The Touch Tennis Revolution: Embracing the Game's Health Benefits and Community Spirit in Florida's Villages

Uncover the charm and health benefits of Touch Tennis as Mike Dumbropski, a tennis aficionado, paints a vivid picture of this emerging sport in the sunny climes of Florida's Villages. It's a game that promises extended rallies, fun, and accessibility for everyone, regardless of mobility or fitness levels. Our chat with Mike is not just a revelation of Touch Tennis's unique attributes, like its soft foam balls, but also an exploration of how this sport is blossoming in various courts and becoming a community favorite, with players eagerly swapping their traditional rackets for this lighthearted alternative.

Touch Tennis isn't just a game—it's a burgeoning movement with the power to welcome new enthusiasts into the fold. In this episode, we glimpse its impressive growth opportunities and how it's harmoniously coexisting with pickleball facilities. We discuss the hustle of activity around the sport and how organizations like USTA are lending support to nurture this potential wave of tennis aficionados. Imagine a sport where playing doesn't mean waiting and where every swing of the racket is an invitation to discover the joy of the game anew.

As we weave through the narrative of Touch Tennis, the conversation takes an intriguing turn towards the sport's potential role in Alzheimer's prevention. The episode doesn't just serve up an overview of the sport's history and promotion; it serves as a springboard into broader discussions on lifestyle and cognitive health. Dr. Craig Curtis joins in, offering a wealth of knowledge on the benefits of staying active and how strategic diet choices can help us lead healthier, fuller lives. It's a compelling blend of leisure and longevity that might just inspire you to pick up a racket—or a foam ball—and join the Touch Tennis revolution.

Transcript

Emily: 0:11

Welcome to the Open Forum in the Villages Florida podcast. In this show we talk to leaders in the community, leaders of clubs and interesting folks who live here in the villages to give perspectives of what is happening here in the Villages Florida. We hope to add a new episode most Fridays at 9am. We are a listener supported podcast. There will be shoutouts for supporters in episodes. As a supporter you will get a direct email link to Mike. In season 5 we are making significant improvements and changes on an ongoing basis.

Mike Roth: 0:47

Now you can help me afford to keep making this podcast by becoming a supporter. Just a quick note about the podcast, despite the fact that it cost me more time than I can afford. Now I can't buy back my time, but there is one thing that you can do that would be really helpful, and that is help me to afford making this podcast. You can do that by going to the website open forum in the villages. com and clicking on the supporter box. You are making a small donation of $3-10 a month and you can cancel at any time. Really, a small donation of $3 will still make a difference and I'd really appreciate it If you can't afford to do that.

Mike Roth: 1:31

I completely understand it's economically tough times for a lot of people, but there is something that you can do for free that can really help. If you want to, you can rate the podcast. You can give it 5 stars or maybe even give it a review on whatever podcast application you are using. That will make a huge difference because we will be discovered by more people. If you are able to do that, we would massively appreciate it and it would help keep this podcast going in 2024.

Emily: 2:02

If you have a book that you would like to turn into an audio book, let us know via email to mike a rothvoice. com. Hope you enjoy today's show.

Mike Roth: 2:10

This is Mike Roth on open forum in the villages. I'm here today with Mike Dombroski. Mike, thanks for joining us.

Mike Dombrowski: 2:16

Thank you, mike, for having me. It's a pleasure being here Good.

Mike Roth: 2:20

Mike, when I heard that you were doing a new sport here in the villages called Touch Tennis, I absolutely thought this is a guy I have to have on the show to talk about something new. But before we do that, mike, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about your background before you got here in the villages?

Mike Dombrowski: 2:37

Sure Well, currently I'm working on a program for the prevention of dementia in Alzheimer's. That's a current project that I'm working on. Just recently was the marketing director and sponsorship director for the Be For Kids Champions Challenge in Orlando, Florida. That was a premier tennis event which brought in national champions and hall of famers and benefited seven nonprofits in the Orlando area. It raised over 325,000 for the participating nonprofits. I'm also a 40 year certified elite tennis professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association and prior to that I have corporate experience of about 13 years with two Fortune 500 companies Wyndham Vacation Ownership and Diamond Resorts and prior to that I was tennis director for 13 years with several country clubs and bracket and swim club.

