It was 1969. Id just turned 18, and was going to start university in September. I was working for the summer as a tennis pro at a community tennis club in Toronto. This was an ideal job. I could be outdoors all summer and was making excellent money. The club paid me a retainer and I charged members for group and private lessons. Part of my contract entailed teaching the juniors on Saturday mornings. This was always one of my favorite activities. The kids ranged in age from 8 to 14 or so and I generally enjoyed getting them organized, active and happy. If I kept them moving and engaged in contests and drills, they really seemed to learn. None were stars but several of them, particularly those that Id taught in previous summers were really coming along.
One Saturday morning, a lady came down and deposited her two boys for the Saturday morning lessons and introduced them to me. She said that Matthew and Larry were identical twins (well that was obvious) and that they were 10 and a half. They had sandy blonde hair, dark tans and the winningest smiles. Their mother said goodbye to them and said shed be back after the lesson. The boys joined about 25 other kids and came out onto the first court, as I was demonstrating the proper grip for a forehand. Matthew decided that Larry wasnt holding his racquet properly and knocked it out of his hand just to prove it. I figured OK, my mistake allowing them to be beside each other and moved them apart in the line they were standing in. I didnt want the group to get restless, so I separated them onto two courts. The 8 to 11 year olds on court 1, and the 12 to 14 year olds on court 2. I got each court set up doing drills.
I made sure that the twins were kept a bit apart from each other. My experience with brothers was that keeping them apart if possible helped to reduce the natural rivalry that tended to occur, so I thought I had things pretty much under control and focused on Court 2 for a bit. Well, it didnt take long to notice that Matthew and Larry were on the same side of the court whipping balls at each other and nearly hitting some of the other kids. I went over to court 1 and calmly told them that what they were doing was very dangerous and if they wanted to stay in the group, theyd have to behave. They said they would, but shortly thereafter, they were playing the fool and both running around, intercepting balls and preventing others from completing the drills. They seemed to be having great fun, but no one else was. At this point, I raised my voice and sent Matthew over to court 2. They seemed to settle down for a while and I was able to complete the lesson.
When their mother came to pick them up, I asked to speak to her for a minute. I said that the boys were being disruptive and needed to be told that it was unfair to the others in the group. If they couldnt behave, I wouldnt be able to allow them to continue in the group. She said that, yes, they were a handful and shed speak to them. Next Saturday, she brought them back and prodded them to tell me they were sorry for acting up. When the lesson started, I again put them on separate courts. Barely 10 minutes into the lesson, they were throwing balls at each other again, missing and hitting others. I d been teaching for a few years and considered myself very patient, but I just felt that Id had enough of these two and told them to go sit down, that they wouldnt be allowed in the group anymore. I finished the lesson, while having to shout at them several times to stop throwing balls at each other off the court. When their mother arrived, I explained to her that I couldnt allow the boys to stay in the group anymore. I was sorry but I had an obligation to the rest of the kids. She looked sad and said shed really like the boys to learn tennis. She asked if Id be interested in giving the boys private lessons. I said I would but Id like talk to her first. She said sure, that I could come over to her house across the street.
When we got there, she asked the boys to go upstairs and play for a bit. They both decided that they wanted to play in the living room and essentially ignored her. Well, I certainly felt awkward but I just told the boys, listen to your mother and go upstairs. Now! They just looked at each other a little and went upstairs to their room. I said to their mother that I didnt mind teaching them, but it was very difficult if they insisted in being as disruptive and non-co-operative as they could be. I said that although I was young, Id had quite a lot of experience with kids, particularly boys, as a tennis instructor and camp counselor. They generally liked me and always wanted to please me. Discipline had seldom been an issue. I asked her why she thought her boys were behaving that way.
I was quite taken aback when she put her face in her hands and started sobbing. As I tried to find some Kleenex, she explained. Their father had died when they were 5. Since then, she just hadnt been able to say no the boys about anything. Any form of discipline was non-existent, but the boys had suffered so much that she couldnt bear the thought of being cruel to them. The other night, she had told Larry to go to bed and turned off the television. He just snapped at her that she was a cruel bitch. She just went into the other room and cried. Her friends had told her that she should spank them but she knew she couldnt, and now she felt at her wits end. I told her that it was pretty clear to me that the boys were undisciplined. I said that I considered spanking to be a last resort, but I had occasion to spank boys on a few occasions and in those cases, it seemed to be effective. Her boys had been allowed to do as they pleased for so long that a jolt might be required, I indicated. I said that Id teach them if she allowed me to discipline them as I saw fit if they misbehaved. She just beamed at that suggestion and immediately agreed. She said that theyd become so disrespectful and rude, she was ashamed to take them anywhere.
