January 2017 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

ATA All Stars Set To Dual St. Edward’s Men Tomorrow

A team of the top players in the Academy are set to take on the St. Edward’s University men’s team tomorrow at 4pm at ATA. The ATA All Stars will take the court against the Hilltoppers for 2 out of 3 sets of doubles followed by an 8-game pro set of singles.

“Having ATA players get the opportunity to play a college dual match against a real college team is invaluable,” Coach Jack Newman said. “Players can get a taste of what college tennis is really like on their home courts.”

The teams will square off in up to 5 lines of doubles and 10 lines of singles. Come out tomorrow around 4pm to see an exciting college-style dual match! Cheer on the ATA players while they compete against Hilltopper head coach Estevam Strecker, freshman Chase Bartlett and senior Charlie Shin.

What Does Your Child Imagine for this Life? – David Benzel

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Message from David

What Does Your Child Imagine for this Life?

As far as we know, human beings are the only mammals in the kingdom with an imagination. It makes us pretty unique. We have the ability to “see” something before it actually exists. We can imagine a light bulb before it’s invented, or even a lunar landing module, or an iPhone. Those things are invented…because someone believed it in their mind so the rest of us could see it with our eyes.

We can also imagine situations and circumstances before they exist. We can “see” in the theater of our minds things like triumph or defeat; being included or being excluded; behaving confidently or behaving fearfully. We’re capable of imaging almost any scenario, positive or negative. The manifestation of each scenario into a reality is just as likely, or more so, than the light bulb, lunar landing module, or the iPhone. Do our children realize the power of the brain, or that their imagination is within their control?

The human brain is a powerful tool due to its complexity and billions of connections (synopses), allowing thousands of thoughts per day at lightning speed. The good news is that we are the directors and producers of the movies we run in our head, even if it doesn’t seem that way sometimes. The part your child might not understand is that the sub-conscious mind does not evaluate the imagined scenarios as good or bad, healthy or unhealthy…it just accepts the movie scene and looks for ways to turn that fantasy into fact.

It’s a fact that in the absence of a positive desire, aspiration, or goal, the mind tends to imagine negative outcomes based on fears. The question is, do your children assume there’s no harm in dwelling on the negative or forecasting doom? Are they privately building a thought-life around negativity or “awfulizing?” — the downward spiral of thoughts in which one awful event always leads to a worse awful event, on and on! The bad news, and the good news, is synopses that fire together stay together, thus developing patterns of thinking for all occasions.

To inspire your children to make better choices with their built-in-movie theater, ask them to imagine the kind of thinking that must go on in the minds of people who invent things, or discover medical and technological breakthroughs, or who win academic and athletic scholarships. Thomas Troward once said, “The law of floatation was not discovered by the contemplation of the sinking of things.” If our kids understood the power of the brain, they would never allow themselves a negative thought. It’s our responsibility as parents to encourage our children to imagine progress in sports for themselves; to imagine healthy friendships; to picture a completed project or a successful final exam. They are capable of choosing a mental image of what self-discipline, patience, or forgiveness looks like before they are called upon to deliver it. Challenge your children to visualize what performing under pressure would feel like, sound like, and look like. Given the choice – which we all have – why would we ever imagine anything but victory for ourselves? “As a man thinketh, so he is.” – Solomon

Bonus Video Feature:

To Push or Not to Push

Please click here to watch To Push or Not to Push and complete your weekly Game Plan page so you can develop the skills for creating a natural learning environment.

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Plan Ahead For Spring Break Tennis Camp At ATA

This Spring Break, your child can take advantage of the Austin Tennis Academy’s tennis camps to progress at a rapid rate. These camps are designed to provide the greatest development of your child’s physical, mental, technical, and tactical performance levels. Sign up now for a full week or a single day!

Sessions

March 13-17, 2017

Times

QuickStart Camp 9:00am – 10:30am (age 5-8)
Morning Camp 9:00am – 12:00pm
Tournament Tough Training Camp 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Cost

QuickStart Camp $175/week ($40/day drop-in)
Morning Camp $300/week ($80/day drop-in)
Tournament Tough Training Camp $375/week ($90/day drop-in)

QuickStart Camp

9:00am – 10:30am ($175 per week or $40 per day)
The QuickStart tennis format used by the Austin Tennis Academy gives kids the opportunity to rally a ball over the net and learn to play points as quickly as possible – all in a fun environment. Our coaches recognize the importance of starting kids off well, and with success. The ATA was instrumental in developing this groundbreaking nationwide program and served as the pilot program for the USTA. This program uses the appropriate size racquet, court and ball to allow kids to do more – faster! Suggested Age: 5-8 years old.

