Gotta Get In Shape...!

Tonight I ate my last bit of fast food for the summer. I absolutely have got to eat right this summer and shed my extra weight. I'm weighing in tomorrow morning and waging war on unhealthy habits. I'm going to be really disciplined about working out. My new nickname will be Captain Crunch. Not for the cereal, but for the amount of time I spend working my abs...!

I've got to get plenty of rest, too. so I'll close here... It's late for me and I want to get up early and start my day off in prayer and study... Bye for now....

Coach Sam

Four Days to Vacation...!

Here's a photo from this past weekend's Tennis Block Party held at Houston's Memorial Park. For more photos from this fun event click BLOCK PARTY.

I only have a few days until vacation time. You know I have rarely taken a true vacation in my entire life. Growing up, my family really could never afford a vacation. (We did take occasional day trips, though...).

I've been to the US Open numerous times and I suppose that should count as a vacation. I've been to Australia... That was definitely a vacation. And I went to Paris and the French Open in 2000. I'd consider that a vacation for sure...!

But, I haven't really done any thing non-tennis related since my honeymoon three years ago. Do honeymoons count as vacations...?

So, we fly out Friday evening. We are heading to California to visit Monica's parents. I've never spent extended time in California before. This will be a real treat for me. But I'll only be gone 5 days, then I have to get home to start my summer camps. Monica, Connor, and Elijah will stay up there an additional week....

It's going to be a little difficult to be away from the family for seven days... I'm sure I'll be on the phone a lot...!

Now, in the mean time between right this second and when we depart I have a bunch of loose ends to tie up so I'd better get busy. Bye for now....

Coach Sam

Heading Home...

Elijah and I enjoy the view from the back seat as we stopped for a break on our way home from the Corpus trip a few weeks ago...

Last night I had dinner with my good friend Eddie Clayworth. It was nice catching up on things. We reminisced about our trip to the 2000 French Open. -I can't believe that it's been 6 years since I've been to Paris....!

Today... It's my first non stressful day in a long time. I'm going to blog this morning, make some phone calls, work in the tennis shop, and just generally chill out. Monica and I are going to an awards ceremony at Connor's school this afternoon. Then I have a couple of private lessons and my Tennis Across America social tonight...

Tomorrow will be a fun day at Houston's Memorial Park Tennis Block Party. And Sunday will be a day of rest. Ahh... I'm really liking my life right now.

More later... SC

My Serve: A Critical Look...!

When I saw this photo Monica took of me at the Corpus tournament I just cringed. My first thought was I can't believe how big and heavy I look. It was my goal to get down below 200 pounds for that tournament and I fell short by about 20 pounds. So now my goal is to get down below 200 by the July tournament in San Antonio.

Next I noticed how my tossing arm has dropped down way too early in the stroke. This causes net mistakes and / or shallow serves. I've got to keep that arm up longer.

But there are some good things I'm doing... I've got good extension with my legs. Notice the heels off the ground as I'm stretching up to extend into the serve...? And, I'm noticeably leaning out into the serve. Actually I served very well over all for the tournament. I only failed to hold serve a few times in four matches, and I served very well in crucial third set tie-breakers...!

Yes, I'm really in to playing tournaments again. I'm pumped, excited, and ready to compete. I think I'm playing the best tennis of my life right now. I'm definitely at my toughest mentally, and I can hit any shot from any where in the court. The only limitation I have is my conditioning....!

My biggest enemy right now is my appetite...! But I'm going to overcome the knife and fork...! Monica and I have seven weeks until our next tournament. You're going to see big changes in my physique between now and then...!

Stay tuned for more tomorrow. Today is a pretty busy day for me. I have lessons in League City this afternoon and evening and quite a bit to do in the mean time before then so I need to close here. But tomorrow is the first Friday that I won't be teaching late in Clear Lake...! No traveling tomorrow... YEA...! And I'll have time to post more then... Bye for now. SC

The Lexington

This is the USS Lexington, a retired US Navy Aircraft Carrier. It is one of Corpus Christi's biggest tourist attractions. Ireally want to check it out next time we visit Corpus.

Speaking of Corpus, I still have a bunch of Photos to post from that trip so stay tuned the next few days....

By the way, that tournament really wore me out. I'm still a little sore from all my tennis matches and it's over a week past now... Man, I really need to get in better condition....

Today I absolutely must get a lot of marketing done... After I blog this morning it's all business after that. I'm on the court all afternoon. This is my last late day to teach on Wednesday. After today I'm making a commitment to become more active at my church on Wednesday evenings.

This month is winding down... We leave for California on May 26... That's less than 10 days away, now...! Woohoo...!

Well, I need to post in Connor's and Elijah's blogs too so I'll close here... More Later!

Coach Sam

Seeking God

Today's thought is taken from a Dr Charles Stanley Commentary that I found particularly meaningful. The topic is seeking God.

The rewards of pursuing God are great... Scripture tells us that '...They who seek the Lord shall not want of any good thing...' (Psalm 34:10) But we will not accidentally drift into a meaningful relationship with HIM. The key to that end is to act purposefully with that end in mind.

1 Chronicles 22:19 says 'Now set your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God.'

How then can we diligently pursue knowing Him better...?

Dr Stanley lists five ways to seek God. The first two are through scripture and prayer. Do you precede your scripture study with a prayer...? If not, you should get in the habit of asking God to help you know Him bettter. Ask Him to show You the Truth about Him that is contained in scripture. This is one prayer that God will always answer.

The other three ways that Dr Stanley lists regarding seeking God include Worship, books from great christian authors, and conversation with others.

These will all be discussed in tomorrow's commentary.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, I do want to know You more. I seek You Lord. And I ask You to show me Your Truth. My life is in Your hands, Father. I give this day to You my King. With You by my side I have the confidence to face the world today, my Lord and Savior.

Father God, I do love You. And I pray this simple prayer to know You more in Jesus' name,

Amen.

Dear Readers Please Note: This commentary was accidentally posted to the wrong blog. To read part two of this series go to my prayer journal by clicking here. Thanks, Coach Sam

This Past Weekend...

It was a fabulous weekend. My tournament on Saturday went well. Mother's day was simply spectacular... And I'm looking forward to a great week and rest of the month. I have many, many great photos to publish and add to my web sites so I'll be busy pretty much the rest of the day working on those projects.

But what I need to do right now is check my email... I haven't checked it in 48 hours and I'm sure I'll have over 350 messages to attend to... So, I gotta go.

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Corpus Trip

I took the family to Corpus Christi this past weekend. We played in a tennis tournament and did a little sight seeing. Here's a photo of the family at the Texas State Aquarium. There were lots of great exhibits. We especially enjoyed the dolfin pool.

More about the trip in the next few days... I've got a very tight schedule this morning trying to complete several projects. You can see more dolfin pics on http://connorcopeland.blogspot.com and http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

Wednesday: Big Office Day...

I have lots of stuff to do in the office today...! I'm at home for the next hour or so but then I'll be in the tennis shop stringing racquets, sending email correspondence, straightening up, and doing a little remodeling... By the way, the tennis shop is really starting to shape up... I need to post some photos of the progress soon....

I have lessons this afternoon from 4 to 8:30 PM. Monica is going in to Houston this morning to visit a friend and she's taking Elijah with her so I'll have an afternoon of clear focus on my tasks at hand. Today and Thursday will be busy, but Friday I can start to kick back for the weekend. I'm already looking forward to it...!

I'm really starting to have a life...! Yea...!

Cranking it out this week...!

