Baby Food?!

Yes, Baby food. No, not the mushy, ground-carrots, brown gruel kind. It's more of a statement about a weak second serve, a decision to push- rather than compete, a focus on being careful when staying with the game that got you there would probably serve you better.

At HP, we refer our training site as a "No Baby Food " zone. Have the courage to win. Keep the racquet head speed up on your second serve. Hit out when you are closing out sets and matches. Play the winning game you are working on.

So where does the term come from? Originally, I have to credit it to Scott Libbey, a mentor of mine and the Director of Tennis and my boss at Sombrero Country Club in Marathon, FL - in the Florida Keys. I worked for Scott from 1988-1991, and learned a TON - mostly about the Country Club side of the tennis industry. He used the term "baby food" a lot. It could describe something that was weak, lacked courage, or even something that he thought was easy. "Can we build this deck ourselves?" "Baby food!"

I'm not sure how many of you have ever lived on a tropical island, but outside of work, there's not a lot to do that doesn't include enjoying the water. To that end, I had a sailboat when I worked for Scott. I had grown up sailing, and through his friends got the opportunity to take ownership of a 22' sloop that we spent a good deal of social time on. When Scott helped me move the boat to a mooring near the club, I told him I needed to register the boat, and needed to name it. You guessed it. "Baby Food" was the perfect name for my little day sailor in the land of multi- million dollar, ocean- going yachts..

I left the Keys in '91, and took the term with me (but sadly, not the boat !) As I continued my work in the North and abroad, "baby food" became a frequent term used for still the same purpose. It's either weak, not enough effort, or too easy.

Which is how it came to HP. In the early days of our academy training program, i tossed it around

( along with the myriad other phrases, critiques, and pleas I am shouting across the courts on a typical afternoon). One day I admonished a weak second serve effort as a " floating piece of baby food", and all the kids roared with laughter. And it stuck. When we as a group sat down to discuss the Core Values and Key Concepts of our new program, some of the more forward thinking young players suggested we adopt " a baby food free zone" as part of who we are.

I am proud that we as a program have adopted that phrase, and I am thrilled that something that is both humorous and meaningful has lasted so long. Scott would be very proud to know he had such an effect on a Junior Tennis Academy in Austin, TX in 2016, and if he walked between the courts and saw something he didn't like, would absolutely admonish any young player for bringing out any "baby food".