Mike Roth: 3:29

So you've got a lot of years in the tennis business before you came here to the villages.

Mike Dombrowski: 3:33

Absolutely. A lot of experience in tennis and a lot of passion and love for the sport. Okay, even I used to play tennis. Wonderful, we're going to have to get you out there playing a little Touch Tennis now, right?

Mike Roth: 3:43

Right Now for our listeners, I think the most important thing is you could tell us a little bit about what Touch Tennis is. It's like touch football.

Mike Dombrowski: 3:53

Well, absolutely. It's Touch Tennis, or it's also referred to as Phone Ball. Tennis is a shorter, easier to play, friendly form of tennis. It's an adaptive form that is played on shorter tennis court, can be played on pickleball courts. We play it primarily here in the villages on the platform tennis courts. It's very easy. It's players can even play tennis on a pop-up tennis court. They can set it up in their driveway, out in their backyard or in their house.

Mike Roth: 4:21

So what I've noticed is some of the tennis courts get a little bit of use, but the platform tennis courts that I've watched as they drove by we're almost never in use.

Mike Dombrowski: 4:30

Well they are. There's the platform tennis courts here get a lot of use. I think they have a league that goes on, but what we're finding is that the touch tennis adapts really well to the platform tennis courts because of the size of them. It's a real friendly. It's easy. If you have players that might have some mobility issues, it makes it an easy transition. I've had a lot of players that left the sport of tennis because the mobility was an issue where they might have had some injuries, and this has given them an avenue to come back into the sport.

Mike Roth: 4:58

Now, in describing the sport, you said it's played with a foam ball. What is that exactly?

Mike Dombrowski: 5:05

Exactly, it's like a Nerf ball. It can be the size of a tennis ball or some of the foam balls are slightly larger, but it's got a really good feel to it and the foam ball is really the secret sauce and, I think, the success of the sport.

Mike Roth: 5:20

So it's unlike the pickle ball ball, which is kind of plastic wiffle ball, exactly.

Mike Dombrowski: 5:26

Exactly, and the beauty of it is, even if somebody accidentally gets hit by the foam ball, it's like being hit with a marshmallow you can't even feel it, so it's super super safe.

Mike Roth: 5:36

That means when you slam it it doesn't go that fast.

Mike Dombrowski: 5:39

Exactly it's. The foam has a way of slowing it down so you can get engaged in longer rallies, which makes for more fun when you're playing.

Mike Roth: 5:49

A lot of people on the pickle ball courts who have mobility issues just kind of stand there and if the ball comes within range they get it. In fact, the instruction on pickle ball always says the most important thing in playing pickle ball is never to fall. What is the instruction in touch tennis?

Mike Dombrowski: 6:06

The instruction in touch tennis is really just watching the ball. It's a slower pace, I think, than pickle ball the exchanges so you have more time. What the players have expressed to me that they like about it is that you get a bounce. The ball does come up a little bit so you get that true bounce, similar to a regular tennis court bounce, where the pickle ball pickle ball is great. I think the two sports complement each other really well. But the bounce of the pickle ball tends to be a lot lower. So there's a lot of bending and the viewers can't see me, but I'm actually just about six-three. So you know I don't like to bend that much these days and if I'm in the kitchen I would rather be eating.

Mike Roth: 6:47

Okay, it depends on which kitchen you're talking about Exactly, so let's talk a minute about the racket itself. Does it use a standard tennis racket?

Mike Dombrowski: 6:57

No, the racket that we use, it's actually a junior racket. It's 21 to 23 inches. Those are the two rackets that we primarily use. The standard racket would be the 21-inch racket, pretty inexpensive. You can buy a racket online or you can get it at Walmart, any sporting goods store, you know, 20 to 25 dollars. So it makes it very easy, you know, for players to enter the sport and it's very lightweight. It's very lightweight.

