When watching the recent Mariemont High School Tennis team compete last week, it became obvious that they have a home advantage because of their tennis court. The parts of the court that were far superior other courts were the tennis netting, the tennis court wind screen, and the overall tennis court maintenance. It is not uncommon to visit a court with a tidy appearance and has undergone thorough tennis court maintenance. It is less likely to see a functional tennis court wind screen that actually keeps the wind at bay. Even less common and more unusual is to see a tennis court with strong tennis netting.
The degree of maintenance to a court can make or break a match. Those courts that have superior maintenance utilize a staff that is highly trained, and motivated. The maintenance of a court can mean different things to different people. Some people think that a swept off court is all that is necessary. Actually, the best courts in the area are those that follow a 12 step approach in the care of the court. This approach follows a list of 12 check points that must be addressed daily, in order to ensure proper maintenance of not only the courts but the entire facility. Some of those check points include: water washing the court, picking up loose balls, checking the nets for wear and tear etc. When all of these areas are addressed on a daily basis, the court will exemplify superior facility maintenance.
In the Mariemont match, the court had a new and highly effective wind screen that was being used. A strong wind was blowing throughout the entire match, and yet the court was calm and still due to the work of the wind screen. Upon inspection it was obvious that the screen was new, and of a high quality. This particular wind screen had been purchased from a high end supplier that markets aggressively to high schools. It was later learned that this screen had been donated to the school, by a tennis alumnus. This particular donor had remarked that his tennis record would have been better if the school had purchased a wind screen like this. His game had been constantly affected by high winds, and both the parents and coaches had tried to secure money for a new wind screen for the tennis courts used by the school, without success.
High quality netting for the courts was another feature of the Mariemont court that helped the team win. Recently, Tennis Magazine reported that netting that was in disrepair could significantly affect whether or not a tennis player could concentrate. It reported several instances where points in matches had to be repeated because tennis balls were stuck in old tennis netting, or where the netting would disintegrate during play, and no replacement net was available. It also affected the players' confidence when playing on a court with a net that looked old and beat up. The nets on the Mariemont court were new and well maintained. This particular type of tennis court net would certainly meet the high standards of Tennis Magazine.
Chuck R Stewart recently purchased tennis netting as well as a tennis court windscreen for his son's high school tennis team.
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