This will be a short week for me... I'm playing in a tournament in Corpus Christi this weekend. We'll leave Friday morning for our trip so I'll only work Monday thru Thursday this week...

Every day up to Friday should be pretty full. But I am very much looking forward to relaxing at the end of the week. Today I have lessons from 8:30 to 10 AM... Then I'll be doing office work the rest of the day until I go back on th court at 5:30 PM... Then I'm on the court this evening until 8:30 PM....

My day is going full steam already... I awakened at 5:30 AM and blogged a little, then got Connor up and out the door for school... I cleaned out my car a little, took the trash out, blogged a little more, and through it all I've been doing laundry to help Monica get caught up on her stuff... I'm about to empty the dish washer before I head out the door for my morning tennis lessons....

Well... That's it for now... I'm going to post an Elijah picture for the day and then get to the courts...

More tomorrow... Coach Sam

Keys to Success

One key to my success is having good staff assisting me. Josh Sebesta has helped me tremendously with running the tennis shop while I'm traveling or on court with a lesson. He's helped me with data entry for the Gran Prix Circuit and he's trust worthy and reliable..! I am very blessed to have Josh and others like Vanessa Akins, Brittany Dahl, Jake and Justin Phipps, and my stepson Connor. And of course, we mustn't forget my assistant manager, Peepers .(she's sitting on ice chest to Josh's left)

I've been cooking a briskett all night. I put it on at 11 PM and it should be ready around 11 AM...! I worked on my website alot, too. I still have lots more changes to make but it's coming along nicely.

This morning Monica and I are meeting with Pastor Barclay to discuss officially joining First Baptist Church of West Columbia. I'm looking forward to that.

I teach in League City this afternoon and won't be home until between 9 and 10 PM... I keep that Thursday schedule for a few more weeks then I go into a summer schedule mode that is a little more forgiving...! Yea...!

Well it's about time to take Connor to School... I'd better close here... Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Hobbes and Dennis

Hobbes is one of our cats. Dennis is Connor's pet lizard. Hobbes occasionally likes to sleep on top of Dennis' cage which I'm sure is not to Dennis' liking. You can see Dennis hiding behind his log directly under the sun lamp, peering up at Hobbes. Oh well, that's the life of Dennis and Hobbes...!

Today I'm working in the office for a little while, then Monica and I are going to go hit some tennis balls. I will be at the tennis shop most of the day today making calls and sending email out for upcoming programs. I have lessons this afternoon from 3 to 8:30 PM...

That's about it... I'm looking forward to this weekend, just teaching a little on Saturday and Sunday and generally taking it easy! Oh yeah... I may smoke a briskett on the back yard smoker tonight... That reminds me, I need to brine it right now....

If I Bar B Que all night then I'll probably spend a lot of time updating my web pages...

That's about it for now... See you next time. -Coach Sam

Easter Dinner

Since I worked the Coke Open Easter weekend we ate out at Pappasitos in Sugarland Sunday afternoon. Here's a nice photo of Elijah and I at the restaurant. For more Easter photos check out Elijah's and Connor's blogs...

Some Things I Know to be True....

10:30 PM is not my normal blog time... I'm off of my normal routine. I'm feeling a little philosophical tonight... Here are some of Coach Sam's random thoughts.... Things that I know without a shadow of a doubt are true...

• I'm working too much... -This I know to be true. I've actually worked nearly 30 days in a row without a complete day off... Even my Sundays have been fairly full and busy the past 4 weeks....

• The new 'fusion' soft drink Coke Blak is bad... Really bad... -This I know to be true. It's so bad I don't want to pour it down the pipes of my sink. I think I'm going to pour it out on the ground, mix it with some gasoline and set it on fire.... That's how much I don't like it. And let me tell you, I rarely want to see something consumed in flames but I'll make an exception for Coke Blak.
  

• Speaking of Gasoline.... The gas prices are getting way out of hand... This I know to be true... We've decided to just become a one car family for awhile. And we're really cutting back on unnecessary driving...

• I'm too nice a guy to get results from High Performance Tennis Players. All the really good coaches I've evr known have been tyrants... This I know to be true... Well, I'm going to shock some of my students in the next few weeks. I'm going to get really angry in a lesson the next time a ball collection is taking too long or no one is giving a good effort in a drill. I'm going to throw a tantrum. I'm going to abandon my positive coaching style and I may even kick everyone out of practice and tell them not to come back unless they are ready to work....! Yeah, that will be fun. I think I'll video that, too....

• I'm really tired right now and shouldn't be blogging so late... This I know to be true... I'd better close here... See you tomorrow morning....

Coach Sam Signing off.... 10:40 PM....

Wishing for....

Oh how I wish for a quieter, simpler time. I remember back 20 years ago when I was an assistant pro how I struggled to have enough to fill my day. Now my day never ends...! I long for those times when I had extra time to blog. I could blog stories, funny things that happened, commentary on current events...

Right at this moment I barely have time to report what projects are on my plate for the day that I probably won't be able to complete any way...

Sigh... But I am making a little bit of headway... I have two good part time high school students getting me caught up on data entry a couple times a week. And my Head Tennis Pro starts work this weekend teaching my Saturday weekend class while I'm attending a tournament in Pearland with my junior students...! Yes, little by little I'm getting there...

Today I have office work right up until I have to go to League City for my Thursday afternoon classes. I'm also going to work in the yard for about an hour or so after Monica and the baby wake up...!

I've got lessons until 8 PM tonight... And I finish my Thursday program on May 11... Then I won't be teaching late in League City again until after the summer. That suits me just fine and dandy!

Well... That's about it for now... I gotta get to work here.... Bye for now.

Coach Sam

Wednesday, April 19

Remember this photo...? Well, those Christmas lights are still up in the tree! But I plan to take them down this Sunday no matter what. And next year I plan to have them down even sooner... ( At least by February or March!)

We're just about halfway through April... That's crazy! The summer is almost upon us... It's getting hot out there... The mosquitoes are starting to bite... Yep, summer's around the corner!

Early this morning I'm driving to Pearland to meet with David Gloger, the tennis pro who's running the Gran Prix this weekend. Then I've got one other quick stop to make before I head back to Columbia Lakes.

My afternoon is pretty full with lessons from 4 to 8:30 PM. I need to string at least one racquet today before my lessons, too.

That's about it... Today is just a work day. More tomorrow...

Coach Sam

Getting More Sleep...!

I am going to make it a priority to spend more time at home and rest more starting today...! Last night I was up until nearly midnight working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix tournament schedule. No matter what happens I've got to start getting to bed by 10 PM...!

Lack of sleep is definitely wearing me down...! Looking at my schedule from here on out it looks feasible that I should have more down time. Let's see if I can hold myself to that..!

After running a big tournament like the Houston Coca Cola Open this past weekend it takes a few days to get back to a normal routine...! Today I should be getting caught up on a lot of things. The next few weeks my main priority will be to market my summer programs...!

My weekends are booked until the end of May... This weekend I'm traveling with students to the Golfcrest tournament in Pearland. Next weekend I have some kind of conference with the USTA. The following weekend is a tournament in Corpus Christi that Monica and I are playing in... and the weekend after that I'm hosting a junior tournament at my club. My first free weekend is May 20...! And I'll need to teach that morning at the club....! After that there's only one more weekend before the summer is here....

Wow...! Time is marching on! I wonder what it would be like to have a Monday thru Friday 9-5 PM job...?

Starting the New Week...!

Well, The Houston Coca Cola Open pretty much consumed me the entire weekend. I worked tournament desks for 12-13 hours every day AND commuted back and forth between West Columbia and Houston every day for three days. There were a few 'issues' that came up Friday and Saturday which really tried my patience, but yesterday went very well.

