Saturday, March 31, 2018

Welcome Back! Get your tennis shoes on! Here we go!


Greetings Parents and Players!

I hope you’ve all enjoyed your spring break. I’m sure some of the parents had to work, but for students and teachers it was a welcome break. At least for me. I feel refreshed now and am ready for the next six weeks of tennis!

  1. Practice on Monday!!! Originally, I used the old school district calendar when I made the schedule and I thought kids were off April 2, this coming Monday, but I forgot about Hurricane Irma and that the school district is using April 2 as a “make-up day” for students, so yes, there is school on Monday. We will be having practice that day for those who practice on Monday and Wednesday!
  2. Please note that next Monday, April 9, there will be no practice. I have to take my mother to an important doctor visit that day.
  3. Please remind your children that it is OK to drop off their rackets in my room beginning of day, before bell, if they like. And to come to my classroom as quickly as possible at the end of the day! And, when they take a drink break, that it is not a 10 minute break! Some of the girls did that the first week of practice.
  4. If your child needs a racquet and you are on a budget, I have a limited amount of racquets that I can give to those in need.  They will be given to those most needy. I have some racquet money in my tennis budget (thank you Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation) so I do have some to give away. When selecting the proper racquet there are some important considerations to keep in mind. Should you select an adult size (27 inch) or child size (24 – 26 inch)? How big is the child’s grip (hand size)? It is Important to have the correct grip size. Many adult rackets (27 inch) have grips that are too big. Please send me a separate email if you need a racquet and I will see if I can help you out.
  5. The team Shirts have been ordered. We should have them by Thursday afternoon at the latest. Can someone pick them up for us, if I can't? A company called Morningstar is doing the order and they are located on Old Dixie Rd in South Vero.
  6. Our Team photo and first match will be this Friday, April 6th,, between 3:45 and 5:45 at Hidden Palms Tennis Club. The address is 4291 5th Pl SW Vero Beach, FL 32968. To get there, head south on 43rd Ave, past US1, all the way to 5th St. SW. There is a traffic light at that intersection. Make a left. Take your first right and then a quick right. Follow that road all the way to the end. It will curve to the left and you're there!. Everybody (both teams) will be playing. Please be sure your child wears his/her shirt! It will be a friendly match between both of our teams,  Manta Rays vs Electric Rays. I will mix and match between teams. We will start with Doubles so kids don’t have to sit so long before playing. Some kids will be done playing by 5.
  7. If rain procedures... to be announced at school if practice/match is cancelled and kids should then go home their usual way.


Enjoy what’s left of your weekend and I will do the same. See you soon!

Coach Mike

Saturday, March 17, 2018

SGMS Tentative Tennis Schedule for 2018

Greetings Parents and Players!

The schedule is shaping up. We still have matches to schedule with Sebastian River Middle School. Most of the matches will be played on Friday, but not all matches. Two Fridays and two Saturdays in May have been left open for now. They will be filled once the schedule is complete. Please plan on doing something those days.

As you know, I have split our 34 players into two different teams, both representing Storm Grove Middle School. For now, the kids who practice on Monday and Wednesday are the Manta Rays team. The kids who practice on Tuesday and Thursday are the Electric Rays team. Our first match will be SGMS vs SGMS, Manta Rays vs Electric Rays, on Friday April 6.

I've color-coded Manta yellow and Electric blue. Hopefully, that helps when checking the schedule and doesn't make it more confusing.

I will be sending out an email this weekend letting kids and parents know what team they are on, what days they practice, and what days they compete against other teams.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Coach Mike Daugherty

SGMS Tentative Tennis Schedule for 2018
Event
Location
Date
Day
Time
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
March 20
Tues
2:45 – 5:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
March 21
Wed
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 3
Tues
2:45 – 5:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
April 4
Wed
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 5
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Manta vs Electric
Hidden Palms
April 6
Fri
3:45 – 6:00
No Practice Today

April 9
Mon
No Practice Today
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 10
Tues
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
April 11
Wed
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 12
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Manta/Electric vs Oslo/St. Helen’s
Vero Beach Tennis Club (Timber Ridge)
April 13
Fri
3:45 – 6:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
April 16
Mon
2:45 - 5:00
Manta Match vs MA/HS
Grand Harbor
April 17
Tues
3:45 – 6:00
Electric Match vs GMS
Grand Harbor
April 18
Wed
3:45 – 6:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 19
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Manta/Electric vs Oslo/St. Helen’s
Vero Beach Tennis Club (Timber Ridge)
April 20
Fri
3:45 – 6:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
April 23
Mon
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 24
Tues
2:45 - 5:00
No Practice Today
(Early Release Day)
April 25
Wed
No Practice Today
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
April 26
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Manta/Electric  vs St. Ed’s
Riverside Park
April 27
Fri
3:45 - 6:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
April 30
Mon
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
May 1
Tues
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
May 2
Wed
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
May 3
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Open

May 4
Fri

Open

May 5
Sat

Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
May 7
Mon
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
May 8
Tues
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Electric
Storm Grove MS
May 9
Wed
2:45 - 5:00
Practice - Manta
Storm Grove MS
May 10
Thurs
2:45 - 5:00
Open

May 11
Fri

Open

May 12
Sat

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Update from Coach Daugherty March 11, 2018


Greetings Parents!

I am excited about the huge number of kids who have registered for tennis this year. We have 33 kids signed up to participate! Due to the extremely large size of the team, I am going to have to split the team into two teams. Each team will be evenly divided, so it won’t be a “Varsity” team with the better players and a “Junior Varsity” team with the players who are less experienced. The two teams will play each other and will also play against other schools.

I am also going to have to change the practice days. One team will practice after school on Monday and Wednesday and the other team will practice after school on Tuesday and Thursday. We will have our matches on Friday afternoons. If your child has a conflict on one of the practice days, I will work with you so that it isn’t a problem. We will also be playing on a couple Saturdays. The match schedule is not ready yet. I’m still waiting to hear back from the other schools’ coaches.

I will have an assistant tennis coach and have already spoken to the person I have in mind, but this has not been confirmed yet, so I’ll keep you posted.

In closing, I hope you understand the reasons why I’m changing the practice schedule. By dividing them into two teams, the kids will get more attention and be able to improve their tennis skills much more easily than if there were 33 kids out there on the tennis courts at the same time.

I look forward to a great tennis season!

Coach Daugherty

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Mike Daugherty
Tennis Coach, SGMS
Mobile: 772.240.6436
Email: coachdaugherty@att.net
Web: stingraytennis.blogspot.com
FB: facebook.com/CoachMikeDaugherty/
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