Fiend at Court Unplugged
Andy Roddick loved to hit tennis balls from a very young age. The Umpire Who Gave Birth to me experienced that firsthand when Andy was 8 or 9 years old. She was officiating the Hamilton Park Tennis Center site for the Texas Junior Grand Slam tournament. While John Roddick was making a name for himself with the officials for… uhm… spirited behavior during the tournament, young Andy somewhat salvaged the family reputation by being generally adorable. Too young to play in the tournament, Andy was desperate to hit tennis balls with anyone who would tap them back and forth with him. The tournament desk kept him plied with used tennis balls to use at the backboard just to keep him out from underfoot.
Last weekend when I was searching for a tennis facility where I could hit serves and get in some backboard work, there was one public option that I did not utilize. Hamilton Park generally has courts available as well as a backboard tucked into the far corner of the facility. When I started my quest for a place to hit serves last weekend, Hamilton Park was not yet open. I swung by to take a photo after I had completed my practice on the slab court at Belair Park. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, not a single court at Hamilton was occupied with tennis players. It is profoundly sad.
I seriously doubt that the Hamilton backboard sees much use at all. It is essentially out of sight at the facility and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that a lot of people aren’t even aware that it is there. I have chalked up that backboard as yet another tennis resource in Wichita Falls that is under-appreciated and underutilized.
The only people using the tennis center that day were on a tennis court that has been repurposed.
Someday the Devil’s Short Court will be the only racquet sport remaining.
Andy Roddick hit against the backboard at Hamilton and went on to achieve greatness in tennis. Perhaps we should hang a historical plaque.