Monica and Connor came to pick me up from the tournament yesterday evening and we enjoyed a nice dinner before driving home. When I got home I was in bed before 9:30 PM and slept pretty much through the night until 6:30 this morning.

I feel pretty good now with all that sleep under my belt. And I'm ready for a productive day. First off, I need to get the club and string some racquets right away. Then I have a camp from 10 to 2 PM. Then I'll need to work on the Golfcrest tournament this afternoon, and then I have lessons this evening from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM... Actually, because of the camp, today will be pretty jam packed and busy. But the rest of the week won't be so difficult.

The next few days I'll be marketing my summer programs very heavily.

Well, there's much I could write about but I'll save it for later. I want to update some other blogs and my websites before I head out this morning. So, until next time... Bye for now.

Coach Sam

No blog for the next few days...

This morning I'm heading out to start the Houston Coca Cola Open. I'm helping direct the Adult portion of the largest amateur tournament in the country. There are over 1000 entries playing at 15 different sites around town...!

The tournament runs for 3 full days starting today! I won't have time to get back online again until Monday... If I do have some spare time, I won't be blogging... I'm sleeping!

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Coach Sam's Day... An Update...

5:10 AM... I was moving right along doing just fine working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix but now I have to wait for the USTA Tournament Data Website to come back online... They are doing maintenance on it right now... I can't research my seeding until it comes back online... And who knows when that will be...!

Sigh....

You Don't Want Any Part of My Day...!

Here's my schedule today and the next few days... The next 96 hours are devoted to tennis....!

I'm working on the Golfcrest Gran Prix right now and need to get finished by 6 AM. That's probably not going to happen, which will put a little stress on my schedule the rest of the day... But we'll see. It will all work out some how...

I take the boys to school at 7 AM and then need to head to Katy to meet Harriet Hulbert to go over the Houston Coke Open details. Then I head to Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland to go over the Golfcrest tournament with David Gloger. Then I get to teach lessons from 2 to 8 PM in League City. After that I get to drive home and collapse before I start Friday's Houston Coca Cola Open. Then I'm running the tournament in Houston all day and night for the next 3 days. I won't even get to come home Friday night...!

Monday I have a camp scheduled at Columbia Lakes but I'll probably take the morning off...! We'll see how I feel... Perhaps I'll have my new Head Pro teach it...!

Any way, I'm going to have to close here and dive back into working on the Golfcrest tournament! That's it. Bye for now... Coach Sam.

Me and the Boy...!

This photo was taken last month when the family traveled to Corpus to attend a college tennis tournament. Elijah was trying on one of my hats...!

Today... I've been up since 3:30 AM blogging and updating my webpages.I am traveling to brazosport high school at 8 AM this morning to do some marketing for my upcoming summer programs and to watch many of my students compete in their school's district tennis tournament.

I have a light day for lessons and am not on the court until 5 PM this afternoon. This evening I'll be working on the Golfcrest Country Club Junior Gran Prix tournament draws.

That's it for today. My day is pretty much all work...!

Today...!

I'm just trying to get caught up...! I have reports to write, data to enter for my tournaments, and marketing to do... And help with the Baby so Monica can get some work done too.... Other than that, there's not much else to do...!

Coach Sam

Tournament Today...

Today my club is hosting a tournament for Columbia Christian School. I'll have a busy day today.

Yesterday was not as restful as I would have liked for my Sunday. But I can take it easy in another 14 days so at least I can look forward to that...!

I have to run... Hopefully I'll have time to post more this evening...! I've got to post some photos in Elijah's and Connor's Blogs before I get to work on other things...

Coach Sam

Sunday...!

I haven't posted in a few days... It's been incredibly busy. But today I'm going to kick back and make it a family day as best I can before I dive into the week tomorrow... Here's a quick recap of the past few days.

• The past two days I've been busy with high school tournaments that were hosted at my club. Monday there is one more.... My tennis shop sales have been great... I definitely need to have more tournaments and large events if I'm going to have a retail store....
• Yesterday after my morning lessons I spent the afternoon working in the tennis shop with Connor. It's really starting to look good...
• Monica and I had dinner at Baytown Seafood. It was awesome. Then we did a little 9:30 PM shopping spree at the local Walmart... (Woohoo....!)
• Elijah had an awesome week... He's pulling himself up a lot now and extremely mobile. He's not walking yet, but will very soon. He's starting to look more and more like a toddler than a little baby...!
• My summer program flyers are done and I've been marketing like crazy. The registration deadline is May 15. I'm hoping to have the biggest and best summer of my career...!

Later today I have a family drill at 2 PM... I've invited many people to the drill. I'm hoping for a big turnout...! I plan to grill burgers afterwards and kick back at home on the back patio with the Davidsons...

That's my report... Now I've got to run to the grocery store to pick up stuff for lunch and dinner... Bye for now... Thanks for reading my journal...!

Coach Sam

Sleeping Kitties

Hobbes and Gabriel are snoozing after a night of carousing... Hobbes has especially been bad about getting the entire house up in the middle of the night wanting to be let out... That's getting a little annoying, but other than that they are great cats and we love them...!

Today I have lots of office work to do.... I have data entry for tournaments, and website updating to do and email correspondence to send...

And Monica is real sick this morning. I may have to take her to the doctor today. I was going to look after Elijah a lot today anyway, so Monica could catch up on her office work. Her being sick is going to set her back even further but that can't be helped. I just hope she feels better soon.

I've got lessons all afternoon and then tomorrow and Friday my club is hosting a tournament so I'll be busy the rest of the week.

That's about it... I'm going to try to update all my blogs this morning before Elijah gets up and that could be any second...

Bye for now... Coach Sam

River Oaks Group Trip...!

Last night I organized a group from my club to attend the River Oaks International Clay Court Professional Tennis Tournament's opening night. Local area juniors and club members were treated to some awesome tennis. We didn't get back home until very late though so I'm dragging a bit this morning. Look for more photos and commentary later...

Momma's Shoulders: The Best Seat in the House...!

You may have seen this photo on my website: http://chadwelltennis.com
It's one of my favorite photos of my sweet wife Monica and my baby boy, Elijah. Elijah is about eight months old in that photo. Monica's age is not to be published in this public forum in order to protect the innocent.... (me)

Today I have lessons until about 1 PM then Monica and I are headed to Houston to work on our Arncliffe property. We're still trying to sell the house in Houston...

Tomorrow I just have one lesson in the afternoon so hopefully it will be a relaxing day...

That's it, I should have lots of time to blog over the weekend... By for now.... Coach Sam

Monica snapped this photo during our recent trip to Corpus Christi. She and Elijah were watching themselves in the side mirror... Elijah is fascinated by mirrors...!

Today I have lessons in Nassau Bay and Seabrook... This morning I have lots of blogging to do, websites to update and emails to send and receive... Tomorrow I have lessons until 2 PM then I'll be taking the afternoon off...! Yea..!

Up Early, Cranking it out...

Today I'm trying to get caught uo on data entry for my tournaments. One day I'll have a good part time helper for this but that day is not today...!

Until then, I have precious little time to blog here. I did blog extensively about my time management issues in my prayer blog this morning if you care to take a read go to http://coachsamsprayerjournal.blogspot.com

I'm going to post some connor and Elijah photos this morning to... Their blogs are:

http://Elijahchadwell.blogspot.com and http://connorcopeland.blogspot.com

Sorry that's it for now... No time for chit chat today...! SC

Another Busy Day Shaping Up

I'm making a run into Houston first thing this morning to pick up some supplies for my tennis shop... Then I've got to string some racquets, and spend a good portion of my afternoon online answering email messages and returning phone calls.

