November 2015 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

12U Intermediate JTT wins State!

Sunday afternoon the 12u intermediate Junior Team Tennis team (Savannah Baptiste, Ross Cockrell, Denver Holden, Jack Marcus and Connor Russell) placed first at the State tournament in Midland, TX! Saturday they played 4 team matches and came out of their round robin as the leader in game percentage won. On Sunday, they played head to head in a bracket of the top 4 teams. They beat TCU in the semis 36-18 games and then had to stop for a rain delay. In the finals, versus SJ Dealey, the format was shortened to 7 point tiebreakers for the 2 doubles matches and 4 singles matches because they only had 1 indoor court. Savannah/Denver started the team off with a 7-5 win and then Ross/Connor finished out the doubles with a 9-7 win! Denver started us in singles with a 7-2 win, Savannah lost a tough breaker 4-7 and Ross finished it off with a 7-2 win to take first place! Jack did not have to play the 4th singles match because the team already won. Coach Carrie said, “The team had a lot of fun this weekend together and they handled the pressure of the final match so well.”

ATA had 2 more teams at the JTT State tournament we had our 10u green ball team (Luke Riezebeek, Clark White, Blake Tollen and Jacob Golden) they placed 5th in their draw! They played some tough teams and played well. Then, we also had our 12u Advanced team (Keana Moon, Jordan Phillips, Jake Riezebeek, Aiden Canada, and James Cockrell). The 12u team ended up bumping up and playing in the 14u advanced draw. They had a lot of stronger and older teams in their draw but stepped up and played great to place 5th! The teams had a ton of fun at the player party on Saturday night.

Connor, Keana and Savannah showing off their painted records!

Register for David Benzel Webinar on Nov 19

“What Your Child Needs to Succeed – Ten Life-Changing Strategies”

Join us as we expose the best-kept secrets of how parents can influence the well-being and happiness of their children. These top ten strategies will impact the entire family by giving you practical activities that shape the day-to-day outlook on good experiences and the not so good. Watch your child’s performance improve in every area of life.
– Learn how to teach your children self-directed character building;
– Discover the techniques and benefits of rewiring negative tendencies;
– Choose the strategies that will help your child improve the athletic journey, regardless of talent;

David will connect the key life skills of the lesson with winning on the field, and in life. The Power Point materials are loaded with practical information worth saving for future reference.

To register Click Here

Hunter Bleser and Payton Holden Sign National Letters of Intent

The fitness center at ATA was packed with the ATA community supporting Hunter Bleser and Payton Holden as they both signed their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Hunter Bleser has signed with University of Virginia and Payton Holden has signed with Princeton University. They are both seniors at ATA College Prep and will graduate in May 2016.

Hunter has only been at ATA a short while but has made a big impact. Coach Lucie said, “She is a leader and does so by being a good example to others.” Hunter has sacrificed a lot to be a part of the ATA program. She spoke Wednesday night about how she gained a second family/home at ATA, how she now has the opportunity to play at University of Virginia and that the sacrifices and hard work are worth it. Hunter will start at the University of Virginia in the Fall of 2016.

Payton Holden has been at ATA for nine years and has had a very successful career so far. Most of the coaching staff has known Payton since he started at ATA nine years ago as a skinny kid with glasses. Many stories were told some were about how he was the most competitive player and that he wanted to win everything no matter who he was playing. Coach Doug called him a “Racehorse.” Payton is the first player in ATA history to sign with an Ivy League school. Payton is excited to attend Princeton University in the Fall of 2016 and wants to be an impact player.

Congratulations to Hunter and Payton!

5 ATA Players Playing for State!

Andrea Stapper, Meghan O’Malley, Blaine Kanak, Kailey Chase and Synclair Larson all have the same goal in mind this year and it is to Win State! These 5 ATA players are all on Vandegrift’s tennis team, which is the first tennis team in school history that is going to the state finals. Vandegrift has had a record breaking season with going 163-0 in districts, which broke the district and the school record. Their team catch phrase is “That’s what you want!” The players are fired up and ready to compete to win. The team will begin their journey to claim the state title with play starting on Wednesday at 11:30 at Texas A&M University varsity courts. They will play College Station A&M consolidated in the semi-final match. The matches are played with doubles first followed by singles, the first team to win 10 matches wins the duel.

