WELCOME TO TFIM 2013!

Another year of tennis is upon us and everyone is excited!

We have a new player, welcome Diane

We have a new uniform..holy hotness!

And we have a new year to celebrate the ups (with alcohol)

and commiserate the downs (with alcohol) 

But we also have another year to spend together with a group of amazing ladies who support each other and have each others backs.

We are a 

                                 Talented, trustworthy 

                                  Energetic, enthusiastic

                               Admirable, amazing

                                         Memorable and motivated!

And we all have our own energy that we give off on a daily basis.  

Let's make sure that the energy we give off to each other is always positive!

On and off the court!

Teammates and Opponents!

We can all find a way to make a positive impact on those around us, in our emotional atmosphere.

I read this message today and I thought it was the perfect thing for the beginning of a new year with old friends.  

There is an energy balance that is constantly shifting in your life.

Positive energy causes the people around you to experience positive emotions such as fulfillment, joy and excitement. 

These emotions affect your behavior and health, in a positive way.

Negative energy causes people around you to experience negative emotions such as anger, frustration and sadness.
These emotions then affect your behavior and health… especially the health of your stomach lining.

When you add negative energy in the form of angry or sarcastic words, frustrated sighs or dirty looks, that energy has to go somewhere. 

Those around you will absorb and harbor the negative energy, escalate it, throw it right back at you or pass it on to others.

When you add positive energy to your life in the form of kind words, smiles and enthusiasm, that energy has to go somewhere too. 

People will absorb the positive energy, escalate it, throw it right back at you or pass it on to others.

You have the choice of adding positive or negative energy to your life. 

"There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it; 

and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself."        

Henry David Thoreau

Good luck this week and let's cheers to a happy and successful year!

Let's go Team ????

Sportsmanship

Hey Ladies,

I went on the TFIM website this morning and I found this article.  Ann Sophie and I were talking about a positive attitude on and off the court and I thought that this article summed it up pretty well.  I thought it was very relevant, seeing as we are heading into the playoffs.  

Let's remember why we play this game, why we love this game and why we love playing with each other.  We have the best team, with the best group of ladies and we are playing the best tennis we've played, since we became a team in 2011.  Let's also have the best attitude on and off the court too!

Let the games begin!!

BAILEYS, PLAY, PINK SHIMMER, WIN, WINE, LUNCH, WINE, WINE, WINE!! (in that order!)  

It's the playoffs!!!! WOO HOO!!!

Sportsmanship

What Is Sportsmanship?

Sportsmanship is defined as:

• playing fair
• following the rules of the game
• preserving one's dignity
• treating opponents with respect

 Some people define good sportsmanship as the "golden rule" of sports; in other words, treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself. You demonstrate good sportsmanship when you show respect for yourself, your teammates, and your opponents, for the coaches on both sides. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude, and it can have a positive influence on everyone around you. 

Win or Lose, Sportsmanship Helps You Get Through:

Everyone feels great when they win, but it can be just as hard to be a good sport when you've won a game as when you've lost one. Good sportsmanship takes maturity and courage; when you work really hard at a sport, it's not easy to admit you made a bad play or that someone has more skills than you. In competition, as in life, you may not always win but you can learn something from losing, too.

When you lose, lose with class. When it comes to losing, good sportsmanship means congratulating the winners promptly and willingly. Also, it means accepting the game's outcome without complaint and without excuses, even if you sometimes might suspect the opponents made some questionable calls.

When you win, the trick is to be a gracious and generous winner. Good sportsmanship means acknowledging victories without humiliating opponents, being quietly proud of success, and letting victories speak for themselves. Even if you win by a landslide, good sportsmanship means still finding ways to compliment your opponents.

Practicing Good Sportsmanship:

So what does it take to demonstrate good sportsmanship in real-life situations? Here are some examples of things you can do:

• Learn as much as you can about your sport. Play by its rules. Show up for practice, work hard, and realize that on a team, everyone deserves a chance to play. 
• Talk politely and act courteously toward everyone before, during, and after games and events. That includes your teammates, your opponents, your coaches and their coaches and even spectators (who can sometimes be loud about their opinions). 
• Stay cool. Even if others are losing their tempers, it doesn't mean you have to. Remind yourself that no matter how hard you've practiced and played, it is, after all, just a game. 
• Cheer your teammates on with positive statements and avoid trash-talking the other team. 
• Acknowledge and applaud good plays, even when someone on the other team makes them. 
• When officials make a call, accept it gracefully even if it goes against you. Remember that referees may not be right every time but they're people who are doing their best, just as you are. 
• Whether you win or lose, congratulate your opponents on a game well played.  

Fair and Fun:

Good sportsmanship means not having a "win at any cost" attitude. Most athletes who don't have a "win at any cost" attitude are more likely to talk about how much they love their sport and how much personal satisfaction and enjoyment they get from participation.

Many forget to have a good time during play because they're so focused on winning. And, unfortunately, coaches sometimes put too much pressure on athletes, emphasizing winning at all costs. So although it's great to be a champion, it's even better to have enjoyed the process of trying to reach the top. It's best to play fair while having fun.

Sportsmanship off the Court:

Learning good sportsmanship means finding that the positive attitude learned on the court carries over into other areas of life. You may enjoy more success at work, because a big part of learning good sportsmanship is learning to be respectful of others, including customers and coworkers.

Sore loser?...I think not!!

Do you believe that "nice" can be used as a weapon?  To lull you into a supposed kinship, or to pour salt on a wound, for example.

I think that there are some women, who consciously use "nice" to piss you off.  Let's take a tennis match.  You arrive at your opponents club, ready to take on the enemy.  Only, the "enemy" comes over to welcome you, which is nice (no quotation marks) and then proceeds to point out what court you'll be warming up on, where you can fill your water bottles, where to find the bathroom and her availability if we should have any more questions.  All with a huge megawatt smile on her face.

Then the match starts.  This same "nice" person turns into a killer on the court.  All business!  No more Mrs. nice guy.  But that's ok because we came for a competition and it's easier to take down the enemy rather than a "friend".  So, in one way,  women use "nice" to lull you into a kind of friendship before and even during a match.  All chit chatty and giggly....until they turn on you and decide that a ball in the face would be more fun than a tete a tete.  No matter!  This is the competition that keeps us coming back for more, right?!

Unfortunately, you can only react to so many balls being shot at your head, and you lose the match.  Damn.  We hate losing!  Everyone hates losing!  Especially a tight match.  You just want to shake hands and get the hell out of dodge, so you can drown your sorrows over a great bottle of wine with your teammates.  But wait, here she comes with the megawatt smile again.  "What a great match!  You played so well.  That was a lot of fun.  Do you want to continue and hit some balls?" WHAT!!!  Doesn't it piss you off when you lose a match and the opponent comes over to say all this crap that you really don't want to hear right now?  It wouldn't be so bad if all the calls were good, there were no arguments during the match and you weren't her favorite smash target.  But when it doesn't go as well as it should (it never does in the S.H.I.T league) the last thing you want to do is have to exchange pleasantries with the winners.  THIS ISN'T SUMMER TENNIS PEOPLE!!!

Oh no, here she comes again, as we are leaving the club "Thanks again for coming to our club (as if we had a choice) we wish you all a great weekend!" Easy for you to say....you're the winner.

Just wait until you get to our home turf.  We'll be so sweet you'll be begging for milk!

Nice, indeed!!!




(FYI you can purchase this print at collectorsprints.com.  It's called the losers revenge.)