Mike Roth: 7:23

Yes, and are there any special shoes that people are supposed to wear?

Mike Dombrowski: 7:28

Regular, smooth athletic shoes, tennis shoes. I wouldn't wear r or track shoes that have too much of a tread on it. More of a smooth surface.

Mike Roth: 7:36

And the sport is played as singles only or singles and doubles Played both.

Mike Dombrowski: 7:42

More common here in the villages that it's played as doubles. You know, that's the. You know, one of the beauties of the sport is that it's just like pickleball. It's real social. It brings people together in a closer area, which makes it really fun. And then, of course, the doubles format. You know, playing with a partner, Right Right.

Mike Roth: 8:01

So have you created it as a lifestyle club? How long has Touch Tennis been here in the villages?

Mike Dombrowski: 8:06

Touch Tennis was introduced into the villages about three years ago. There was a player, Russ Jones, resident of the villages, who was really an advocate also in introducing and helping promote the growth of platform tennis. Three years ago he introduced the sport and he got a group together over at first responders and so back in June of last year I connected with Russ. He was doing a small introduction. He had about 15 people that came out. Russ and I had a great connection. His background was actually in racquetball. He was coaching a player that was on the professional racquetball tour prior to moving to the villages. My background, of course, was in tennis. We had a great connection. I offered to help him with the introduction and with you know, following Russ's lead, you know, I looked at the courts over at Sea Breeze.

Mike Dombrowski: 8:57

At Sea Breeze yeah, sea Breeze I formed tennis courts over there and there wasn't any touch tennis going. There wasn't an active group. I managed to connect with three passionate ladies who were just coming out. They had to force them together Lindy Gaylor, tina McLaughlin and Rosie Burrell, and they were very passionate and they were playing once a week and so we all collaborated together in taking this on as an initiative to promote it and get more players out. That started a little bit after Thanksgiving of last year and, as of date, we have 70 people that have signed up and are coming out and playing. So you play only at Sea Breeze. So our group is at Sea Breeze. Russ still has a group that's over at First Responders.

Mike Dombrowski: 9:40

I would say those are the two places where touch tennis is more active and it's somewhat organized. We have courts that are down and being renovated. At Rohan there's courts that are being renovated. At Eisenhower there's 12 additional platform tennis courts that, once they're renovated, we'll get activities going there and I'm sure we'll get groups these are platform tennis courts that are being renovated.

Mike Dombrowski: 10:08

Exactly. Yeah, they're under renovation right now and they're being resurfaced. They should be opened up, I would anticipate, sometime later in 2024. So that's going to bring 12 more courts that we can get programs running and activity going. And to answer your question about a formal club, that would be the next step. Right now we have 70 that are signed up and we have names and emails. So as the club grows, I'm sure we'll go that route and then try to coordinate it within the villages.

Mike Roth: 10:38

I think you only need 10 to be a club and you do get some certain advantages by being a club. I would highly recommend it.

Mike Dombrowski: 10:45

Wonderful.

Mike Roth: 10:46

So if they wanted to play, they have to go to Seabreeze, as the most southern place where it's played. What days are the week and what times do they play?

Mike Dombrowski: 10:55

So we play over at Seabreeze and, just like you said, mike, that's a very convenient location. It's kind of centrally located here in the villages. We have six courts over there. We play on Tuesdays, the group meets from 10 to 11.50, and then we play on Saturdays, 10 to 11.50 as well.

Mike Roth: 11:14

As we move into the summer months when it gets extraordinarily hot? Are you going to move the time up to, say, eight o'clock?

Mike Dombrowski: 11:21

The platform tennis group has a standing reservation because the platform courts were created for the platform tennis players, so they have a standing reservation of having the courts from seven to 10 every day of the week, every all seven days, all seven days, right? So we have actual reserve the courts from 10 to 11.50, but that doesn't mean if the courts aren't being used we couldn't come out earlier and, of course, residents of the villages can come out and use any of the courts during any of the times that they're not being used. So the two days that I mentioned, on Tuesday and Saturday, are actually organized days where I'll be out there, I'll have rackets, I'll have balls, provided what about?

