Dear Dr. Laura,
I had to dash out of my car, leaving the groceries to be unloaded, and straight to my computer at home to comment on the "Tennis Mom" call I just heard! My husband and I are long time listeners and you accompany us on our long California road trips to visit family and friends - and you provide much interesting conversation material so we are never bored with one another - 30 years later!
Our son graduated from a great college last year where he played 4 years of collegiate tennis and he was captain of his Division 1 team 2 of those years. We spent uncountable hours court side since he was 10 and have seen it all. I advise no parents should get involved - particularly that overbearing mom so upset about her "cheated" kid. The kids are fine; they work it out. They all inadvertently or subconsciously cheat/make bad calls and, it's been my experience, that it all seems to "come out in the wash" eventually! The joy of USTA junior tennis is that young people learn to self-advocate, persevere, dig deep, play smarter and harder, forgive and forget and move on - aren't those all essential life skills? Yes, we agonized over line calls and railed against situations in the privacy of our Suburban but not in front of our son. He's an incredible, fair-minded, compassionate, gorgeous 6 ' 4" 22-year-old man now - thanks in great part to the lessons learned on court!
Rally on, Dr. Laura!
Kim
