REVISTA PALMAS 68 OCTUBRE 2022

My name is Elsa Rosa-Sosa,
and I am so proud
to say I am now an official
Grape Crusher, the 2.0 (Beginners)
Palmas del Mar Tennis Team!!!
When I was a child, I was always told that
sports were not my thing. As of today, I
can’t ride a bike, never played any sports
and learned a bit of swimming about 13
years ago, and I’m still not confident in water.
A little more than a year ago, due to
the pandemic, me and my husband started watching our
friends play tennis on Sundays. I watched how one of
our cousins, who had a very bad accident and has bolts
in her foot, was playing tennis. I was totally inspired by
her, after all that she has gone through. I asked myself
“why can’t I do this?” And that is how all of this started.
I have so many people to thank, first of all, God for
blessing my life with the opportunity of living and being
part of the great community of Palmas del Mar, my
husband for being my partner in crime, and for being
so patient when I couldn’t even hit a ball; Coach William
Brown, Coach Elizabeth Cusack, Coach Luis Flores,
Raymond Abarca, my team players, who welcomed me
and made me feel part of the team, and all my friends
who patiently let me play with them on Sundays. Finally,
Esther Almodóvar, Captain of the Grape Crushers, who
gave me the opportunity of practicing with the team
to see if I could be part of it. At first, I met the team
players, (just saying) most of them can be my daughters,
some my sisters, but I am the “oldest”. First, I said to
myself, oh my God can I really do this? Much older than
them, overweight and not too self-confident, my journey
began. I kept taking lessons, improving my skills,
practicing as much as I could and lost 30 pounds in the
process… which I also love!
During our practices, one of the team players, Loyra,
who I now consider a friend and another blessing, started
nominating and naming
the most valuable
players of the practice
and/or Queen
of the Court. On our
fourth practice I was
named Queen of the
Court and was given a
plastic medal, which
I completely cherish
and has a special
place in my heart and
in my house.
We recently had
our first Round Robin
as a team, yes a
team, my team. We
played with the help
of our Palmas 2.5
Team captained by
Khadine Kubal, our sisters. We had so much fun together,
I won a 2” trophy and an Honorable ribbon, which is
now next to my plastic medal; it was a night of many different
emotions, all good, full of sisterhood and laughter.
I am now registered in USTA as a Team Member of
“The Grape Crushers”. The season begins September
10 and lasts until November 19, so wish us luck. We will
do our best to represent Palmas in the best way possible.
So, with this said, I am so proud to be a part of a
team for the first time, at this stage of my life, I LOVE
TENNIS!!! If you want something make it happen, yes,
you can do it; I did! s