The Unspoken Mantra

GEORGIA TEAM HAS PLENTY OF SAGE SAYINGS

By Amanda Tobin and Jennifer Pollack/USTA Southern

Three mantras define one Georgia Men’s 3.0 team when playing opponents:
1. Drink their beer,
2. Stare at their women, and
3. Win.

This group of happily married 28-to 70-year-old neighbors from Deerlake subdivision in Alpharetta, GA is self-titled “The Big Yellow Balls.” According to Team Captain Russell Artz, they are just a group of middle-aged guys with everyday family and work responsibilities who want to be juvenile for five hours on a Saturday when they play tennis. All antics aside, this team has proven their dedication to the team and sport.

Team member Kevin Lockert, who works for a large software company, received news that he had to deliver a presentation for a potential $20 million deal in Finland a day before the state tournament. He boarded a 30-person private jet, landed and spent six hours in Helsinki, and then headed straight back to the States. Immediately after landing, he was in his car racing to Augusta, GA to prepare to play with his team.

Another member of this team who refuses to let anything stand in the way of his play is 70-year-old Eddy Haarl from Austria. Haarl has endured three surgeries in the past 30 days. While he wears a back brace “like you wouldn’t believe,” Artz warns that “everyone better watch out for this guy, he’s incredible.”           

There is not an ocean big enough, or multiple visits to the OR that will stop this team from competing on the courts this season. While the deal in Helsinki looks promising, so does this team’s chances in Birmingham.