Click here for more info and to follow their results.

Vandegrift’s regional t-shirts supporting Wounded Warriors Foundation. Vandegrift was named after Matthew Vandegrift who served and died in Iraq.

Inside An ATA College Prep Morning Practice

The ATA College Prep students take the courts at 7:45am for morning workouts every day. The group, typically led by ATA’s Head Coach Doug Davis, will practice until 9:30, when they grab some breakfast and transition to their first class at 9:45am.

While most will end the day with normal Academy practice from 4-7pm after a full day of classes, the morning practice presents an additional opportunity for the CP student-athletes to focus on specific goals and get individual attention.

Recently, morning practices have been structured with half the group in live-ball situations, while the other half works through three drill courts that are the same each day until the goal is met.

“There are foundational shots and patterns worked on the least in typical daily practice,” Coach Davis said. “We are focused on those shots and patterns that will benefit our players significantly, and we’re focused on them long enough so they can master them.”

The three drill-courts:

3-Shot Combo: Transition shot, with the first volley hit through the court and second volley angled off.

Serving court

“Of course a serve court, because serving is just so important,” Davis said.

Inside-Out Forehand Pattern court

“These are fundamentally important enough that we need to master them and we as coaches are dedicated to sticking with them until then,” Davis said.

Each court has a coach and typically no more than a handful of players at one time. This small ratio allows for the most possible individual attention and the fastest progress.

“We are starting to see results in tournaments,” Davis said.

Chase Bartlett, a senior at CP, agreed that the focused attention is paying off.

“I definitely feel better in transition specifically since focusing on it in practice,” Chase said. “I feel much more comfortable executing transitions and coming to the net recently. And, my inside-out forehand followed by drop shot is getting really good,” Chase said with a smirk as he headed to class.

Five Strategies for Teaching Your Child Life Lessons

This months Growing Champions for Life Winner’s Connections article, by David Benzel, is about strategies for teaching life lessons to your child. The goal for using these strategies is to get your child thinking about what works in life, and to consider their own choices as a pathway to learning to make better ones. Click Here to read more

The 5 Strategies:

Walk the Talk – The most obvious of all, yet often neglected approach is to demonstrate the skill with our own behavior…to teach by example.
Catch Them Doing it Right – Be the observer and “noticer” of admirable behavior by your child and comment on the significance and benefits of it.
Look Out the Window for the Good – Watch for examples of credible behavior in people outside your family and ask your child, “What do you admire about what we just witnessed?”
Look Out the Window for the Not-So-Good – Watch for examples of questionable behavior in people outside your family and ask your child, “What choices might have worked better in that situation?”
Ask Yourself Wonder-FULL Questions – Instead of thinking, “Why is my child so undisciplined?”, or “…so lazy?” ask yourself a question like, “I wonder how I can help my child discover the benefits of self-discipline?” or, “I wonder how I can teach my child to enjoy hard work?”

www.growingchampionsforlife.com

ATA CP Senior Payton Holden Commits To Princeton University

ATA College Prep Senior Payton Holden recently announced that he plans to pursue his academic and athletic careers at Princeton University – the number 1 ranked national university – next fall.

“The main thing that drew me to Princeton was the high academic level,” Payton said. “No one in my family has ever attended the Ivy and I think it will be a life-changing experience.”

Payton first came to ATA nearly nine years ago, learning QuickStart tennis skills and having fun with the game. Today, Payton is amid his 5^th year in the ATA College Prep program, has blossomed into a top national-level tennis player and is a standout student in a challenging academic environment.

“Payton Holden is the sort of young man ATA and ATA College Prep were designed to help,” Coach Jack Newman said. “He struck his first ball as a wide-eyed 9 year old and has been a top US junior tennis competitor the entire 9 years since. With his latest accomplishment of committing to Princeton University, Payton joins the ranks of ATA players who have used their tennis and academics to leverage their college choice. He joins former students like Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt), Grayson Broadus and Josh Hagar (Notre Dame), Spencer Chiu (Pomona) and Camilla Trapness (Amherst) in an exciting adventure of college tennis and academics.”

Athletically, Payton will join a Princeton Tigers team that competes in the Ivy League alongside schools like Harvard and Yale. The group finished 2015 ranked 36 in the nation, logging a record of 19-8.