We had arranged a lesson time for Wednesday morning at 10:00 A. M. The courts were deserted when the boys rode over on their bikes. I explained to them that their mother and I both really wanted them to learn how to play tennis and that it could be a whole lot of fun. But theyd need to pay attention to me, if they were going to learn anything. I was feeding them balls for a while and it seemed to be going fairly well. They were reasonably attentive and seemed to be improving as I encouraged them. We emptied the two hoppers and I asked them to help me pick up the balls. Id never heard anything quite like the response that ensued. Larry said: "Pick them up yourself you jerk, were paying you, so you work for us and we dont have to do anything you say."
Matthew chimed in "hes not a jerk, hes a jackass" and they both chuckled. I said nothing and proceeded to gather up all the balls .When the hoppers were full, I picked them up and started walking off the court. I told the boys that Id like to talk to them for a minute and they followed me into the clubhouse. I proceeded to lock the door behind me. They asked me why I locked the door. I told them to shut up, sit on the couch and listen. "You know I had a chat with your mom last week", I said. "She told me about how you lost your dad and how tough it was on you. But she also said youd become rude, disobedient and disrespectful. She also said that I should do whatever I thought was necessary if you misbehaved. They quickly glanced at each other and became unusually attentive.
I decided to get right to the point. "Do you guys know what consequences are?", I asked. They shook their heads. "Well youre about to find out" and I pushed them into the adjacent storeroom, after grabbing a paddle off the ping pong table. I had used this storeroom once before for a similar purpose. I told them to sit down on the 2 chairs there and I sat in front of them. The boys seemed completely stunned. "Youre gonna spppank us?", Matthew stammered.
"Dont you think you deserve it"?, I said .
"Nooooo. Weve never been spanked before. Well be good. I promise", said Larry
"OK, Ive heard enough. This is whats going to happen. Youre going to get a proper spanking which means that this will occur in stages. Lets get it over with"
I told Matthew to get up and come over to me. He got up and approached very slowly. He was wearing a blue T shirt and very tight white tennis shorts as was the fashion at that time. I grabbed his arm and slowly pulled him over my lap. I maneuvered him into position a bit so that his behind was over my right thigh .I rested my hand on his upturned bottom.
"Matthew, do you understand why youre being spanked?"
"Yes" he replied.
I raised my hand and brought it down firmly and sharply in slow succession mostly across the middle of his taut shorts-clad bum. He clearly was not used to this as he was letting out regular little yelps despite the fact that I was holding back considerably in what I considered a warm-up exercise. After a dozen or so spanks, I let Matthew up and told him to sit down, which he did after considerable rubbing.
"Your turn, now Larry", I stated firmly, "Get over here. Now, I said."
As Larry sauntered over, I quickly pulled him across my knee and placed his skintight blue-jean cut-off clad bottom across the very center of my lap. As his feet dangled in the air, I told him to keep his hands straight ahead of him. I understood what is meant by identical twins as my spanks were fairly similar and his reaction was near identical to his brother. I felt like I was engaged in a bit of a research project. The feel of my hand striking those perfectly defined round mounds of denim was a new experience for me. It was quickly over, however and I let him up. Similar rubbing and he sat down. I then motioned for Matthew to stand in front of me "Hands on your head", I told him. I undid the front of his shorts as he stood there staring at me wide eyed. The shorts dropped right to his ankles after I lowered them a bit, revealing tight baby blue briefs. As I pulled him across my lap, I raised a knee a little bit, so that his bottom was raised and directly underneath me. "Crack" was the sound that reverberated in rapid succession, throughout the storeroom. This spanking had clearly increased in intensity. I believed that was an effective and fair way of spanking boys. I had quickly completed 15 or so smacks on his briefs , kicked his shorts right off and stood him up. He started to walk back toward the chair when I grabbed his arm and asked where he thought he was going. Speech didnt seem to be possible. He just whimpered as he caught his breath. I reached over with both hands and lowered his briefs to his knees. I lifted him right up off the ground and placed him across my lap, again. His bottom now had a crimson hue and was quite warm to the touch. I positioned him a little differently, more over my left thigh to allow me to bring my hand down directly more on his sit spot. As I brought my hand down very sharply on his bare bottom, slowly and methodically, he was clearly wincing , squirming, crying and trying to move his hand. I grabbed his hand, moved him more toward the center of my lap and gave him one full force whack that virtually left a visible handprint on his bum. I stood him up and told him to stand in the corner with his hands on his head. There was to be no rubbing but he could watch his brothers punishment if he wished.
