BY RYAN P. CRUZ • COURTESY PHOTOS

It’s always great to see kids working together with their parents, and recently two Carpinteria families competed together on the tennis court at national U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) competitions in Southern California.

Stephanie Stone and her son, Carpinteria High School graduate Austin Stone, competed at the USTA MotherSon hardcourt tournament in La Jolla, finishing with the silver ball; and Jill Gardner competed with her daughter, Emily, at the Mother-Daughter hardcourt tournament in Claremont, where the duo came away with a bronze ball finish. All four are from Carpinteria and play tennis out of the Santa Barbara Polo Club on Via Real.

For Jill and Emily, it was the first time the mother and daughter competed in doubles together, although both play on the same Polo Club team and have competed with separate partners in other USTA matches. While Jill played college tennis for UC Santa Barbara, Emily only recently took up

tennis, though she has already proved herself to be a strong tennis player.

The Stone family is full of tennis talent spanning at least three generations. Austin recently graduated from CHS, where his younger brother Max also just finished a standout season as a junior. Stephanie has competed alongside both her brother and sister, and Austin’s first national tournament was alongside his 81-year-old grandfather in the National Grandfather-Grandson hardcourts, when he was only nine years old.

Although Stephanie and Austin competed in smaller events when he was younger, they only recently began to compete in national tournaments after his graduation, and the duo reached the semifinals in mixed doubles at the Santa Barbara Open last year.

“Austin and I have always been so passionate about this sport and to be able to compete together at a high level was incredibly special,” Stephanie said. “Family dynamics can be tricky, and we feel so lucky that we can compete together on of living up to “the college sports dream.”

Nowadays, I live out my sports dreams through watching others enjoy their time out on the field or ballcourt. Covering sports and getting to write about it is something I never thought I would do professionally, and it’s a privilege to share the stories of all the athletes in our community who due to her battles with depression.

WIKICOMMONS have that same deep love for sport that I do.

I’ve also learned that it’s important to have a healthy relationship with the things you love doing. Even if it’s a healthy hobby, like exercising or playing sports, the way you approach it can affect your entire life. I’ve seen too many young athletes become jaded because of pressures placed on them by coaches and parents. I’ve seen the joy sucked out of college athletes once they start feeling like their lifelong passion is more like a chore.

In recent years there have been many more professional athletes sharing their own struggles with mental health. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles famously – and bravely – decided to put her own mental wellbeing first when she pulled out of the 2022 Olympic Finals in Tokyo. In an interview with NPR, she later explained: “I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat, work on my mindfulness.”

The decision was a shocker, but also a lightbulb moment for other younger athletes who saw that – even on the world’s biggest stage – it’s alright to take a step away if it’s for your own mental wellbeing. It opened the doors for others, like tennis star Naomi Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open later that same year

It’s encouraging to see the world’s top athletes now embracing mental health awareness. Now, like Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps famously said, “It’s okay to not be okay.” These athletes have helped dampen the stigma behind talking about your feelings and changed the dynamics from the days when coaches and parents told you to “suck it up.” the court supporting each other, problem solving and working together as a team and as a family.”

There’s nothing wrong with talking about how you feel, and it takes more courage than most people know to open up about mental health. Being an athlete is tough: the pressure to win, pressure to outwork your opponent, and the risk of a career-ending injury at any point. So even if you love it as much as I do, it’s important to remember that your longterm mental health is most important, and it’s okay to take a step back and realize that there’s much more to life than being an athlete.

Ryan P. Cruz is the sports editor for Coastal View News. This is the latest installment of a monthly column where he explores local sports, sports history, and what’s in store for the future of Carpinteria sports. Have an idea, tip, or sports story? Email me at sports@ coastalview.com.

Mother and daughter Jill and Emily Gardner celebrate a bronze finish at the Mother-Daughter hardcourt tournament in Claremont.

Both will be competing in this year’s SB Open, where Austin will play in

Mother and son Stephanie and Austin Stone finished with the silver at the USTA Mother-Son tournament in La Jolla.