I have lessons today from 3 to 8:30 PM, then I can allow myself an hour and a half to relax with the family before bed...!

That's it. This is one of those days where I just have to get stuff done. I'm going to have Elijah with me today for my road trip. Hopefully that will free up Monica to get some work done in the office.

Well, I gotta run... As I said it's a very tight schedule today.

Coach Sam

It's a Rainout...!

The weather is not good today...! And we've discovered that when we get a ton of rain in 15-20 minutes that our cul de sac floods really bad. Of course water wasn't even close to coming in our house, but our street was impassable for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Monica came to rescue Elijah and I from the tennis shop because we had walked up there earlier this morning. We had to leave her car parked at the mail center and walk across the street because of the high water on the Inverness Lane cul de sac...

But we're home now, safe and sound and dry! I'm going to hang here at the house the rest of the day and work on my websites. This is a great day for that kind of work...!

I may post some more photos later today...

Bye for now... SC

A Promise To Monica...

I haven't published a kitty photo in a while... In case anyone was wondering, Hobbes and Gabriel are doing fine... They are big snake hunters now....! Here's a photo of them resting on Connor's bed...

I promised Monica that tonight was the last night I'd work on tennis stuff after I got home in the evening. (It's so easy to just get caught up in an endless cycle of work...) From now on when I get home in the evening, that time is strictly family time. I mean after all, I'm working hard to provide a certain quality of life for my family, right...? And if I spend all my time working or thinking about work I'm sort of defeating that purpose, aren't I...? I want a quality of life for myself, too...!

It's already way past midnight so it's officially Tuesday. I'm going to blog for about another 30 minutes or so... Then get some sleep so I can get right back in to work about 5 AM... I want to get all my work done early so I can help Monica out by watching Elijah most of the day... That's going to be our pattern for awhile until Elijah gets older and can play by himself for longer periods of time.

Monica is probably more behind on office stuff than I am. My plan is to really start doing a better job of preparing work for my part time help to assist me with. That will free me up to watch Elijah more and allow Monica to get caught up on her stuff. And it all starts with me cranking up my productivity tonight.

Coke Zero's have got me caffeinated awake right now, but I shouldn't have any trouble dropping off to sleep after my head hits the pillow a few minutes from now... My eyes are burning so I need to go to bed soon...

I've spent the past two hours working on my summer tennis program brochure. It's looking very good. It will be ready for the printer tomorrow morning...!

I'm trying to get my blogging out of the way now so I can just do my devotional when I awaken and then dive right back in to work....

There are a couple of important items to note regarding today:

• Today is my Father in Law's Birthday. Happy B'Day Arno...! We love you and hope you have an awesome day today...!
• Today is also Elijah's eight month Birthday as well...! Wow, I've got an eight month old baby...!

That's about it for now... Thanks for reading my journal...

Until next time, Bye for now.

Coach Sam

New Week...!

Here's a photo of a recent road trip to Corpus Christi. This photo was taken in the parking lot of the HEB Tennis Center in Corpus during a college tournament. Elijah is a big Texas Tech fan...!

This photo documents Elijah's first experience with the wind in Corpus Christi...!

Today... I'm working out of my house today. I'm going to blog alot, work on my websites, and complete some flyers for summer programs... I'm only on the court this afternoon and evening from 5:30 to 8:30 PM and that suits me fine because I've been nursing a sore throat for days now...

This past Weekend... The Raveneaux Junior Gran Prix Toiurnament went well. The weather was spectacular... I had an event at the Columbia Lakes Country Club Sunday afternoon that was well attended and very successful....

Tomorrow... I really can't think that far ahead yet....!

Late Nite Blog...

This post comes to you late in the evening, almost early in the morning... I'm waiting for Monica and Elijah to get home from their trip to Tennessee... Monica's flight was delayed on departure but I just spoke to her on the phone and she's enroute home now and should be here in about 20-30 minutes... Her trip was successful...! That is a blessing. And all I need now to make the day complete is their safe arrival home!

I was uncomfortable letting them travel without me. I do not intend to let this family be split up like that again...!

The day here pretty much flew by very quickly... This morning Connor and I cleaned up the house for Monica and Elijah's return and then we went to Clear Lake for lessons this afternoon... We didn't get home ourselves tonight until about 9:30 PM...

Right now I'm pretty wiped out physically and am ready for bed. That's about it.... I'll post more tomorrow!

Coach Sam

Prayer for Monica

Dear Heavenly Father,

I just lift up my sweet wife today as she goes before a judge in Tennessee to deal with some legal matters regarding Connor's estate. Season her words, dear Lord I pray.

I pray Your Will be done in this situation, Father. And bless her trip home with Elijah this afternoon. I pray that she is able to take an early flight home and that she and Elijah make it home safely and quickly.

Oh Lord, this is utmost on my prayer list today. I Thank You for being the Great Big God You are. I love You and Praise You my King. I give this day to You, Jesus. And in Your sweet, holy name I pray,

Amen.

Strange Ending Or Beginning To My Day....!?!

I was awakened at 12:01 AM by a phone call to my cell phone. It rang only one time and there was no voicemail. The caller ID said it was the security person for the tennis club I work for... I tried to call the security person back and got voicemail so I put my clothes on and drove over to the tennis shop fearing the worst...

But everything was fine at the tennis shop, so I went to the front desk and they hadn't heard anything from security. I left another voice mail and then came home... It's 1:24 AM and I'm fully awake pondering the mystery call... Oh well, I guess I'll find out sooner or later...

Probably later....

So, this evening I had to stop lessons an hour early. It was so cold with the wind chill that I couldn't feel my toes or fingers... That was not good...

I came home and took Connor to dinner and then went to bed before 10 PM, looking forward to catching up on some much needed sleep... Anyway, that didn't work out due to the mystery phone call. But I'm about to call it a night/morning and try to go to sleep again.

More later....

Coach Sam

Crazy Jam Packed day...

I've been up since 3:30 AM.... Monica and Elijah just left for the airport for their trip to Tennessee... Monica has to deal with some legal matters regarding Connor's Father's estate. She and Elijah won't be back until tomorrow evening very late....

They've been gone only 5 minutes and I already miss them terribly. This is the first time we haven't been together since Elijah was born.... Monica promised to call me alot... That's good. I'll need that!

But I've got a very full day today and tomorrow, myself.

I'm really out of control with all my work... I've got to get an assistant pro fast...! My life is just work, work work... And that's got to change.

Sigh...

Well, I have to work on the Gran Prix tournament this morning, and then I have to send a bunch of emails out for lessons and program correspondence. Then I have to string a few racquets. Then I travel to League City this afternoon for lessons from 2 to 8 PM... Then I have an hour's drive home. How's that for a day...?

Tomorrow might be even more busy and crazy.... We'll see... Sadly, I don't have time to compose any more this morning... I want to make a quick post on Elijah's Blog and the HPTA Blog before I head up to the club...

More tonight or first thing in the morning...!

Coach Sam

No Time Today....!

I've got no time today for writing blogs... Sorry... I'm doing double duty with work and watching Elijah. I can't compose at this keyboard very quickly with only one hand. (The other hand is holding the baby...)

This morning I'm working on the Raveneaux tournament, trying to get it completed by 8 PM so Monica can take it with her to deliver it after a meeing she has later this morning...

