One of the things we love most in Casa de Campo Living is getting out there and discovering everything Casa has to offer. Given that this summer seems to be all about “The Sporting Life”, you can read back to Rebecca’s experience at the Shooting Center and the Driving Range and Philip’s recent article about taking a sailing course to get some inspiration about what sports to enjoy in Casa. While those two love birds are off on their honeymoon, I decided to give tennis a shot and can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Now, remember that I am CCL’s “sports guy”, and while baseball is my thing, I will give any sport a shot any day of the week. This past weekend I decided to head over to la Terraza Tennis Center with my friends and collegues Felix Guerrero (fellow journalist at CCL) and Laura Perdomo (our art director and the girl who makes sure everything at CCL looks pretty!) for a group tennis clinic. Having them join me made the experience so much fun!
We were very excited when we got to the Terraza Tennis Center at 10am and were greeted by Pablo Green, who kindly welcomed us, gave us our racquets and told us that we should be on the court # 1 where we would meet with Santos, who would be in charge of teaching us, three people who had never had a racquet in their hands, to play tennis for the first time.
Santos, our patient and encouraging trainer
Do you want to know how the first tennis clinic for these 3 rookies with very different personalities turned out? Here we share our experience with you:
Laura Perdomo – “The Artsy One”
Sports have never been my strong point, I leave that to my fiancé who loves tennis! I don’t like to be in the sun for more than half an hour and am not very “talented” in sports. But I can tell you that the tennis clinic with my colleagues was a great experience and I would love to be part of the next class.
Santos, our instructor, did his best to show us the basics of tennis. With his calm demeanour and patience, he taught the basics of the sport to three people who had never stepped foot on a tennis court. We didn’t do so bad! I also loved the quiet and pleasant atmosphere of La Terraza. I think if I keep taking lessons, very soon I will be able to beat my fiancé on the court!
Felix Guerrero – “The Music Guy”
When I was invited to play tennis this past weekend I was very excited because I had never practiced this sport before, although it always interested me. I was even more excited since I would be learning at La Terraza Tennis Center at Casa de Campo, where great tennis players like John McEnroe and Jim Courier have played. Besides, who better to share the experience with than my SILGON/CCL friends?
I didn’t really know what to expect since I had never played before, but getting there and interacting with the kind people at La Terraza made it awesome. I was surprised (though I suspected a little) that tennis is more difficult than what superstars like Federer or Nadal make it look on tv!
Perkin Agramonte – “The Sports Jock”
From a very early age I’ve been interested in sports, all sports in fact! You name it, and I’m there! Although my favorite is baseball, I can’t deny I was very excited for our tennis clinics since that would mean I get to add a new sport to my repertoire.
They say all beginnings are difficult, but I can say that my beginning in tennis was fun and a little funny as well. For my first racquet “swing” I sent the ball to the street (for a moment I thought to have a baseball bat in my hands) and Santos just told me “HEY BOY NOT TOO HARD, RELAX!” Undoubtedly this clinic at La Terraza sparked my interest in playing the sport and I’m sure I will return to learn a little more. I want to THANK our trainer Santos for the patience since I seemed to have gotten excited and hit the ball too hard one too many times. Definitely you need someone with patience and experience to teach the basics of tennis to three beginners.
So there you have it friends! As the “The Sporting Life” keeps getting awesome in Casa de Campo, don’t forget to try out a new sport or one you have not practiced in a long time. As you were able to tell from our anecdotes, tennis is a great sport for anyone to try. You don’t have to have much experience to get out there and have some fun. The people at La Terraza Tennis Center are super helpful and available to help you improve or learn skills no matter your level of experience. Tennis is absolutely fun and a great alternative to staying active and in shape in Casa.
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