As one of the wettest springs in recent memory lumbers on, sometimes progress on the FCC courts goes well, and sometimes, well, it doesn't. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much your members want the courts open for play, there is one undeniable fact that cannot be denied.
Mother Nature will always, yes ALWAYS, have the final say on your progress.
She was gracious enough to give me four dry, cold and windy hours this evening. I bundled up in my layers of clothing, stocking cap and gloves and went to work on my courts. Your courts. While the all-too-famous busted water line on court three is still not completed, it will get fixed. I assure you that. I was able to get all the courts rolled twice tonight, and I will roll them more tomorrow, over and over. I will also install your windscreens tomorrow, which, in this wind, is not unlike trying to corral a mainsail that has broken loose from it's boom. If you don't believe me, just come watch.
At least Wednesday will be a dry day. Hi temps in the 50's with winds out of the NE 10-15 mph.
I'll take it!!
Before you get too optimistic, I will tell you that rain is a certainty on Thursday, Friday and probably the weekend as well. I will also tell you it's not going to warm up in the next 10 days either, so if your USTA team has a match scheduled next week, you might want to reserve indoor courts unless you enjoy playing tennis with winter clothes on. So for those that want our clay courts open, I ask this........"Even if the courts were open, how in the world are you going to play tennis in this weather?"
If I could ask Mother Nature to provide me with just two ingredients, it would be warm, dry air. You see, prepariing a clay tennis court in a cold weather climate like Ohio is a lot like baking a cake. You need consistently warm, dry air. Both of which I have not had much of lately. Someone asked me today, "Why are there clay courts in Toledo that are open?" That's easy. Toledo has not had nearly as much rain as we have experienced in the last two weeks, and without sun and warm air, our ground just doesn't evaporate all this moisture.
With all this bad news, I'm still a couple days ahead of last year, when the courts opened on Monday, May 9th. On that day the high temp was 57 degrees and no one showed up all day. Yes, I keep records of all this crazy stuff !
Be patient, you can't fight Mother Nature, but I'm keeping my boxing gloves on just in case I get in the mood !!