Perhaps I'll have some time this afternoon to post if the baby takes a nap... Otherwise I'll try it again tomorrow....

Bye for now.... Coach Sam

Taking Monday Morning Off...!

I gave myself the morning off from lessons this morning to rest up a bit from last week's spring break festivities. All in all the camps went well and the spring open tournament was successful, too.

There's not much else to report. I've been completey consumed with the tournament the past 72 hours. Today I've got stuff to do but over all I'm taking it easy today. As I type this, Elijah and I are watching Sesame Street...

Oh, the kitties killed a little grass snake in the house this morning... That was some excitement... Elijah is crawling very well now and is starting to get strong enough to pull himself up. We think he'll be walking before long...

I'm probably going to post a bunch of photos from the tournament very soon... Stay tuned...

More later... Bye for now.... Coach Sam

Weekend Review

Here's a nice photo of daddy and son... Although he's seated here, Elijah is now in full crawl mode. He's very wiggly and mobile. If you want to more photos of Elijah, he's got his own photo blog...

Check out: http://elijahchadwell.blogspot.com

Yesterday was a blur... Today will be busy... And the forecast for tomorrow...?

More Busy....!

Barely Holding it together...

Yesterday, March 15... Was busier than I thought it would be... One of my Camp counsler's couldn't make it to help me with Spring Break Camp and I had to improvise... It went well, but was just a little stressful for me... I spent the afternoon working on my tournament this weekend and the Raveneaux tournament next weekend. I took Monica and Connor and Elijah to dinner and we got some components for my camcorder so I can video the tennis camp today.

Today, March 16... I'm up early as usual. After blogging I'll spend the rest of the morning working on the tournaments right up until the camp starts. I also need to string two racquets before camp starts. There is a chance of rain today. Normally I don't hope for rain on camp days but I could make up the camp tomorrow so I'm cool if it rains this morning.

Tomorrow March 17... I'm sleeping in.... No matter what happens, I'm sleeping in... No alarm clock, no nothing... Expect a later post than usual tomorrow.

That's the report.... Bye for now... Coach Sam

Hanging in There...

Remember how I said this was going to be a tough, busy week...?

Remember how I said that sometimes my journal would only be a sentence or two due to time restraints...?

Well, this is definitely one of those days...

Take care... See you tomorrow...!

Coach Sam

Hanging in There...

Remember how I said this was going to be a tough, busy week...?

Remember how I said that sometimes my journal would only be a sentence or two due to time restraints...?

Well, this is definitely one of those days...

Take care... See you tomorrow...!

Coach Sam

Deadline Day...

Yep, today is the day... It's the deadline for two tournaments I have coming up this weekend and next weekend. Hopefully I'll have many entries in the mail and online today because early registration has not been as big as I had hoped for...

Still, it will all go well... All I can do is do the best that I can... Give it my best effort... And I can honestly say that I have done that...! Six PM is the deadline... I'll bet I have a ton of calls emails and phone calls today pleading for grace and mercy...!

I'm starting my day on court at 10 AM with my Spring Break Camp... That runs until 2 PM then I'll spend the rest of the day working on tournaments and the club singles league I've started.

Yesterday was strange... We had the most bizarre weather pattern I've ever seen. The morning started off warm and muggy, and a little foggy at 8 AM... By 9:30 it was drizzling rain and we had to stop the ladies drill a few minutes early because the courts were too slick.

I had to go in the tennis shop to get some flyers for camp registration and when I went inside I noticed that the shop was a little warm and stuffy so I turned on the air conditioning. When I stepped back outside, (and this entire effort took less than 60 seconds...) A cold north wind was whipping through the tennis center and everyone was shivering at the gazebo... The temperature had dropped about 20-25 degrees...! Then it tried to rain some more... Then by Noon the sun came out and it was calm again and beautiful the rest of the afternoon...

All I can say it was AMAZING....

Tomorrow it will all start getting a bit easier for me... I'll have to get the bulk of my work done today... Tomorrow will be finishing up the draws and following up with people...

That's about it. Thursday and Friday should be the calm before the STORM...!

More later... Coach Sam

No Time Today...!

This is one of those days where I won't have a spare moment... I'm on the court straight through today with lessons from 8:15 AM until 2 PM... Then I'll have a few hours of office time, and then Monica and I are heading to Houston to pick up some supplies and go to a tennis meeting...

I have lots to work on regarding my upcoming tournaments. Lots of phone calls to make, lots of email messages to compose and return... It will be a mad dash to the finish line...

Yesterday was a very nice day for the Chadwell Family... Praise the Lord...! We sure needed one of those...!

Tomorrow will really be a key day as I pull two tournaments together. I have my own Spring Open March 18-19 and then I have an HPTA Junior Gran Prix at Raveneaux Country Club the following weekend, March 25-26. Both deadlines are Tuesday afternoon at 6 PM....!

More tomorrow morning.... Bye for now....! Coach Sam

Getting Set for a Big Week...

I've been up awhile writing in my prayer journal. I just want to make a quick post here this morning. I'm looking forward to an awesome day today.

Yesterday, Saturday March 11... I had a full day of lessons, stringing racquets, and working on making calls and sending email messages for my upcoming events. It was a busy, full day...!

Today, Sunday March 12...I'm up early and am going to get caught up on data entry for some upcoming tournaments. I'm very much looking forward to listening to Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday morning sermon broadcast at 8 AM. We're attending church this morning at 10:45 AM and have invited our good friends the Davidson's to join us. Afterwards I have a tennis social for juniors this afternoon, then we're taking the Davidson's out to dinner tonight. It should be a good and fun, relaxing family day... This is what I live for...!

Tomorrow, Monday March 13... I have a big day of lessons and a camp. There's a pretty good sign up so far and my assistant from last year, Vanessa is on spring Break and she's going to help me. Afterwards Monica and I are going to Houston in the evening for a meeting.

That's the update... Bye for now...! -Coach Sam

Quick Saturday Entry

Early Morning for Coach Sam:
OK... Wow... I did it... I'm finally up early and will spend the next 4 hours marketing for my upcoming tennis events. I've been meaning to do this for the past week but I've had such a difficult schedule and been so tired I simply haven't been able to get up early and crank it out.

I love the early morning hours. I used to always get up at 4 AM and do my bible study and devotional, but this past year has been such a blur I've been getting to bed later and later and just haven't been able to keep up physically with the demands of my schedule. But today I'm in 'the Zone'. Today I'll get an amazing amount of correnspondence sent off.

Later Today:
I have lessons this morning from 9 AM to Noon, then 1 to 2 PM. After that I may hit a little bit with some members and try to work on my own tennis game. (boy do I need it...) Then the rest of the afternoon I'll be making follow up phone calls for my camp and tournaments next week.

Well, it's almost 4 AM and I need to get on with my prayer journal so I'd better close here...

If you have a chance, check out my new website: http://chadwelltennis.com

I've recently added some new content....

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Friday: My Day to Catch UP

I can't remember when I took this photo I think it was during spring break one year ago. But I've always liked this photo. And it signifies how I feel about today. Today I'm taking off from lessons to get caught up, to rest, and reorganize. A rainbow often forms after a bad storm. I feel like my life has been a thuderstorm much the past two weeks. I'm looking forward to a good productive day here at home.

Today: Friday, March 10:
I'm staying home today and will get caught up on marketing, returning phone calls and answering email correspondence. Believe me, it will take all day to wade through the pile up...!