Morning Camp

9:00am – 12:00pm ($300 per week or $80 per day)
Players will improve their game by learning fundamental skills, practicing game situations, and improving overall movement. Using the latest techniques and international innovations, players learn valuable athletic skills for tennis and other sports.

Afternoon “Tournament Tough” Camp

1:00pm-4:00pm ($375 per week or $90 per day)
Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive game situations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training. This camp is limited to Champ and Superchamp-level. ATA Academy players will be training at this time.

Policies

Registration must be made online.
Payment in advance is required to reserve your slot.
ATA camps are held rain or shine. Indoor sessions are held in the event of inclement weather.
No refunds or make-ups for days missed.
Weekly rate applies to that particular week only (no carryover).
Medical Release and Hold Harmless must be filled out online.
Lunch may be purchased if ordered in advance for $7.
Players may leave credit card on file to cover pro shop purchases, lunch, etc.
Private housing may be available. Email info@austintennisacademy.com to inquire.
Early drop-off and late pick-up is available upon request for $50 per week.

Hagar’s Former Student Named Rhodes Scholar

Mikaila Smith, a former homeschool student of ATA College Prep Director Carol Hagar, member of ATA College Prep in 7th and 8th grade, and a lifetime Austinite, recently earned her spot as a Rhodes Scholar.

“I have been working with (and been a fan of) Mikaila since she was about 8 years old and it didn’t take me long to determine she was my vote for a future US president,” said Hagar. “I always tell children they can do and be anything they decide to put their intention and attention toward, Mikaila always took that to heart and continues to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.”

Mikaila is a Presidential scholar at the University of Texas with majors in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management and Chinese. She joins 31 other Americans from across the country who earned the Rhodes Scholar designation over thousands of applicants from more than 320 American colleges and universities.

“I take it as an incredible opportunity and responsibility,” Mikaila said. “I am more committed and determined than ever to give back to my communities, to continue to work on issues I am passionate about, and to support the people around me. I feel honored and humbled, and I take this platform and opportunity very seriously as a way to engage with the world around me and work hard to contribute to the advancement of the issues I care about.”

Mikaila has always had a passion for reading, exploring, and helping others. She is multi-lingual, has championed several philanthropic efforts, is a certified yoga instructor, and currently working in New York at the United Nations before departing to Oxford in the fall to continue her studies.

“I am so very proud of this compassionate powerhouse,” said Hagar. “I know that she will continue to develop solutions, make things happen, and positively impact our world.”

ATACP Psychology Students Present Work During Rainy Practice

The rain washed away any hope of hitting a ball this afternoon, but the Academy students and coaches were still hard at work in the fitness center. The coaches led the group through 1 hour of fitness, followed by two 30 minute presentations from ATA College Prep Psychology students Alejandro Rodriguez and Bailey Forgus.

The assignment from CP Psychology teacher Jack Newman was to present an element of positive psychology to the group using a PowerPoint and a handout.

“I thought both Alejandro and Bailey did an excellent job correlating the teachings we have learned in class with tennis, and how it can translate on the court,” ATACP senior Abigail Chiu said. “Bailey focused on happiness, and Alejandro chose mental toughness and both were presented with visual evidence that really brought interest to the entire group.”

Bailey titled his presentation Be happy with your journey, not your destination. See the slides below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Be-happy-with-your-journey-not-the.pdf” download=”all”]

Alejandro titled his presentation, Pushing Yourself. See the slides below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PushingYourselfProject.pdf” download=”all”]

“It was nice to get to showcase some of the things I had learned in class while giving my teammates some information which could help them,” Alejandro said. “It was fun talking to a larger group, I didn’t feel nervous at all and I enjoy speaking to more people. I hope to get to do that a lot in college and professionally. I think people connected with some of the content that I talked about and because my topic had a very direct correlation to tennis, I think they will be able to apply what they learned (if they choose to) pretty straightforwardly. The group was also a great audience which made it very fun to present!”

Check back later in the week to see more student presentations.

CP Grad Bartlett Brings Energy, Work-Ethic To Hilltoppers

ATA College Prep alum and St. Edward’s University freshman Chase Bartlett wrapped up his first college semester maintaining his high academic standard, earning a 4.0 GPA and claiming a spot on the President’s Honor Roll through 7 classes on the Hilltop.

