Waking up to a normal, miserable, dreary Monday morning is even worse when you have to go to school. I have to almost yank myself out of bed and drag myself to get ready. I get to school, and then I remember- Homecoming Week!! I race up to my locker to find it brightly and boldly decorated with tennis racquets, tennis balls and pictures of me all over! Maroon and white streamers are everywhere. I unlock my combination to get in to my locker, to find it loaded with candy and small gifts. There are tennis ball containers full of my favorite jolly ranches and bubble gum! Tennis ball magnets, tennis ball pencils…even tennis house slippers adorn my locker!!

I look up and down the hallway and most lockers are decorated. There are cheer posters everywhere! The mood in my hallway at school is one of excitement. Everyone is checking out the lockers. Everyone is trying to steal each other’s candy from inside their lockers. As classes start, I am no longer dreading this Monday morning like I always do. The drudgery that started the day has melted into fun and excitement. I notice I don’t mind being at school today. I won’t mind being at school all week-because it is Homecoming, like no others!

Here, a high school tennis player enjoys the thrill of school spirit during homecoming week at her high school. Do you need tips on decorating lockers or the courts for your team? I can help with some quick last minute ideas to make your homecoming a success. Locker:

Cover with wrapping paper, Aluminum foil, or scrapbook paper Spell the player’s name out with any array of ideas (tennis balls- for shorter names, poster board, yellow plates used to resemble tennis balls with the players name written on in Sharpie) Tennis Slogans:

1. Game-Set-Match
2. LOVE TENNIS
3. LOVE-LOVE __________(Player’s name)
4. GO _____________ (team’s name)
5. 40-LOVE (or any score; make sure your player is Winning!)

ALSO, pictures are a great touch! Add any from baby pictures to team photos. I try to start with a theme to begin ideas rolling. Themes work anywhere from a favorite cartoon character to the theme used for this player, LOVE-LOVE. A theme of hearts and LOVE were on the locker. Have fun with it and make it personal! That’s the most important thing!

COURTS:

Courts are fun to have decorated for the Homecoming match, or even for Senior Nights for the graduating Seniors. Poster boards decorated with slogans or made into yellow circle with the girls’ names along with cable ties (plastic) have been a lifesaver for putting last minute decorations up on the fences at the courts.

What do I put on the poster board?

-Spray paint an outline of an old tennis racket onto the poster board with the team’s colors
-Use paint to spell out the team’s name; one letter per poster board (Watseka Warriors would take 16 pieces of poster board to create) It is also fun to add pictures of the mascot on the dividing the words.
-Yellow poster board cut into circles gives the girls a personalized touch
-Picture collages always make a fun finishing touch!