Mike Roth: 12:04

the rules of the game In pickleball. They have an extraordinarily good program of training residents both in the classroom and then on the courts Pickleball 101, pickleball 102, and then even a ranking system. Do you have any training programs set up for touch tennis?

Mike Dombrowski: 12:24

Yes. So as I had mentioned Russ Jones over at First Responders, he does an introduction from time to time. I know he's been traveling a little bit, but that usually is in the Village Guide or it might be advertised in the paper. That's how I connected with Russ At Sea Breeze. When players come out, I actually run them through a short introduction, and that's one of the beauties of the sport is it's very easy to learn. It's an adaptive form of tennis, so if somebody has some tennis knowledge they'll pick it up really quickly. But that's not required. They don't have to have.

Mike Roth: 12:57

That Is there a YouTube video on the rules of touch tennis.

Mike Dombrowski: 13:01

I'm sure there is. I have to look. I don't know I haven't come across it but I'll check on that. I have a rule sheet that everybody that comes out I have them all printed. I go over the rules with them the scoring, where to position themselves on the court, all the basics that they need.

Mike Roth: 13:17

So on average, on a day that you're at Sea Breeze at 10 am nice, convenient time, especially this time of year how many people come out?

Mike Dombrowski: 13:25

Well, we average about 30 players that come out, 30 players and you have how many courts? We have six courts so we can accommodate 24 playing at once. The format is very flexible. It's an adaptive format, so we can even get five players on one court and we just rotate a player out. The beauty is we can rotate them out after every game or every round. A round of touch tennis is about 20 minutes, so nobody's sitting out any longer than that. And if we rotate just every individual game, it could be rotating in and out maybe every five minutes. And players like that. They like to have that little extra break and grab a sip of water and socialize a little bit, because that's really what the sport is about.

Mike Roth: 14:10

So singles can come out as well, people who don't have a partner here in the villages?

Mike Dombrowski: 14:14

Absolutely, and we can even play two on one If we have two players, because, again, the shortness of the court makes it very easy to get around. There's not a lot of heavy running and sprinting, risking falling or injuring yourself. It's a step here, a step there and basically you have the area of the court covered.

Mike Roth: 14:34

Okay, that sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll see if I can convince my wife to come out. Absolutely I think she would love it. Right, and you say they're renovating the courts at Rohan. I know they're doing some renovation at Burnside as well. Are they going to be more pickleball courts or more?

Mike Dombrowski: 14:50

I think over at Burnside those are regulation-sized tennis courts. I don't think that they're platform tennis, I don't know. But again, the beauty of the sport is that pickleball and tennis are kind of joined at the hip. I think pickleball started on the tennis courts and then they got their dedicated courts and I think touch tennis and tennis is going to benefit from the growth of pickleball because now those pickleball courts adapt really well to touch tennis. So if a pickleball court isn't being used, you really don't even need a service ball to serve in touch tennis. You can just serve it diagonally, just like we adapt the format, just like they do in pickleball, and then you play the point out. I see the growth of all of these pickleball courts as being a real plus for tennis and helping with the growth of the sport. I think, really think, touch tennis is going to be the new boom for tennis, bringing in players that, like I had said earlier, were injured or have mobility issues or just didn't have a chance to try the sport. I thought it was too challenging.

Mike Roth: 15:54

Would it make sense for you to have an introductory section in one of the rec centers where you show, show videos and explain people the game?

Mike Dombrowski: 16:03

absolutely. I mean, the rec centers are a perfect venue for showcasing the sport and introducing it. My good friend, Marilyn Sherman. She is the natural national director of social tennis with the us t a. Marilyn has been passionate about phone ball tennis, touch tennis, since 2016. The us t a has been promoting it primarily since 2010 to their, to their junior players, but they're now taking it mainstream. They're realizing it's a great way to get All players introduced to the sport and Marilyn and the h eally helped our growth up here. She donated a bunch of tennis rackets for us to use for new players, phone balls and actually portable nets so we could s ets portable nets up within the rec centers. We could get a group out there and an indoor o rec center. You know, give them a de mo, they can come out and try it and that can be a go over the rules. That could be a great way to really spread this, I the mean I see the billet indoor.