“While not at all surprised, I am incredibly proud of Chase’s accomplishments and his continued diligence during his first year at St. Ed’s,” ATACP Director Carol Hagar said. “His insatiable curiosity, his dedicated work ethic, and his copious positive demeanor embody the ideal scholar-athlete. Chase was an excellent leader while at ATACP and it is a beautiful thing to see him carry that forth into his college community.”

His work ethic was also evident on the court, as he’s spent the majority of his winter break participating in practices and fitness workouts with his former teammates at ATA preparing for the upcoming season.

“Chase Bartlett’s willingness to be humble and work hard continues when he returns to ATA from college,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “This past few weeks he has been in practice a lot. Just like when he trained at ATA full time, for him it’s never about who he is practicing with, it’s about what he brings to the practice. He brings a high level of energy and of course a high level of tennis. He doesn’t come with the attitude that he’s too good for the kids in the academy, he comes with that attitude of wanting to be there and wanting to get a great workout. I think this draws a high level of work and effort from his younger teammates. Consequently everyone gets an amazing practice.”

As a team, Bartlett and his fellow Hilltoppers set the goals to finish top 10 in the country this year while earning the highest GPA out of any athletic team at St. Edwards.

“I’m super excited about this upcoming season because I want to see the work that the Hilltoppers put in the fall season pay off,” Chase said. “A lot of guys (myself included) pushed literally to our physical limit. I remember one practice when the other freshman and I won a relay race against our other teammates and then both of us proceeded to leave the courts and throw up. That happened a few times this season.”

While the team logged long hours working together through the Fall, being apart through the holiday season makes continuing the momentum a challenge for each individually.

“It’s really helpful to have ATA,” Chase said. “During a one-month long break it’s important to keep training to maintain what we worked for in the fall, and for that you need a place to train. I like going to all of the academy practices and fitness sessions because when I was in high school/middle school it was really motivating to see what older, more-experienced people can do.”

As far as his academic success at the college level, Chase again looked back to his ATA College Prep roots.

“ATA College Prep really prepared me well. CP taught me both the time-management skills and academic foundations that are necessary for success at the college level.”

Follow along while Chase and the Hilltoppers begin the season in the coming weeks. The St. Ed’s Men’s and Women’s teams are scheduled to play multiple matches on the ATA courts, offering many opportunities to see college-level tennis right here while supporting some ATA alums, including Charlie Shin, Men’s and Women’s head coaches Estevam Strecker and Kendall Brooks, as well as Bartlett.

Next up:

St Ed’s vs ATA All Stars – Jan 27^th 4pm

St. Ed’s vs Southwestern U – Feb 3^rd 4pm

St. Ed’s vs UTRGV – Feb 11^th 2pm

Hagar Voted Irish Captain, Joins Distinguished Group Of ATA Alums

ATA College Prep graduate and life-long Austin Tennis Academy member Josh Hagar was recently voted Captain of the Notre Dame Men’s Tennis Team. Entering his senior season, Josh joins teammate Eddy Covalschi as co-captains at the helm of a strong Fighting Irish squad.

“Being voted a captain is an accomplishment I’ll remember forever,” Hagar said. “To be voted a leader of the team by my peers is the highest compliment I can think of. It’s one thing to accomplish something on the court or in the classroom, but to be recognized by my teammates, who know me better than anybody, to me that speaks volumes.”

Hagar joins a distinguished group of Austin Tennis Academy alums who went on to serve as Captain of their college tennis teams.

“It’s very humbling to join the list of past ATA players named captain of their team,” Josh said. “They embody the culture of ATA, which translates very well to a college team environment. It speaks to how important character, work ethic, and other off-court attributes are at ATA.”

Here are a few of the former ATA and ATA College Prep graduates who went on serve as team captain:

Trey Phillips – University of Texas

Blake Davis – Florida State University

Claire Cahill – Washington & Lee University

Santiago Montoya – Notre Dame

Brent D’Amico – Notre Dame

Lindsey Periera – University of Virginia

Matthew Bain – Texas A&M

Brandon Davis – University of Illinois

Whitney Waters – Redlands

Brent Werbeck – Boise State

Adam Slagter – Penn State

Jenn Wencel Werbeck – Boise State

Roger Gubser – The University of Texas

Kendall Dabaghi – Duke – Not Captain, but was President of his Class and Fulbright Scholar

Josh Hagar – Notre Dame

“It is exciting to see Josh Hagar named captain of the Notre Dame men’s tennis team,” Josh’s long-time coach and CEO of ATA Jack Newman said.

“Over 25 ATA players have been captains of their tennis teams. This is the accomplishment of which I am most proud.”