Tennis Mom

I am slowly adjusting to my new role as "Tennis Mom", owing to the fact that Eric seems to have joined the Junior Varsity Tennis Team at his small Catholic high school. I say "seems" because I'm not definitely positive that he's actually on the team. Our school is small enough that most of the sports have a "no cut" policy, affording inexperienced players the chance to try out several sports in their early years in school. I was discussing this with a friend whose child is due to be a freshman next year at our local Mega State Championship Winning Public High School. As I was telling her about Eric's foray into Tennis, she was lamenting the fact that at her son's new school, you won't make a team unless you were identified by the "feeder system" around second grade. At that school, sports teams practice year round, making playing more than one sport next to impossible.

I think it's great that Eric, who has never played much tennis in his life, will have this opportunity to learn the sport. I'm just having a bit of an acclimation period with transitioning from Football Mom to Tennis Mom.

* Tennis Mom gets to pick her son and his tennis friends up after school every day and shuttle them to the private tennis club where they have practice (since our school courts are crumbling). Son and friends make polite conversation on the way to practice, updating Mom about their day and thanking her for the ride as they exit the car.

Football Mom never saw son as practice began immediately after school and study hall. Periodic cell phone conversations after school were mostly monosyllabic grunts and inquiries about what was planned for dinner.

* Tennis Mom needs to be sure to read the weekly notes home from coach, including schedule information and details on how to personally contact coach.

Football Mom was warned by son repeatedly that she was to have no personal interaction with coach, never to make direct eye contact with the coach, and it was better if she didn't even come in his vicinity.

* Tennis Mom needs to pay attention to the weather around 2:00 pm, because if it is raining, looks like rain, or is cold enough that puddles haven't dried, practice will be canceled and the schedule reverts to Plan B.

Football Mom knew that the only difference in the schedule on rainy days would be that son's uniform would be extra dirty and would require super-soaking abilities to remove mud stains.

* Tennis Mom needs to be at the practice facility for pick up promptly at 5:30, because that's when practice ends, on time.

Football Mom is used to waiting in the car in a cold, dark parking lot for long periods of time. She has pre-cooked dinner, which will be eaten by son as he works on late night homework. She knows that practice ends when the coach feels like having it end, and that coach doesn't really think family dinner is a priority.

I have to say that I'm sort of getting used to the cushy life lived by Tennis Mom. She probably does need some sort of cute outfit to wear as she watches son's JV matches, since she probably can't sport the same Notre Dame football sweatshirt Football Mom wore to all the football games. She'd also better get used to whispering, instead of loudly yelling "Block Him!!!" or "Great Hit!!!".

Tennis Mom would probably be better friends with Fencing Mom than Football Mom. But there's one thing she needs to remember:

Football Mom knows that practice goes year round, and that this reprieve from driving to 6:30 am weightlifting and conditioning is only temporary. Being a Football Mom is a year round job.