Ever since I injured my shoulder due to tennis, there were times when I’d randomly raise my arm, and press that certain point in my shoulder in a futile attempt to get rid of the pain.
That random occurrence of course is not lost to my officemates, who think that action to be comical.
“Naunsa na pud ka, sir?,” Janine asked after another episode of me randomly massaging a sore shoulder.
That was when I just learned I had a tear in the shoulder, thanks to a diagnosis at the rehab center at Perpetual Succour arranged by another tennis playing buddy, Dr. Rhoel Dejano.
“Tennis,” I said, “You should try it.”
Try it they did, a few months later, at the Moalboal covered court in one of the interior barangays.
Janine Abenido was joined by Marivel Legaspi and Ann Diane Domugho during the first training session and by Ma’am Lenny Redoble, our municipal treasurer, during the second training session, which also had local civil registrar Jake Gador serving as the instructor. You see, there are a lot of players among the employees of the Moalboal LGU, led by of course, our tennis-playing mayor Inocentes Cabaron.
Jake showed them the correct stroke and form, so they won’t end up like me randomly stroking a sore shoulder.
After a few co-workers learned of our training sessions, a few more signified their intention to join and Mayor Cabaron has also encouraged them to take up the sport.
Tennis is a good way for anyone to stay fit, especially those who spend most of their working hours in front of a computer.
It’s also a good avenue to meet new friends, as a day after our second training session, the Moalboal Tennis Club Nigh Shift hosted some 50 players from Cecille Tennis Club. The visitors had a lot of female players, while we only had a few, but that’s something we hope our regular training sessions would address.
These “tennis friendlies” happen all over Cebu and for a town known for its tourist spots like diving, snorkeling and the sardine run, the visits also boost the local economy as the players bring along their families and friends who stay in local resorts.
I think tennis is also an under-served community in Cebu City. There are a lot of players and not enough courts; Citi-green, one of the known facilities, is almost always fully-booked during the weekends.
There are a lot of people in their mid-40s who are picking up the sport too, and one of the most famous ones is none other than Cebu’s own hotshot Dondon Hontiveros, who picked up the sport during the pandemic.
Who knows, maybe in one of the friendly visits, the girls from the LGU will find themselves on the other side of the court with Dondon?