If you're going to be at the BNP Paribas Open tomorrow, be sure to bring in those old tennis balls to recycle. We'll be giving away a new can of balls for each 6 that you bring in. We collected around 8,000 balls last weekend, and we're hoping to top that tomorrow. We'll be in the booth from 10am to 2 pm. Even if you don't have balls to recycle, come by the booth and say hello and take a look at the patented Green Tennis Machine. Here's a pic of the reBounces crew living it up in the BNP suite at the Baghdatis/Federer match. What fun that was!

 Here's a pic of my pick to win the tourney - Go Roddick!

 Hope the weather where you're at is as sunny and warm as it is here.

Hi Folks,

It's been a busy month around reBounces headquarters! We've launched the Green Machine, and Cannon and Grant are headed out for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells for a little fun and recycling in the sun. This is our second year to partner with BNP Paribas on the tennis ball recycling program, and we're delighted that we've been joined in our efforts by FedEx Ground! If you're out in the area, drop by the booth (it'll be the one with the rather unmistakable FedEx Ground truck parked beside it) and say hello. Don't forget to bring in those unwanted tennis balls! We're also going to be unveiling our Green Machine - the patented device built to effeciently recharge tennis balls and save you money. We'll be demonstrating the technology for a select group of club owners, managers, and pros - so if you want to get in on the action - contact Grant (grant@rebounces.com or 888.630.5696). 

We'll keep the blog updated with news and pictures from Indian Wells. There's twice as much TV coverage as last year, so be sure to look for us waving our arms behind Bud Collins.

The good people over at On the Baseline published a story on the recycling program yesterday. You can check that out and more at www.onthebaseline.com.

Regards,

Bill 

Everyone at Rebounces is fired up for the start of the US Open! If you didn't catch Andy Roddick on Letterman last night watch him almost remove Dave's hairpiece with a serve:

We also wanted to applaud the USTA on their efforts toward greening the Open this year. They've really stepped it up. You can read all about it here: http://www.earthportal.org/news/?p=2688

Dont' forget to fill out your US Open brackets at http://www.tennischannel.com/racquetbracket/!

Please keep those tennis ball recyling efforts going! We're nearing the end of another summer tennis season and I know there  are lots of balls just lying around.

Until next time,

I just walked by Grant’s office  and noticed he had the new (June) issue of O Magazine on his desk. Some of you may find that alarming, but before you get the wrong idea about Grant, let me mention that Rebounces received a great plug in Oprah’s magazine (check out page 104)! There are also some other great ideas on getting rid of useable but unwanted equipment. Thanks O!

By the way - I don't know how many of you caught the Madrid finals this weekend, but congratulations to a determined Federer. I like the additional drama heading into the French Open!

I was also flipping through my photos from this year's BNP Open out in Indian Wells, and thought this one of Cannon and Bud Collins was too good not to share.

Bill

Vera overcame some tough opponents and a brutal wind in the final to take the championship.  What a great tennis player and lovely young lady! Here's Bill congratulating her on her victory.

Here's the Three Rebounces Amigos at the BNP Paribas suite. Spectacular view AND even more spectacular hospitality. Thanks BNP!

Hi Folks, 

This is the first official post on Rebounces.com, and I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and say thanks for taking a look. The fact that you’re here tells us that you either love tennis, care about reducing waste, or both. All of us at Rebounces are definitely in the “both” category, and passionately so.  

While this is the new Rebounces website, we’re actually not that new. We’re going on our third year of recycling and providing tennis professionals with quality practice balls. I’ve got to take a moment and thank Raul Bermudez. Raul is the head pro at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Little Rock and a former tour player. He was the first on board and was instrumental in helping me refine the recharging process. Back then I would provide him with a basket of balls and then come back the next week and get feedback. Usually this feedback was quite good, but I remember one instance where this was not the case. He told me that some of his students were hitting a lot of the balls over the fence. Let me interject that Raul is from Venezuela, and while he is very articulate in English, because of the accent (I’m a hillbilly) I still sometimes have trouble picking up the nuances of what he is telling me. So I said something like-  so your students need a little more practice, but everybody hits the ball over the fence sometimes. Raul shook his head and said, “But not bouncing them over on their serve!”  

Two things I’ll say here: First, the students loved the balls (who doesn’t want to serve like Roddick?). Two, I realized I had had a momentary bout of dyslexia and had reversed a compound in the process. The problem was quickly fixed. Enough said. 

In January of this 2008, I joined with my longtime friends, Grant Garland and Cannon Fletcher, and officially incorporated Rebounces. However, both of these guys had been involved in the planning of Rebounces for several years. Grant and I first met at the tennis courts in 7th grade and have been battling it out ever since.  While we’re all club players, Grant does hold the unique distinction of being the only person to ever successfully hurl his racquet over the Quail Tree Health and Racquet Club and into the swimming pool (no one was hurt).  Even back then, the kid had an arm on him. Cannon and I met while completing our MBA’s. It was over a couple of cold ones after class (maybe it was during) that the first attempts at a business plan were taken. 

I can’t go further without thanking my wonderful wife, Shelley, for putting up with all the late nights spent in the workshop working on the Rebounces process and the hours of daily discussions about tennis balls!  My son Andrew is 4 years old and is a big Baghdatis fan (what’s up with that?). We’ll be welcoming a new member to our family in November. 

Anyway, that's a little background on who we are. We hope you’ll try our product. And remember, don’t throw those tennis balls away! 

Bill Dirst

CEO/Rebounces, LLC

Hello Friends,

Bill beat me to the punch with his introductory blog.  That's OK.  I have to let him beat me at things once in awhile to keep his spirits up.  You see, Bill and I have been beating up on each other since Jr. High.  We both come from large families with many siblings so getting beat up is kind of like breathing.  I have 3 brothers total ( no sisters unfortunately for my mother ) and many more brothers from other mothers - Bill happens to be one.  He and I have been working out the details of how to launch Rebounces for many years ( that is a lot of ping pong my friends ) and the time has finally come.  With the environmental push and our Rebounces technology perfected the planets finally seem to have aligned.

I want ot thank Cannon Fletcher ( CFO ) for his numbers wizardry and apalling weak serve.  Without him, Rebounces would still be merely an idea.

I also want to thank everyone that has assisted us thus far with their invaluable feedback and support.  We would not be where we are now without them.

Someone very close to me once said, "If you don't follow your passion, you are destined to fail."  ( They also told me that Marilyn Manson was one of the kids off the Wonder Years so go figure. )  Well, I am following my passion and I hope the tennis community will continue to support our efforts. 

 Sincerely,

 Grant Garland

Chief of Marketing / Rebounces, LLC 

P.S. In response to Bill's remark about my tennis racquet hurling abilities, I venture to guess that the name Jack Kramer has never flown so high or so long.  Seriously, don't throw your racquets . . . very bad etiquette and you can go to jail!