play golf, but will the other sports like football, basketball, soccer, etc. where there is a lot more close contact ever be normal again? Tennis, with a few tweaks of how you play such as practicing social distancing, can endure. I was at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow recently on a beautiful sunny day and all the tennis courts were in use. You can bet that football and soccer are on hold at least for the foreseeable future. How lucky we are to have the game of tennis? However, what pains me is the youngsters are so out of shape, and their lack of focus is holding their development back because of a liability of technology.

Look what gift we can give to our children...the gift of increasing aerobic capacity, lowering resting heart rate and blood pressure, improving metabolic function, increasing bone density, lowering body fat, improving the muscle tone strength and flexibility, increasing reaction time and improving mental health/well-being. Please, I beg you to not take no for an answer in getting the children out of the house. Get yourselves out of the house...for goodness sakes, play tennis, get your children on the tennis court and I promise when I write future articles I can say that it worked.

Tennis, now more than ever! While I commend the parents of the children I spoke about earlier, you got them to the tennis center to play and participate in camp; you’re ahead of the curve. Now get them away from the computer and use your parental powers. Take a walk daily with your children and have a conversation, go on the tread mill, do some jumping jacks and core work. Your quality of life depends upon it; your health depends on it. If a youngster cannot do basic exercises on the tennis court for just ten minutes, we have really failed our children.

Tennis, More Than Ever!

Lonnie Mitchel is head Men’s and Women’s Tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta. Lonnie was named an assistant coach to Team USA for the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel for the Grand Master Tennis Division. Also coached for Team USA in Berlin and Chile in 2015 and Team USA Maccabiah for the Open Division working with Division I players and professionally ranked in the Israel Games in 2017. Was also named “Coach of the Year” in 2015 for State University of NY Athletic Conference. He may be reached by phone at (516) 414-7202 or e-mail LonnieMitchel@yahoo.com.