Yesterday: Tournament Day:
I spent the entire day at the tennis shop with a high school tournament. I strung seven racquets and visited with a lot of people about spring break activities. I practiced tennis with my wife late last night around 8:30 PM. I went to bed not feeling very well. I've been fighting a stiff neck and flu-like symtoms for over a week now. It was a long day. I was at the tennis shop for about 12 hours.

This weekend:
I've got lessons Saturday morning and early afternoon and a junior tennis social Sunday aftermoon. We're going to try to go to church at FBC West Columbia this Sunday.


That's about it for now... I need to update a Elijah's and Connor's blogs and then get to work on my own stuff.

I'll probably take tomorrow morning off from blogging. I'll check in again on Sunday. Thanks for reading Coach Sam's Journal!

Big Day at the Office...

Today: Thursday, March 9
I'll be at the Tennis Proshop all day. My Club is a site for the West Columbia High School tennis tournament. I always get excited when there's a high school tournament at my courts. The High Schoolers are always so enthusiastic. I love making new contacts. I usually string a bunch of racquets during these events. And now that I have actual merchandise in my shop perhaps it will be a good day for sales...

When I'm not working with the tournament participants I'll be spending my spare time marketing for upcoming events at Columbia Lakes. All in all, I'm looking forward to a good productive day.

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 8
Boy was it windy here yesterday. And the fact that our club does not have wind screens made it almost impossible to play tennis at our courts yesterday. Well, it wasn't impossible to play, but it was nearly impossible to enjoy playing. I did actually have one lesson cancel because of the wind... But other than that it was a good day. I still had a great turn out for my group lessons. I was on the court yesterday from 4 to 8:30 PM without a break and I was worn out at the end of that teaching segment. Before I went to bed last night I watched the TV show American Idol. I've really enjoyed that show this season and that's unusual for me because I hardly ever watch anything on TV. But I enjoy singing so much I guess that's why the show interests me.

Anyway, I went to bed by 10 PM and got up early at 4 AM to start my new day... And here I am...!

Tomorrow and the weekend... Hopefully if the weather holds out and we don't get rain today and the tournament here today gets completed then I'll be teaching in Nassau Bay with my home school programs all Friday afternoon. We'll see.... If it does get rained out today then I'll have to cancel Friday lessons to be here while they make up today's tournament tomorrow. Then I have a full weekend of lessons and hitting at Columbia Lakes this weekend.

The Good Life

While I'm out there on a daily basis working my tail off to provide a nice life for my family, these kitties are totally living in the lap of luxory. Here they are during an afternoon nap laying on the chaise lounge atop a number of soft pillows... I think these cats have it too good. They don't even have to pay rent or taxes...!

Wednesday, March 8: My day is off to a good start. I awakened early and had my devotional time. That's a key activity to setting the stage for a good day. Now I'm trying to update my blogs... That's another key a good day and it really gets my creative juices flowing. Later this morning I'm going to update my web pages. I didn't get to that yesterday. But I really need to update them so they can help my bisiness. I want to add links to my blog pages to so more people can get a glimpse at the life of Sam Chadwell. I have lessons all afternoon from 3 PM to 8:30 PM but in the mean time I'll be burning up these computer keys...!

Yesterday... It wasn't as productive a day as I had hoped for, and I did have one major setback which I don't want to elaborate on... But It was a good day in that I did get some HPTA entries processed and we had a good league night for the second night of our new club singles league... And I got a good workout, myself! My Weight is down to 222.2. I should be down below 220 in no time especially if I continue to work out like I'm doing...! I want to get down to below 200 lbs for a tournament I'm competing in the first weekend of May. 22 lbs in two months is very possible if I eat right...

Looking Ahead... Tomorrow my club is hosting a High School Tournament. And next week is my Spring Break Camp, then next weekend is my Spring Open Tournament then the weekend after that is the HPTA Gran Prix... Yep... My plate is FULL...!

This might be the last 'lengthy' post for a while... Bye for now... SC

Two Babies

Here's a photo of Baby Elijah and our kitty Gabriel. Once Elijah starts crawling and walking I doubt Gabriel will get as much rest as they do now...!

Today I only have a few lessons and I'll spend the bulk of my day doing marketing for all of my upcoming programs... I'm going to try to spend a good chunk of time working on my websites, too! More later... Coach Sam

Coach Sam Update

I've been unable to blog in days due to the demands of work and fatherhood. Monica's been busy, too. And although it's been an incredible pace we're keeping, I feel pretty good about everything. I just wish I could carve out more time to blog. But it's a delicate balance. And I must continue to get enough sleep or my immune system goes on vacation and I get sick.

Things are getting better, though. I've bitten the bullet and hired some part time high school help to assist me with data entry and work in the tennis shop. This week they should prove especially helpful...!

I have a spring break camp coming up next week and an open tournament here at Columbia Lakes next weekend and then a Gran Prix tournament after that... So it will be a busy month for Coach Sam...

But inspite of the busy-ness, I'll still try to post a little every day... Even if it's just a sentence or two.. But that's it for now. So until next time...

Have an awesome day!

Coach Sam...

February is Winding Down...

February has been an incredibly busy month and March only looks to get busier. But here's a recap of last week:

• I got my Babloat equipment in and have really dressed up the tennis shop nicely.
• I also got Sunglasses in, too. Now all we need is some sun!
• Lessons every where are going very well.
• I've been stringing racquets like crazy.
• Sadly, one of my favorite home school families (The Knaupps) moved away.
• The Pine Forest Gran Prix had bad weather but was completed on time.
• Monica and I drove to Houston or Clear Lake nearly every day last week.

Here's what's coming up:

• I have a Sci Fi Saturday Tennis Social this Saturday.
• I'm starting a new singles league next week.
• We have a Spring Break Camp here at Columbia Lakes.
• We have a Spring Open Tournament here at Columbia Lakes.
• I have a Gran Prix Tournament at Raveneaux.
• I'm starting a new adult and junior beginner program after Spring Break.

And I don't even want to begin to think about April...!

That's the update.... More tomorrow! -Coach Sam

Kitty Update

Our kittys really like living in the country... We installed a kitty door for Hobbes and Gabriel so they can come and go as they please and Peepers lives at the tennis shop. She loves all the attention she gets, and the members really love her, too.. I'd say we have three happy, well adjusted kitties on our hands...!

Today I have a short morning here and then I head to League City for my afternoon lessons. I'll be home late this evening and then I'm going to try to parctice a little tennis with Connor before bed time...

That's about it.... I got up early and have had a fairly productive day so far... Tomorrow there is a high school tournament at my club and I have lessons in Nassau Bay, too so it will be a long next few days for me... More later...

Coach Sam

The Day After Valentines....

Here's a more recent photo of Monica and Elijah taken in January. (Yesterday's photo was from early December.) Both Monica and I have been working out and eating a more healthy balanced diet since moving to Columbia Lakes and we're both starting to lose a considerable amount of weight....!

That being said, we splurged a little last night for our Valentine's date. Monica, Elijah and I enjoyed a very nice evening in Houston at Kanomwan, our favorite Thai restaurant. -That's one cuisine you can't get out in the country.... But we don't mind the drive... As I said, we had a great meal and then we went to Johnny Carinos in Pearland on the way home for our dessert. All in all, it was a good day. -I enjoyed a very nice date with my wife and baby. We arrived home last night around 11 PM. (very late for me...) I went to bed promptly...!

Today I've to keep my nose to the grind stone... I have to work on a bunch of stuff... First of all I need to finalize the Gran Prix folder for Pine Forest and get their t-shirts ready for Monica to deliver later today. Then I have a private lesson at the club at 9 AM, then I have the rest of the morning to work on a club newsletter and string racquets... I have 9 racquets to work on...