“I am so excited for the team aspect of college tennis,” Payton said. “Anyone who knows me will say that I am a people-person, and being with a group of 10-12 guys all working towards the same goal will create something special in the end.”

Academically, Princeton is the number 1 ranked national university according to U.S. News & World Reports. For Payton, it is the opportunity to grow that he is most excited about.

“I am excited to have my mind blown,” he said. “School will be extremely difficult and I am excited to see how I handle it and how it changes me as a person.”

Payton started this school year as a junior, but decided to graduate early when the opportunity became available. This is one example of how CP works to maximize students’ college opportunities through individualization and planning.

“One of our foundational principles is to provide opportunities that help a child move from where he is to where he wants to go,” CP Director Carol Hagar said. “Because of our flexible learning schedule and individual academic planning, Payton was able to explore advanced placement, high school credit courses at a very young age. He began typical high school freshman courses during his 7th grade year at CP and has been able to continue at an accelerated pace. Now he is exercising his option to graduate a year early and attend the school of his dreams, Princeton University.”

In his years at CP, it is learning to get the most out of himself that stands out to Payton as what will stick with him moving forward.

“ATA CP has taught me the responsibility to manage my own time,” Payton said. “Its schedule is similar to a college schedule, so it has made me comfortable with learning certain topics on my own between classes and completing school work while on the road.”

While Payton logged long hours to earn his place at Princeton, he gives credit to his long-time coach, Jack Newman, for the long-term plan and ultimately opening the door.

“Coach Newman is a college process guru,” Payton said. “He knows everyone, but more importantly every coach knows who he is and respects him as a coach. He has a very good reputation with college coaches and it allows him to get his students more opportunities.”

Beyond forehands and physics, Payton will head to Princeton armed with other tools that he also credits to his time at ATA.

“ATA has taught me a strong work ethic and to enjoy the struggles on and off the court,” Payton said. “When you encounter any adversity and overcome it, you grow as a person/player.”

Congratulations, Payton, and go Tigers! Join the community at ATA on Nov 11th to celebrate Payton at his official Signing Ceremony party.

15th Annual Pro-Am Shootout – ‘One Of Our Best Ever’

The 15^th annual Austin Tennis Academy Pro-Am Shootout brought the ATA community together last weekend, featuring a banquet on Friday evening and a pro-am Calcutta-style tennis tournament on Saturday.

“This year’s SHOOTOUT was one of our best ever,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “The dinner and auction was exciting. The PRO-AM tennis was competitive. Players, coaches and patrons all had a fun time competing in tennis. Great Weekend!!!”

The weekend benefits the Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation, which helps support deserving student-athletes who are pursuing a disciplined lifestyle to reach their highest level of accomplishment.

The Friday-night banquet, hosted at the Sonesta Hotel, featured a cocktail hour with silent auction items on display, followed by a presentation and live auction over dinner.

Jeff Blatt opened the evening by presenting a check to the A Glimmer of Hope Foundation‘s Donna Berber as part of the ATA’s continued support of the organization.

Later, the annual named scholarships were handed out and each of the recipients were honored.

Here are the 2015-2016 scholarship recipients:

Esmerelda Werbeck Scholarship – Kristin Kerrigan

Lindsey Pereira Leadership Scholarship – Hunter Bleser

Roger Gubser Scholarship – Callie Creath

Sterling Wilson Scholarship – Kyler Bender

Cameron Dabaghi Scholarship – Erik Kerrigan

On Saturday, the community hit the courts for a day of competitive team-tennis amongst friends and family.

At the end, it was Leftys Rule, a team led by Estevam Strecker and Charlie Shin that finished in first place. Strecker commented on the weekend overall.

“Anytime we can focus on doing something for someone else it is a great thing,” Strecker said. “I enjoy going to sleep knowing that my day mattered, that in a very small way I made a difference in someone else’s life. The Shootout is a really cool opportunity to accomplish that. Tennis is the greatest sport on earth and I dedicated my life to it, so being able to use tennis to improve the lives of people in need is an extremely rewarding thing.”

If you would still like to contribute to the Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation there is still time! Also – don’t forget about the raffle for the 2016 Jeep Wrangler!

Tickets are still available. Just contact Deb Cahill at Deb.Cahill@AustinTennisAcademy.com.