ATA To Host Lakes Tennis Academy in Texas Cup Duel

This weekend, the Austin Tennis Academy will serve it up against the Lakes Tennis Academy in a Texas Cup style match on the ATA courts.
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ATA’s top 4 players will compete against the Lakes’ top 4 in a round robin, ATA’s 2nd 4 vs. Lakes’ 2nd 4 and ATA’s third 4 vs Lakes’ third 4, for a total of 96 matches.  Play begins Saturday 9am.
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“This is a very exciting, loud, spectator friendly tennis match that feels like a football game,” said ATA Head Coach Doug Davis. “Please come out and support the team!”

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Matches will go from 9am-3-4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
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All players in QS, JD, JA, Academy and CP are encouraged to attend to support the team, even if they are not in the starting lineup.
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“This should be an incredibly motivating event for our younger competitors,” Coach Jack Newman said.
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CP Students Visit Public Art On UT Campus

Today, ATACP students toured the University of Texas campus to view a few public art installations recently procured by the newly developed Landmarks Division.

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“I really enjoyed getting to see pieces of modern art on campus this morning,” said Alejandro Rodriguez, a senior at CP headed to UChicago in the Fall. “It was very interesting to see how sometimes, the environment around a piece of art dictates the way in which that artwork will be created. I was blown away by some of the creative displayed by the artists, who took ordinary objects and presented them in a way that creatively showcased many different attributes.”

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The students saw everything from a monochromatic sculpture made from 70 canoes to unique portraits of Austinites that eventually will be installed in the Dell medical school building.

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This field trip was part of a larger unit at CP focused on the purpose and meaning of public art. Soon, the students own artistic creations will be on display in and around the CP campus.

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“My favorite piece was called Monochrome of Austin, and it consisted of 70 canoes, 30plus feet in the air, leaning over the street,” Alejandro said. “It was incredible.”

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A few more photos from the day:

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KK, Jack and Wilson discuss their favorite portraits.

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The students check out the perspective from inside one of the pieces of art.

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Sasha and Caroline taking in the scene together.

 

ATA, AGOH partner for major water project, latest step in pattern of giving back

The Austin Tennis Academy (ATA) and A Glimmer of Hope Foundation (Glimmer) recently completed a project that provides the largest solar powered water supply development in the entire region of Tigray. The project, unfolding over about 3 years, delivers 9 water points and 3 cattle troughs to the Ethiopian villagers of Gonok who previously spent hours daily collecting only contaminated water.

This is the latest from a longstanding partnership between ATA and Glimmer. Since 2005, the ATA community has contributed more than $500,000 to AGOH towards a $1 million pledge.

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Above is a picture of the solar panels that power the submersible pump that pumps the water that is 90 meters below the earth up to the reservoir.

“One of the founding principles when laying the framework for the Austin Tennis Academy was that students would be exposed to a series of life lessons,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “One of the most important life lessons is giving back to your community and giving to those less fortunate than yourself.”

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Above is the Gonok reservoir that stores and distributes the water that is pumped from the deep borehole.

The latest water supply project made an immediate impact on the lives of the local community members in Gonok. Abeba, pictured below, used to spend approximately two hours per day fetching contaminated water from an unprotected spring at the bottom of a gorge. Now, one of the 9 water points is less than 100 yards from her home where she lives with her husband and children.

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Above is a photo of Abeba (“Flower”) at her water point that is located 100 yards from her home. Abeba helped Breck Spencer on his “Walk for Water” in Gonok in the summer of 2010.

Another access point brings water to the Gonok Complete Primary School (Grades 1-8).

“The water point at the school is a game changer,” said Eric Schmidhauser, Director of Philanthropy at Glimmer. “Instead of students having to bring small water containers to school filled with dirty water from the unprotected spring about 1.5 kilometers from the school, they now have clean water available at the water point with its six faucets to accommodate hundreds of thirsty students.”

Beyond clean drinking water, the students are also able to practice proper hygiene that they learn in school at the hand washing station. In addition, female students now have more time for school since they no longer have to join their mothers on the walk for water to the bottom of the gorge and back in the mornings or afternoons.

Overall, the ATA community contributed about $150,000 to this project, with nearly 2/3rds coming directly from the ATA business. While that money could have gone towards any number of upgrades in the facility, ATA’s dedication to those founding principles makes giving back a continues priority.

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Above is the exterior wall of the Gonok School, which has been decorated by paintings made by the teachers to serve as educational tools.

“The most powerful way to teach someone something is to show them,” Newman said. “By making a donation to A Glimmer Of Hope we not only talk the talk but also walk the walk of that life lesson of giving back.”

For Newman personally, much of the inspiration behind this value of giving back comes from a couple of trips to Ethiopia, one before starting ATA and one a few years after.

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This is the handwashing station in front of the building that houses toilets on the Gonok School campus.

“Each of those trips resulted in a greater appreciation for all of the material and immaterial benefits that I enjoy being a citizen of this country,” Newman said. “It struck me as the greatest luck of the draw to have been born here rather than there.  By making a commitment to Glimmer and by helping our students understand they’re lucky place in the universe, I hope to be a part of the balancing of the universe. By helping those with the least amount of resources, basic things like water, education and basic health care, it resonates with me that I am doing what I can.”

