The Keller brothers turn to tennis for a trip at the end of the baseball season in Sports

Lesson No. 1 When it comes to moving from baseball to tennis: abstinence is a virtue.

When you play baseball, you kind of want to hit it for as long as you can, he said. In tennis, you kind of want to put a bike in it.

Oliver and his older brother, 12-year-old Gareth, have both gotten to know the court better over the past year, which has ultimately led to their participation in the Elliott Tennis Center’s Western Slope Open, the 63rd handover of the event. At the University of Colorado Mesa.

Although their mother, Cassie, made the decision to take part in tennis, they have both quickly found a hobby in the sport.

My mom said we should try something with the baseballs away, and then my brother and I started to like it, so we kept playing, Oliver said.

Gareth has played baseball most of his life, at about age 5. He played travel baseball for a few seasons and played for the final season on the 12-year-old Mavericks team. Oliver plays in 11U Mavs.

For both, their Mav teammates helped further develop their interest in tennis, thanks to one quality that is characteristic of two sports that are otherwise structurally distinct worlds.

No. 1, I inspired a couple of my friends because it looked very fun. No. 2, waving a baseball bat and using a tennis racket are on the same lines, so I thought it would be fun to try it, Gareth said. When I did, it just looked really enjoyable, so I kept working on it. If you ask any of my baseball friends, I bet they’ll say the same thing. It is very similar, although not used with two hands, to wave a baseball bat.

Oliver played in a nearly two-hour match on Saturday in the U.S. 14/12 doubles before dropping to Khorben Blair 6-4, 7-6. Gareth lost on Friday 6-2, 2-6, 10-7 against Finn Brown on Saturday mornings on 14/21 in the French doubles console before being relegated in three innings in the consolation quarter.

The results of the relative newcomers to tennis have not diminished their enthusiasm for improving and honing their skills.

My friends help, Oliver said. Running is also more fun with tennis (than baseball).

Throughout the winter, I was still interested in it and really enjoyed it, so I worked on it, and some of my baseball friends really did it with me, Gareth added. The tournaments came around and it interested me a lot to do so, so I wanted to throw myself out and try it, and I did. So far I have enjoyed it a lot.