And I have lessons this afternoon from 3 to 8:30 PM... So wow... Busy day, huh...?

That's about it... Gotta Run... Bye for now.... SC

My Valentines...!

Here's a photo of my sweet wife and baby inspecting one of Elijah's Christmas presents.

Monica and I are going to celebrate Valentines day by going to dinner at Kanomwan, our favorite thai restaurant. Prior to that it will be another busy day. I'm already up early trying to get a good head start on my day. So far it's going well. I was sound asleep by 10:15 last night so I was able to get up at 4 this morning with no trouble.

I desperately want to keep my journals updated and am trying to make that a priority.

I'm trying to not open my email in the evening any more. When I get home in the evening after work it's time to quit working. I want that last hour and a half or so of my day to be quality family time. Email can wait until the next morning, right...? And get this, it's 5:15 AM... I've been awake for over an hour and I still haven't checked my email yet... I don't need that distraction right now... There will be plenty of time for that through out the day.

Ah... my day... How is that going to unfold...? Well, I need to get the first match times for Pine Forest posted before 8 AM. I need to prepare a tennis report for Columbia Lakes. I have a private lesson at 11 AM... The at some point today I need to go to Galveston and pick up some t-shirts for the Gran Prix this weekend. I don't have any lessons tonight.... (in honor of Valentines Day) It should be a good day of getting a lot of stuff done....

Since my last post there's nothing remarkable that's occurred. I went to a tennis conference this past weekend... It was pretty good. I've been really busy with the HPTA Junior Gran Prix circuit. I'm still trying to get caught up on every thing...

This morning Elijah awakened at 5:15 AM... I've been watching him so Monica can get a little more rest. That's thrown off my day a little this morning, but not too much... It's a joy to get to spend a little quality time with my son any time. And if I can help out my sweet wife too, all the better...!

I've got to take Connor to school in a few monutes and then dive back into my day... I hope to update Elijah's and Connor's photo blogs a little later today, too... Until next time... Bye for now...

Coach Sam

The Weekly Report

Busy... I've just been too busy... I spent last weekend working a tournament in Clear Lake. Then first part of last week was spent wrapping up the tournament and of course, my regular lessons schedule. Wednesday It rained and I took it easy and relaxed a little. But Thursday and Friday I was very sick with a sore throat and spent much of my time in bed just not feeling good.

Saturday was a very busy day with morning lessons, unexpected afternoon guests, and working on Connor's new basket ball goal.

Sunday was a flurry of activity. I got up at 7 AM and started some yard work and house work. Monica and I watched Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday morning broadcast. Then we finished working on the basket ball goal, finished working in the yard and cleaning the garage, Then we spent the afternoon and most of the evening in Houston. We worked on our yard and also spent a little time sprucing the inside up...!

Afterwards we did some shopping followed by a delicious dinner then followed by more shopping...!

I bought a couple of new books to read. Now I have enough books to last me a long time. I've got four that I'm reading right now. And at the pace I'm currently at I may not finish them for several years!

Now, something kinda wierd and scary happened when we got home last night. We found both our back doors to the backyard patio wide open. And we know they were locked when we left. Nothing was taken (That we know of so far) but we called the sherriff's department and they came out to investigate.

We're seriously thinking of having a security system installed this week, and adding some deadbolts to make the doors more secure.

This week will be another blur, but I'm going to do the best I can with my time management. So hopefully there will be another post in the next day or so...

The rest of the day today I ahve lessons this morning from 9 to 10:30 AM. Then I have to come home and help Monica get ready for her ladies group bible study. She's preparing the meal for over 20 ladies today. I've got a couple of racquets to string and lots of work to do on the computer... Lots of data processing!

That's about it for now... More later... Coach Sam

The Crazy Mixed Up Life of Coach Sam

I know Ive been posting very irregularly the past few weeks. But I just can't seem to get into a routine at the moment. I have too much stuff going on...! The need for an assistant pro is growing ever increasing. At the very least need to hire some help in the tennis shop. And I've got to do that very soon.

I've been praying that the right candidate for an assistant pro would present themselves to me. I think that once Monica and I sell our house in Houston that we will have enough extra income to get an assistant pro started off well, and the position will quickly grow into a full time livelyhood for someone...

We're hoping to sell our house before the summer gets here. Hopefully it will sell much sooner than that. We're going to go to Houston this weekend and work on it a little bit... I've got a good feeling that it won't be on the market much longer....!

Here's a quick update of the Chadwell Family:

• We have been visiting First Baptist Church in West Columbia and think that might become our new church home.
• Connor is doing very well in his tennis. He played his second tournament this past weekend and won his first match but lost the next one in 3 sets.
• Elijah is still the smiley-est baby in the world... He's doing great!
• Monica was very sick last week but she's doing great this week and thank God that no one else got sick...!
• I got a promotion and a raise at my job recently. The tennis program is thriving at Columbia Lakes.
• Monica and I are continuing to lose weight... I've gone from 242 to 224 in a little under two months. We're both very pleased with that!
• Connor had straight 'A's' his last grading period.
• Monica has joined a women's group bible study on Mondays and I'm going to start volunteering with the child care during her study...

There's probably more, but those are the highlights... I'll try to post again before the end of the week!

Coach Sam

Taking a Breath...

Hello... I'm taking a little time this morning to catch up on blogging... I've been running ragged lately. And just can't seem to get caught up on everything. I push things back and reprioritize all the time... Sigh...

My business has grown tremendously this year. I'm very seriously thinking about hiring an assistant pro soon... I'll be keeping my eyes open and praying for the right candidate.

Between running the Houston Pro Tennis Association, Managing the Columbia Lakes Tennis Center, and keeping up with my lessons programs in the Clear Lake area, I'm always attending to some deadline or following up with someone. And I'm trying to carve out some quality family time in my schedule, too.... Coach Sam's work is never done.

My routine of getting up early and blogging was disrupted last week by getting the Bay Oaks Junior Gran Prix tournament ready for publication. -I'm helping with that tournament this weekend too, serving as the Referee. And we're supposed to get a lot of rain on Saturday. That will make it difficult. Oh well.... We'll deal with it...

On a quick side note: This morning I was reading a commentary by George Barna and he reviewed Anne Rice's latest book: Out of Africa. It is the life story of Jesus. That's right, Jesus. Apparently the noted author of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches has 'rediscovered' her faith and has rededicated the rest of her life to writing about Jesus. That's pretty cool, isn't it...? here's a link to George's commentary: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Review&ReviewID=17

I'll be writing some more about this topic in my online prayer journal later this morning.

Today I have to string a few racquets, and then I have lessons from 3 to 8:30 PM, plus I have babysitting duty since tonight is Monica's Tennis night...!

That's my day... I'd better close here... I'll try to publish some photos soon...



Coach Sam

The Chadwell Family Update

Wow... It's been a good deal of time since I've last posted... Thus entire week I've had double duty with the house and Elijah while Monica's been sick... But praise the Lord Monica's feeling better now and we're sort of resuming a normal routine.... (Except that we're still trying to define 'normal'...)

It's been a great Sunday... We got up early and listened to an awesome sermon from Dr Charles Stanley. Then we went to church here at First Baptist West Columbia and heard another great sermon.

It looks like it will rain all day so we're just hanging at home playing with the baby. I'm grilling some beef tenderloin for lunch and we're just going to enjoy a nice relaxing day here at the house...

Kife has been busy lately. Too Busy...! And I'm very grateful for a slow day. Well, I've got to close for now and finish lunch. More later... Coach Sam

Catching up...!