Many ATA students have felt compelled to contribute to this and other Glimmer campaigns, starting with Josh Hagar’s launch of Playing For Glimmer in 2008. More recently, Breck and Katherine Spencer raised awareness and funds through the Walk For Water and Bake For Gonok campaigns, while many other student-athletes continue to raise money and offer support in their own creative ways.Newman is currently preparing for his third trip to Africa in the coming weeks, when he will have the chance to visit the

Newman is currently preparing for his third trip to Africa in the coming weeks, when he will have the chance to visit the Gonok village and see first hand the global change to which ATA has contributed. Fittingly, he will travel with Ryan Berber and Santiago Montoya, both ATA alums who were there over 10 years ago when the founders set this lofty goal, and who are now past tennis and focused on their own ambitious goals.

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The elevated pipeline in the photo is the beginning of 8 kilometers of pipeline that brings the clean water from the deep borehole well to 9 different water points that are spread out in the communities that make up Gonok, as well as 3 cattle troughs.

“When we started the Austin Tennis Academy we made a pledge to raise $1 million over 20 years on behalf of Glimmer. Big, hairy, outrageous goals like the million-dollar pledge also says something to our students about their own goals:  SHOOT HIGH.”

To those who know him best, Newman displays a steadfast focus on what is best for his students and lives that out in every aspect of his life. Maybe nobody on the planet knows him better than Donna Berber, CEO and Founder of A Glimmer Of Hope.

“Coach Newman’s continued dedication to supporting the needs of the most vulnerable in our world is integral to the community he has built at ATA emphasizing the importance of giving back. Jack’s focus on giving has been steadfast since the early years of ATA, inspiring his students to become global changemakers who have compassion for those living in abject poverty in rural Ethiopia.”

Benzel: Teaching Kids to Manage Their Thoughts

Check out the latest from our friend David Benzel! And, take advantage of his upcoming webinar!

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Growing Champions

Invitation to a Growing Champions for Life

Live Webinar – hosted by David Benzel

Teaching Kids to Manage Their Thoughts

Free webinar for parents

Thursday

February 16, 2017

9 p.m. Eastern

45 minutes plus Q&A

 

Register Now to reserve your spot for this FREE event


 

Your child’s brain is very busy. It’s cranking out thousands of thoughts per day at lightning fast speed. Perhaps you’ve learned how to control your thoughts as an adult, but most children find themselves reacting to thoughts minute by minute and suffering needlessly from their own negativity. We must teach them that they are capable of managing those thoughts. This webinar is designed to help you teach some fundamental strategies to your children on this important topic.

 

You will learn how to:

  • Become the observer to your thoughts
  • Understand the relationship between thoughts and feelings
  • Replace unwanted or unproductive thoughts with healthier ones
  • Teach your children to choose powerful thoughts for sports and school

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

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Do you know someone who could benefit from this webinar? Feel free to forward this invitation on to them.

Thank you for participating and for helping Growing Champions for Life promote a healthy environment for growing confident principle-centered competitors.

David Benzel, Founder
Growing Champions for Life
(352) 267-5344
www.growingchampionsforlife.com

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David Benzel PO Box 632 Groveland, Florida 34736 United States (352) 267-5344

 

Rifkin Discusses Impact of Nutrition, Hydration and Sleep

Yesterday during Academy practice, ATA’s Josh Rifkin discussed the basics of how nutrition, hydration, and sleep give players the energy needed for training and recovery to be able to reach peak performance more consistently.

“It’s simple, if the physical and mental demands of your body are not met with the proper fuel, hydration and recovery to support what your asking of it, your energy and functioning will suffer which consequently has a major impact on the level of your tennis performance,” Rifkin said.

Take a look at his presentation below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ATA-Nutrition-Presentation.pptx” download=”none” viewer=”microsoft”]

Help ATA’s Georgia Wright Contribute To A Great Cause

Georgia Wright has served up hard work around ATA for years as she has set and reached goals in her development as a high-level tennis player. Now, Georgia is hard at work towards another goal: contributing to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The South Central Austin Chapter of the LLS recently nominated Georgia as a candidate for their 1st annual Student of the Year fundraising challenge, and she happily accepted.

“I could not be more excited to make a difference in the lives of patients across the country by raising money with family and friends like you for LLS!” Georgia said. “This cause is very close to my heart because my cousin Wendy is a survivor of Hodgkin’s disease.”

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The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is an amazing non-profit organization whose fundraisers help provide research for blood cancers (Hodgkin’s disease, myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma). LLS offers support for patients, survivors, their families, and even helps to advance the science behind other cancers through its research. LLS has funded over $1 Billion in research towards a medical cure.

100{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of each dollar donated goes to LLS and is also a vote for Georgia and her team, which is comprised of ATA’s – Callie Creath, Brennan Foreman, Hannah Harrod, Kristin Kerrigan, Steffi Pitts, and Avery Schiffman.

Go to this link to read more about it.

Go to this link to donate and see her campaign page.

THANK YOU for your support for a great cause and of both me and my Team in this fundraising challenge,” Georgia said. “PLEASE pass along and also feel free to post link on Social media. Super easy to share with friends on Facebook from the donation page.”

 

Photo Gallery

Take a look at some photos of the students on the court and in the classroom!

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  • Just west of the Hill Country Galleria on Hwy 71 past 620, across from McCoy’s
Contact
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  • +1 512.276.2272
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