Larry seemed frightened but resigned to get this over with as he approached me. The entire scenario was repeated, first on his white cotton briefs and then on the bare bottom. He may have received somewhat less than his brother as my hand had really started to throb. I told him to replace Matthew in the corner, and had Matthew waddle back toward me with his briefs still at his ankles.
I placed his upturned bare bottom over my right thigh again, picked up the paddle and brought it down sharply in rapid succession over every part of his bottom. Pop Pop Pop Pop. About 12 times. I put the paddle down and finished with maybe 6 light hand spanks on his bright red, hot bottom. I left him across my lap for a couple of minutes as I stroked and rubbed that little bum. I asked him whether he thought hed ever give anyone reason to have to do this again. He just shook his head and sobbed. OK, its all done, I said as I told him he could get up and get dressed if he liked. He decided to do some rubbing first. Larry seemed very compliant at this point. He knew that this was the last phase and went up to me and bent his little bare rear right over my lap. He received exactly the same as his brother and was also allowed to cry himself out a bit while still over my lap.
When the boys had both dressed, I told then to come over for a minute. They did so with a little trepidation but they seemed very relieved when I gave them both a big hug. I held them for a couple of minutes until they were done crying. I softly asked them whether they loved their mother. They quickly nodded yes. "Well, do you know that you make her cry?", I inquired. No, they responded, incredulously. "Ok guys, Im gonna take you home now and explain to your mom what happened" I stated ,as the boys began to walk their bicycles home along with me. I was expecting that the boys might run to their mother and accuse me of torturing them; however, they ran up to her, gave her a big hug and together, told her that they loved her. Somewhat stunned and in tears, she said that she loved them too. After a long hug, they went up to their rooms, no doubt to examine their bottoms a little bit. I explained to her what happened at the tennis clubhouse. She felt sympathy for the hurt theyd endured, but said that she knew it was deserved and thanked me for caring about them enough to discipline them in a way she felt should she never could. She did promise me, however that shed set clear rules and consequences for them and wouldnt tolerate what she had before. I said that I was glad, as Id like to be a friend that they respect and emulate, but not fear. I didnt think I would ever do that again and also didnt particularly want to have to threaten. She said shed be thrilled if Id be a mentor to the boys and said shed pay me to take them places like the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). I said, sure Id be happy to. She thanked me and called me a godsend.
The boys showed up for their tennis lesson the next week. I was a bit anxious about it, but I was a little amazed at how happy they seemed. They were exuberant but very attentive. I was afraid theyd feel that they were facing their executioner. I was about as shocked as their mom had been when at the end of the lesson, they both came up to me and gave me a huge hug.
For the next few years, I spent a lot of time with the boys acting as somewhat of a big brother father figure. I grew to totally love them and made sure they knew that. They made it very clear that emotion was reciprocated. Id be lying if I said that they were always little angels, but I never really felt the need to spank them again. When they misbehaved, their mom might tell them that they wouldnt be allowed to go on an outing with me. There were times that I felt that was the equivalent of spanking me, but it was a very effective deterrent and I accepted it. One time, the boys seemed so forlorn that she said they could go on the outing if they took a spanking from me first. They both readily agreed to that option.
I gave them a light handspanking over their shorts that time. After a major hug, I said I really didnt want to have to do this again. That was the last spanking they ever received to the best of my knowledge, and since that incident in the tennis clubhouse, Id never seen their mother cry again.