Mike Roth: 17:00

Yeah, we can do. How would that work indoors? You need a double size meeting room or do you want to work in the auditorium?

Mike Dombrowski: 17:09

I was over at sea breeze. They've got they set that up for ping pong and I think they have six ping pong tables set up there in one of their it's in the auditorium. In their auditorium, we could easily get, we could easily get to, maybe for touch tennis court set up in there.

Mike Roth: 17:25

So you've now given yourself the absolute positive reason why you need to be a lifestyle club so that you can ask for an auditorium to place indoors in the summer time.

Mike Dombrowski: 17:37

What that's wonderful yeah, I get a mod of the sun and for sure I agree yeah, I mean, it makes a lot of sense.

Mike Roth: 17:45

Can you tell her listeners how did this sport of touch tennis get originated? Where did it come from?

Mike Dombrowski: 17:51

so touch tennis. The actual sport was originated in London by Russhied Amad. He developed it back in two thousand and two is a way to play tennis with his young daughter. So lee was, you know, just a fun sport and since then it's kind of taken off. Russhied actually has a whole series of professional tournaments. So when you talk about who the sport appeals to, it doesn't it not only appeals to Beginners or existing tennis players or even pickleball players crossing over and joining in, but there's a whole professional side of the sport. Professional side, yes, a whole professional side where they you google or youtube touch tennis. You'll see some of the tournaments and you'll be having a double take, thinking am I watching really a grand slam tournament? I mean, these are skilled players that are hitting full strokes and playing like you would see a normal tennis player playing, and they're playing with a phone ball and competing for world ranking points.

Mike Dombrowski: 18:48

So I would see that on espn you would see that right now I'm it's on o most of the videos. Most of the videos are on youtube and it's a great promotion of the sport. So again, it shows the diversity of the sport that these guys who are playing professionally, making money for playing their playing professionally in the tournaments or they're playing for prize money in the tournaments and the prize money varies. Might not be a huge some, but they're playing for prize money, so it is a professional circuit that's very good.

Mike Roth: 19:18

It's very good. And again, when did you start here in the villages? So we, so thanksgiving time, yeah, our group.

Mike Dombrowski: 19:25

our group started in twenty twenty three really it was the kickoff of the promoting the group. To come out to sea breeze was just after thanksgiving and did a little promotion during a thanksgiving gathering of my neighborhood over at sable chase and brought a couple of rackets, brought a couple phone balls and got people out there just tapping it back and forth and told them how easy it was and we had a few that came out and it's all spread by word of mouth and people just seeing us playing and asking what's going on and I gather their name and phone number and and then we're off and running switch gears a little bit and I'm gonna ask you to tell us about what you're doing in the world of alzheimer's.

Mike Dombrowski: 20:10

And the world of alzheimer's. So there's a lot. There's a lot going on there. I mean, obviously the population is getting a lot older. I think right now there's sixty five, sixty to sixty five million Seniors that are sixty and over, and by twenty fifty it's gonna be up to ninety five, and the dementia in alzheimer's is really becoming a big issue. Seniors are facing this and they're seeing decline in their cognition and their brain Passity and they're wanting to know what they can do. So the the area that I'm really focusing on is on the prevention side. You know, what can we do in terms of our lifestyle changes and making changes?

Mike Roth: 20:53

so, besides the Mediterranean diet, what are some of the two or three best things that people can do in your opinion?

Mike Dombrowski: 21:00

Well, one of the best things is touch tennis.

Mike Roth: 21:02

Oh Jesus, to keep moving that makes a lot of sense to me Exactly.

Mike Dombrowski: 21:07

Yeah, yeah. Tennis, racket sports, pickleball too, any racket sport is great for the brain. I mean, you get a tremendous amount of health benefits. But you know the scoring, remembering that the rules, the switching sides, the eye contact with the ball all of that does well, and especially if players haven't played before learning a new sport you know, engaging the brain that way grows new brain cells and new connections in the brain.

