USTA Tennis

Millie was very excited to play in her first USTA tournament at Floyd Central the past weekend. The youngest category they offer is 10 and under (she is 6) so that is what she had to play in. Her first opponent was a 9 year old from Jasper. She has been taking daily private lessons for over a year and she was darn good. Millie played very hard though and although each game was close, her opponent won every game for an 8-0 victory in the end. That put Millie in the consolation bracket. The problem was I didn't think we would ever get to play it. We have not had significant rain in our area for about 8 weeks and this will go on record as the driest summer in over 50 years. I'm so glad this outdoor tournament could end that drought and finally bring the much needed rain to our area. Millie finally got to play the next day after about 8 trips back and forth to FC thinking each time we would get to play. This opponent was also from Jasper and was 9 years old. Millie and E. were very evenly matched and it was a great set to watch. Millie finally won 8-6 for the victory in the finals. I was so proud of her and she had the biggest grin on her face I had ever seen. It was much better than the tears she had the day before when she was not winning. I'm so glad she won that second game just for her confidence. I was worried that if she got shut out twice, she would not want to play any more. She was so happy with her win and she talked non-stop about how good she was at 6 years old and if she can beat a 9 year old and she was only 6 that in 3 more years she would dominate these tournaments. That's my girl!

Coach Miller, the FC Tennis, coach was very impressed. I think he's ready to draft her already for the team. He said they have never had a 6 year old even compete in this tournament before and so she now holds the record for the youngest player to compete and win. He said that deserves a trophy and he would get her one and give it to her the next time he sees her.

She was invited to play in their junior league on Sundays at FC so I'm looking forward to seeing how much she improves. I just hope she continues to have fun and not take it too seriously. Me too for that matter...