Games players play!

When I joined the Hacienda club in mid-2004, there were around 10 players, among whom, on a given day, around 6 - 8 were regulars on the courts. On the weekdays, most of them play for one to one-and-half hours at the maximum before they leave for the day. Prominent among them were Pradeep Nair, Sarang, Thomas, Prem, Satish and myself. On the weekends, these players would extend the times of their plays and stick to the courts until 10 AM, after which the red courts would bear a deserted look!

Technically, Thomas, Prem and Pradeep were good players and still are :-) Satish and I are still learning of course :-) Sarang had lost his game to considerable extent and joins the B-group with us! :-)

Then, one fine day, a tempest had happened in the form of Gopal! First time, when I saw him in his complete tennis gear of tennis kit, sweat bands, sneakers, a tennis cap and other paraphernalia that includes his usual pack of cigarettes, I thought that probably one more new member had come to join us! Once he played with Murugan, I realized how potent his tennis was! Gopal's entry into the tennis club was a defining milestone! It not only shook the people out of the inertia that had been built up over the years, but also brought in new perspectives for every one; for, every one had a new target now for raising their level of playing! He came, He played, He vanquished! :-)

There were some aged players - probably aged more than 55 years - who might prefer playing doubles partnering with the same species! Some of them were biased to play against the different species, though! Fortunately, I have never been 'unnice' to any one on or off the court! :-)

But, over a period, many players hopped in and out of the True Bounce academy, in the sense, some come regularly, but daily; some regularly, but only weekends; some regularly irregular; some irregularly irregular! :-) Sandeep, Praveen, Jeffrey, Shivyog and some more fall into this category!

Later, it has been increasingly difficult for Murugan to manage the players time on the courts! One reason for this is that most of the players prefer to play in the prime time (7 AM to 8:30 AM). Keeping in mind that there are only two courts, eight players can play two doubles matches back-to-back on these two courts. But there are around 15 players who deliver their regular presence on the courts now! Add to this the C-group members, who need to be coached on one court completely! So, this restricts to allow the players to use only one court! Add to this the interesting political maneuvers players get involved into! (More on this later!) Phewww...... Of course, Murugan has been more or less managing to manage the players! :-) In this process, sometimes, some get unhappy, but not permanently, though. Lots of dynamics on and off the courts, and hats off to Murugan and the entire community of the players who keep the momentum and action alive!