Help the Bad News Bears vie for a national title!

You remember the Bad News Bears: the little league baseball team from the 70s movie with Walter Matthau. It tells the story of how a bunch of delightfully profane, sticky-fingered misfits beat all the odds to go from losers to championship contenders. That’s me, Tayler, and my team in the photo above. We’re the Bad News Bears, except we’re middle-aged and play tennis.

Our team didn’t quite start as the abject losers of the tennis world, but I had only recently started playing in the summer of 2021. I was new to racquet sports, and naturally, when I asked to be a part of any existing club-sponsored USTA team, I heard nothing but crickets. So I started my own team from ground zero. (Now imagine a musical montage of me recruiting people I just met while hitting in a clinic, or playing against them in a singles match, breathlessly yelling crosscourt, “You wanna join this team I’m putting together? I have no idea how it works.”)

We had to beg, borrow, and steal to get dedicated court time for practice. We had no coach, no uniforms, and virtually no clue how to play doubles when we took the court for our first match in January this year. But we had a team of willing players, ready to learn.

With the help of some of the lovely pros at Olympic Tennis Club, we figured out how to win our first match, and we didn’t stop there. We ended the season with a 10-0 record to win our league and qualify for postseason tournaments. We dug into our pockets to pay for coaching at the first round of tournaments in Cincinnati, OH. We participated with only six players, which meant we had to forfeit one out of five courts every match, giving us a -1 score before we even started playing. With no replacements, no one could get hurt or sick. Everyone had to play tired. And don’t forget: we all only just met each other eight months ago.

But we won. A week later, we won again at the USTA Ohio State Championship Tournament in Toledo, still with no backup players, but this time with an entire team of eight. The following weekend, the same crew drove to South Bend, Indiana to compete at the USTA Midwest regional tournament. We were the only team competing without a coach, a sub, or matching uniforms. But in true Bad News Bears style, we became the first team in decades representing Olympic Indoor Tennis to win a regional title. After securing the win, we walked off the court as one of us proclaimed that we were “just like the Bad News Bears.” Team Illinois’ coach overheard the banter, to which she turned and replied, “more like the Badass Bears!” The Badass Bears are going to the USTA National Tournament, baby.

Our team members are powerful women. Each of us has at least one full-time job; some work several jobs to earn the extra cash to pay for clinics and court time. Some of us have a kid or two, a pet or three, partners, and parents. All of us have significant obligations to meet off the court, and we wouldn't be where we are without our rock-hard partners, families and friends. It isn't easy to express how thankful we are for the emotional and logistical support that could only come from those who understand our tireless commitment to the sport. But traveling every weekend in August and practicing three, four, five, and sometimes six days a week has added up as we prepare for Nationals. We could use a little extra financial help with the mounting expenses of sending eight women to Arizona to bring a national title home to our little club in Columbus, OH.

We would be so grateful if you could toss us a couple of dollars by contributing to this GoFundMe to help us go the last mile. We could not be more excited about the chance to make you proud next month in Scottsdale.

Thanks a million,

The Bears