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Archive for Safe Sports Activities for Teens

Basketball Versus Tennis—Challenge: Take your Kids out Of that Basketball Team and Put them INTO TENNIS—YOU WILL SEE A BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!


How could I make such a challenge you ask?  I will compare Basketball to tennis in this blog,  and then you take the BasketBall or Tennis Challenge and you tell me what you come up with.  I bet you will be surprised.

Basketball  is a game that does require a certain standard to be met in order for a youth to participate in an organized team effort.  Basketball scholarships pick from the best of the best talent in that sport.  Basketball is only for the best, fastest,  or tallest with skill.  Basketball leaves out the opportunitie for mediocre people to progress in that sport. 

Youth basketball is great for team effort.  But tennis reminds me of  chess.  My son Jay Jewels plays in the Youth and Tennis Academy and he explains it this way, “Tennis is a game of thinking and control. You have to think where you are gonna hit the ball.  It’s like chess….before the person makes their move you gotta know where you are going to hit it.”  My son plays at Cunningham Winter Bubble every Friday and Sunday night.  What a great activity!  When it is 10:00  I do know where my child is—he is at tennis until atleast 10p.m.    My child loves the game and is ranked 44 in 100.   He has a lot of practice to put in but he loves it.  The kids love the friendships that they build.  My child Jay  Jewels is 13 years old.  So it is important to him to feel like one of the crowd.  The tennis kids are very nice indeed.   Basketball kids are even more nice. 

My son Jay Jewels answered my question of what is different in the thoughts  of basketball player he stated,  ” In basketball you have to think with the team.  You have to keep the ball moving and look for openings to throw it to your team members so you can score or dunk it.Here is an small interview with Jay Jewels my in-house “tennis pro in training.”

Q:    When did you start playing tennis?

Jay Jewels:       I dunno,  5 years ago.

Q:   Did you like tennis when you first started?

Jay Jewels:       No.   I thought it was not cool to play tennis.

Q: When did you begin to like playing Tennis?

Jay Jewels:        I started to like tennis when I began to beat people at the game.

Q:  Did you have any good experiences that stick out in your mind?

Jay Jewels:         When I beat one of the coaches  at tennis and he paid me $5.00. 

Q:   Did you ever play baskeball?

Jay Jewels:          Yes. 

Q:     How do you feel about basketball?

Jay Jewels:          What I think about basketball is that it is really fun to play.  I like  blocking people from making their shots.  I like crossin’  em’ up!  Its really awesome My  Dude!!!

Q:     Do you like tennis more than basketball?

Jay Jewels:       I have been with basketball for nine years.  The beginning with my love of sports came from basketball. 

Q:      So what has made the change in your attitude?

Jay Jewels:     Tennis tests your ability to focus your mind on the most important goal of getting the ball past you oponent.   There is more of  a chance of getting a point  in tennis than in basketball.  It you make the person miss the ball that you volley back to them then you gain points.  But in basketball,  you have to  shoot the ball in the hoop.

Q:      Does height matter, or weight matter in both tennis or basketball.

Jay Jewels:       The weight of a player in tennis does matter, because, you know….if you can’t get to the ball in time you will miss the volley.   You oponent will get the  point.   When you are serving in tennis and you are short–you have to aim higher to get the ball over the net. 

Q:     How is it for people who are tall?

Jay Jewels:     Easy!

Q:      Are people you have seen playing tennis either tall or medium in height?  Are they allowed to play no matter how tall or short they are?

Jay Jewels:      Well,  just a minute.  Getting back to basketball, for a second, on the team called Atlanta Hawks, there was  a basketball player who was five nine who dunked. (the basketball)  I can’t remember his name ….but he played very well.   Well, in basketball if you small and have no game, or handle or something like that,  there is no point of you being on the team.  But in tennis  you can basically be any height you want to be.  It just depends on how you serve that ball,  how far, and how fast!  It is more one on one competition!  And there is doubles too.

Q:      What you do plan to do with you skills in tennis Jay Jewels?

Jay Jewels:       I want a private teacher,  including  the Youth and Tennis Academy with Bill Briggs.  I also want to get sponsored to play.  I want to use my tennis playing to get scholarships for college.

Q:       How long can you last in the game if you became pro?

Jay Jewels:      Around to your thirties, and then you retire.  Afterward I would coach. 

Q:       How much do coaches make?

Jay Jewels:    Some coaches make $95.00 per hour.

Q:       How could you stand to toss the ball and no longer be able to play the game like you did when you were younger….have you thought about it like that?

Jay Jewels:     You can play still.   You can still play even if you are old.  There are people that look like they are in their seventies on the courts.

Q:      Would you feel good helping and coaching someone else?

Jay Jewels:    Well, if they became someone known and famous because of  my coaching then that would be good.  And people would know that I had helped them. 


Q:   Thanks Jay Jewels for your insight.  Is there anything else you would like to say regarding Tennis vs  Basketball?

Jay  Jewels:      No.


Well,  parents you have it from my  son Jay Jewels.

Try to test out different sports.  You never know  how it will shape your child’s interests,  goals and future. 

Reply  or comment.

Till next sports talk……


   Website:  www.youthandtennis.org