Mike Dombrowski: 21:33

All that's healthy, you know. But the area that you hit on diet, that's a huge one. There's a number of things. I mean stress relief, dealing with stress through meditation, you know, through breathing. Breathing goes hand in hand with tennis as well. You know tennis players. You know they're under stress. They're taught breathing technique. Supplementation you know there's a lot of good supplements out there. You know, if you're in tune to what you're doing with your diet, then you'll be looking at what can you do if you're lacking any type of deficiencies, and that can be done through supplementation. So those really, I think would be the main things learning, exercise, diet, nutrition.

Mike Roth: 22:15

Well, we're going to take a quick break here and we're going to listen to Dr Craig Curtis give us a Alzheimer's tip. Can you give our listeners one thing they can do to improve the nourishment of the brain by helping the blood vessels?

Dr. Craig Curtis: 22:28

Absolutely. Exercise is critical to maintaining healthy blood vessels and therefore healthy blood flow, as well as following a Mediterranean type diet which includes fresh fish, lots of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, and cutting down our amounts of red meat and sugar.

Warren: 22:49

Thank you With over 20 years of experience studying brain health. Dr Curtis's goal is to educate the village's community on how to live a longer, healthier life. To learn more, visit his website craigcurtismd. com, or call 352-500-5252 to attend a free seminar.

Mike Roth: 23:05

I'm back with Mike Dombroski. We're talking about touch tennis. Mike, if someone wants to see you out there on the touch tennis court and they don't want to go all the way up to first responders, which is the northern tip of the villages, and they live in the southern part of The Villages south of 44, is sea breeze the only place that you teach it.

Mike Dombrowski: 23:26

Right now sea breeze is the primary location, but anybody that's interested I'm more than happy to share my phone number. They can text me.

Mike Roth: 23:34

That's probably the best way. How would someone contact you who wants more information about touch tennis? Absolutely.

Mike Dombrowski: 23:42

They can send me a text directly. The number they can text me on is 864-208-4403. They can also reach out via email. My first name, Michael middle initial A Last name is Dombrowski, d-o-m-b-r-o-w-s-k-i. gmail. com If they either text me, send me an email, I'll respond. If the times that we offer the free instruction or the free introduction at sea breeze or the times that we play at sea breeze doesn't work, I can coordinate a time with their group. I'm more than happy to. If they want to get a small group together, we can find another time in some courts and I can run them through a 30-minute introduction and I guarantee I can get them out there playing in 30 minutes and enjoying the sport without much time.

Mike Roth: 24:32

So which days of the week and what again are you at sea? Breeze Sea breeze.

Mike Dombrowski: 24:36

I'm over there on Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 to 1150 on both days, and I'm usually out there a little bit early. I get out there around nine because if the courts are open, if the platform tennis players aren't out there, we actually can jump out there and start a little bit early, right, right, right.

Mike Roth: 24:53

Okay, mike, is there anything else you want to add before we end this podcast?

Mike Dombrowski: 24:58

No, I just want to encourage everybody that wants to learn this sport to come out and join us. I'd love to get everybody in the villages that wants to learn and get them introduced. It to touch tennis I would also. I would love for them also when they go back. We have a lot of snowbirds here. I'd love for the snowbirds to take this sport back and introduce it to their kids, introduce it to their grandkids. This is such a healthy sport, a fun sport that really the whole family in all generations can play together. And when was it?

Mike Roth: 25:29

actually invented in London 2002. So it's 2002.

Mike Dombrowski: 25:34

It's 22 year old sport. Now it sure is, but it, just like I said, it's just now catching on. It's just now getting the traction here in the United States. It's been through Europe, they've been, they've taken it to a professional level. I think really what held it back here is that we thought the foam ball was only for kids and we're learning now it's for everybody.

Mike Roth: 26:00

What's the size of the diameter of the foam ball?

