Jay Clayton Wilson
The SaddleBrooke Tennis Club is the community’s go-to venue for healthy social and physical activity. STC welcomes new members regardless of their previous tennis experience or the lack thereof. Free lessons are offered to new members by professional instructors; and parties are the social cement that bring us together as a family.
On April 1 our Welcome Committee members, Mary Hlushko, Carol and John Sochacki, put together the latest New Member Happy Hour on the STC patio where beer, wine and scrumptious snacks were served to almost 100 members and more than a dozen new members. Nametags made introductions easy as we met and greeted each other. In a club with 400 members or so it was easy to meet people from the same pre-retirement cities. That, taken with the vigorous interest in maintaining our health, made the party feel like a meeting of old friends.
A few of the new members had no previous tennis experience. Take Lyn Moreno and Brian Stocks for example. They were newcomers to the game. They were challenged by the SaddleBrooke emphasis on a healthy lifestyle in retirement. Many of the new members expressed the fact that their positive first impression of our community reflected the abundance of lighted tennis courts, the lovely patio and the extensive programs as well as the idea of becoming physically active in an informal, social, fun way.
New players as well as seasoned veterans know that lessons are an important part of every member’s desire to get into the game or to improve their level of play. Tennis is not learned by osmosis and improvement does not descend on us like monsoon storms. We work at our game and we enjoy the process.
For this reason STC provides numerous programs under which everyone, regardless of past experience, can become immediately involved. Professionally trained instructors offer a variety of functions intelligently designed to teach the game and to improve its every aspect. Those functions include free lessons to all new members as well as private and group gatherings that are well organized to meet the needs of those who seek higher levels of skill.
Those programs fit perfectly with the STC model of dedication to the health and enjoyment of every SaddleBrooke resident.
Remember to check out the STC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saddlebrooketennisclub.