Tennis with Dad

I played tennis with my dad earlier this week. He’s 78 years old, and we’ve been playing tennis for more than 40 years (my whole life basically) He taught me the sport ever since i began when I was 4 years old.

It had been over a year since we played, and I was eager to see how he would hit, move and hang in there for an hour. We started out hitting from half court, and then moved to the baseline. Our first few rallies were long. He was hitting well topspin forehands, deep slice backhands. He came to net a few times and took some volleys.

We even played a few games. He served great, though his kick serve had less bite than I remember as a kid. To everyone’s satisfaction, this father-son stand off ended on serve. Even more impressively though, at the end of the hour, my dad was asking to squeeze in a couple more points. I thought he’d be tired, but he wasn’t. He was hustling to get a few more rallies before out hour ended. Same as always.

Lexington Tennis Club is full of folks who are playing great tennis at 70 years old and up. I am always impressed and inspired with how they hit, move, and hang in there for a full hour or more. I was curious how my dad would look in comparison to them. He did great! I would put him up against most of the 70+ contingent at LTC.

Playing with so many impressive older folks, including my dad, reminds me of a Danish report published by the Mayo Clinic about how tennis makes you live longer.

Tennis makes you move quickly, react quickly, and execute a physically challenging move over and over again. Your mind and body have to be on full alert all the time when you play tennis. That has to be good for you. If what is on display at LTC is any indication, this report is on to something.

I sure hope it is anyway. Playing tennis with my dad is one of the greatest blessings of my life, and I hope we can keep it up for many years to come.