Mike Dombrowski: 26:04

I think it's about eight, about eight inches.

Mike Roth: 26:06

. It's a really big ball.

Mike Dombrowski: 26:08

W, i c v. I c v. I a I a g i r i. M w t a l a i. W t i o.

Mike Roth: 26:14

Yeah, okay. So Mike's taken out a real D touch ennis racket and it's got the white, the sweet spot in the center marked in black, which is pretty cool, and the foam ball is probably four, four and a half, maybe five inches in diameter. I could put it against the ruler if I wanted to, but it seems like it's soft all the way through. It sure is Okay. These balls probably take a beating and wear out.

Mike Dombrowski: 26:39

Not really Really. That's one of the other advantages. I mean you can play with that ball for quite some time, unless it starts kind of flaking away a little bit from overuse. But we've been using that one for quite some time. I mean you don't have to buy unlike a real tennis ball, where it loses its pressure.

Mike Roth: 27:00

Yeah, a can of tennis balls, they tell me, is about 30 bucks today.

Mike Dombrowski: 27:04

I don't know if it's that much, but you do have to.

Mike Roth: 27:06

They aren't cheap, yeah.

Mike Dombrowski: 27:08

And you do have to get a new can every time you play. But with the Touch Tennis, no, we can play with this ball, for you can play you know over a month and the racket is nice.

Mike Roth: 27:18

It's got a. It's much bigger than a tennis racket, an overlord racket, and it's probably 24 inches by 12 inches, something like that.

Mike Dombrowski: 27:25

The head size.

Mike Roth: 27:26

Yeah.

Mike Dombrowski: 27:26

Head size is a little bit bigger, but the actual length of the racket is 21 to 23 inches.

Mike Roth: 27:32

Okay, so the width of the racket that we're holding in our hands is 10 inches by about 14 inches, so that's a pretty big surface area. Yeah, you can swipe the ball up. I hit the chance with the racket. It's got a nice grip down here at the top of the racket where you scrape it against the ground as you're trying to get a low one. They've got kind of a hard plastic, so it looks like the racket itself has a great deal of durability, which is a pretty good design. And the 23 inches the 23 on this racket means it's 23 inches from the top to the bottom- that's correct.

Mike Roth: 28:04

And they said there's a one that's a 24 as well 21.

Mike Dombrowski: 28:07

21. Yeah, so 21,. If you were playing in an official tournament, touch tennis tournament or event, you would use a 21 inch racket. It's a 23 inch racket. Those were donated from the United States Tennis Association and so they use those with their phone balls. So we're all about, you know, promoting. You know, my passion up here is promoting the sport for the fun, the social and the health benefits. So we use both.

Mike Roth: 28:33

Is there any reason someone would use a 21 as opposed to a 23? Is it a height issue?

Mike Dombrowski: 28:38

No, the only reason they would use that is if they were playing in an official event was a sponsored event and they wanted to participate in that, they'd have to have the 21 inch racket.

Mike Roth: 28:50

Okay, so the 23 gives you a little bit more hitting area.

Mike Dombrowski: 28:54

Little more hitting area, little more reach with it. But again, for I think the purposes of what we're trying to do here in the village is that both work really well Okay.

Mike Roth: 29:02

Great Mike. Thanks again for being a guest on the show and everyone being on the lookout for Mike's new touch tennis club when it is introduced. Thank you so much.

Mike Dombrowski: 29:10

Mike, it's been a pleasure being here and I really appreciate you helping us spread the word. Great Thanks again.

Emily: 29:16

Remember our next episode will be released next Friday at 9am. Should you want to become a major supporter of the show or have questions, please contact us at mikeatrothvoice. com. This is a shout out for supporters Tweet Coleman , ed Williams d and major supporter Dr Craig Curtis at K2 in the villages. We will be hearing more from Dr Curtis with short Alzheimer's tips each week. If you know someone who should be on the show, contact us mikeatrothvoice. com mikeatrothvoicecom. We thank everyone for listening to the show. The content of the show is copyrighted by Rothvoice 2024, all rights reserved.