Hello... It's been an incredibly busy past few days... I have been teaching lessons, taking kids to tournaments, changing diapers, and generally chasing my tail 24 hours a day lately.

Tournament report: Everyone had some good matches, but no one made it too far past the second round. Connor competed very well, but lost in main draw and consolation. Still, it was a very good showing for his first big tournament. He took Sunday off but was back practicing hard yesterday.

Monica's been sick since yesterday. She's feeling terrible. We're going to the doctor later this morning. I'm going to try to get a bunch of things done today here at home in between taking care of Elijah. In fact, Elijah's getting fussy now so I'd better close here.

More later...

Coach Sam

Need an Extra Day...

Sigh... Things are starting to pile up on me... I have work to do here at the house, work to do for HPTA... There's racquets to string.... There's the marketing of my lessons programs, there's helping Monica with the baby... There's returning phone calls and email.... There's trying to carve out some quiet time and just sort things out.

Sigh... I'm away this weekend at a tournament with Connor and my other students. Hopefully I'll be able to get caught up on things over the next 72 hours....

Today I have lessons in Clear Lake all day from 1:30 PM to 8:00 PM.... And I'm proceeding full steam ahead for the next 4 hours before I have to leave at 12 Noon.

Gotta Run... A tennis coaches day is never done...!

Happy Healthy New Year

Here's Monica at a tennis workout this past weekend. My Family has Tennis Fever...! Both Connor and Monica are playing pretty much every day and sometimes twice a day. Both Monica and I are committed to getting in better shape this year and we started more healthy eating habits before the holidays. We've both been exercizing more and are really starting to drop some weight. Plus, Monica's tennis is looking better and better with each passing day. She's going to play some leagues and tournaments this year, and we hope to start playing mixed doubles together more too...!

January 9, 2006:
We're off to a good start this week. First of all, we had a fantastic, relaxing day yesterday enjoying a morning church service, then a nice lunch out and shopping in he afternoon. We concluded the evening with a fun tennis match with some dear friends. I capped off the evening with Monica watching a Dr Stanley sermon we recorded on the tivo. Then, I went to bed about 9:30 PM. Monica stayed up late working in the office and was up most of the night...!

I'm watching the baby for her right now. Elijah and I are watching the Kids Sprout channel. It's pretty good. Elijah loves it. But we're about to go out for a stroll in a few minutes.

Today I have a full day as usual. I'm on court for an hour and a half this morning, then I'm back on this afternoon from 3 to 8:30 PM. In between I'll be marketing for the HPTA and returning email messages. That's it. If I can I'll blog again this evening...

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Mimi and Elijah at Christmas Time...!

Elijah's Great-Grandmother Mimi really enjoyed Elijah's Christmas visit. (yes, I still have a few Christmas photos to publish...)We need to go to Bay City again soon. It's kinda cool when we have both the youngest and the oldest members of our family present in the same room.


January 8, 2006 Yesterday was a good day. I started off with a big Saturday morning drill which had 12 participants. Then I had three more private lessons. Monica came up at the end of my last lesson and we enjoyed a nice stroll with Elijah back home. Later last night I had a tennis social for junior players. There were only a few participants but we had a good time. It's always good to play tennis, eat pizza and hang out with friends...!

Today will be just a family day... No high pressure anything. I may try to get one home improvement project done and Monica might spend a little time in the office catching up, but over all we're going to chill out, try to do some things together as a family, and refresh ourselves. And that's just what Sunday should be about. I'm going to post a bunch of photos on Elijah's Blog , Connor's Blog and my Tennis Photo Blog today so be sure to check them out if you get a chance...

That's it for now... Thanks for reading my journal.... -Coach Sam

Some of My Favorite People

From l to r: Dolfina and Joe Nagle, Dr Earl Brown, My Sweet Wife Monica, and Baby Elijah is hidden in the stroller.

This was a photo taken on December 24 at my Saturday morning drill. It was a little cool and windy but we has a good workout none the less... I told everyon in attendance that they could have an extra piece of pie at Christmas dinner for working out so hard...!

Saturday, January 7 (2006) I can't believe that tyhe first week of 2006 is almost passed. The weather has continued to be unbelievable and I have been on the court 6-8 hours a day for I can't remember how long... All I can say is that business is good....!

I've been busy juggling work and helping with the baby and there's been absolutely no time for anything else. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut back on blogging a little until we get some bad weather and my business slows down a bit.

I'll still try to keep up this blog at least every other day, and of course I'll try to remain daily with my prayer journal, but Connor's and Elijah's may drop down to once or twice a week... But when I do publish I'll include lots of photos instead of just one or two.

• We are still looking for a church home and plan to visit a few other churches in the community but we really enjoyed our visit to FBC West Columbia.
• I bought a 12 foot church pew at an anrique store recently to furnish the pro shop. It's an awesome piece of wood work and lookd great in there.
• Monica and I have really changed our eating habits and have both started to lose weight steadily...
• Our Kitties have found a way to get out of our house.. We're not sure but we think they are climbing up the chimney to escape...!
• I'm loving my new schedule of only driving to Clear Lake twice a week now. And our gasoline consumption is way down!
• Elijah just turned five months old on Dec 28... He's doing very well. Just a happy, smiley, healthy baby!
• Connor is doing great in school and had straight 'A's for the semester. He's focused intently on his tennis game and improving every day.

That's the quick update... More later... Coach Sam

Columbia Lakes: I Love this Place...!

Here are a few photos of the lovely area where my wife and I bought a house recently. These are photos of the golf course near the tennis center and the cottages that the property books out for over night guests.

It is peaceful and quiet here... It's a great place to live, work, and raise kids.

This area is just across the street from our house..

Here are some of the cottages surrounded by tall beautiful trees

This is a view of the lagoon that surrounds the tennis and golf facility

This area is just behind the tennis center and the path leads through the cottages to the main club house.

Monica and Elijah are about to walk home after a tennis workout. It's about a 15 minute walk if you take the long way home through the cottages. It's under 10 minutes if you walk along the golf cart path along the fairway.

Family Christmas Photos

I've still got a few Christmas photos to publish, but I'm almost done...! This photo was taken at Mimi's house. Monica, Elijah and I had a quiet Christmas. Connor was gone to visit relatives on his father's side of the family. Monica's relatives were just down for a few weeks right before Thanksgiving so they didn't come down again... And my family... Well... My sis lives n New York... That's a bit of a commute for her. My brothers live close, but I couldn't get them to participate in any family activity.

We did go visit my 91 year old grand mother and she simply adores Elijah so that was a nice visit...!

Well, the new year is here...! I still weigh a little over 230 lbs, but I'm down from my all-time high of 242.2 lbs at the beginning of October. Monica has lost considerable weight, too and is helping us out tremdously by planning and preparing nutritious meals. I really feel that living here at Columbia Lakes is really going to help me lose weight because I am not eating out nearly as much as I once was. And walking to work most days is a little more exercise for my regular routine.

We're still hoping to sell our house in Houston soon. And we're still looking for a local church although we really enjoyed our visit to First Baptist West Columbia yesterday.

I am swamped with business right now... It's been difficult to keep up with everything including helping Monica with the baby and picking up around the house.

All in all it was a nice Christmas and New Year's. (We stayed at home for New Year's)

I think we have started a tradition of snacking on appetisers and hosting a Star Trek marathon for New Year's Eve. (That was really fun and very nice to be able to just hang woth the family for the holiday!)

That's about it... I need to close here... I've got a very busy day today! Talk to you later...

Coach Sam