August 2017 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

ATA Adds Experience, Energy With Coach Shaimaa Elsisi

The Austin Tennis Academy has hired Coach Shaimaa Elsisi as the latest addition to its standout coaching staff, CEO Jack Newman announced recently.

“Shaimaa will be an excellent addition to the ATA coaching staff,” Newman said. “She brings college coaching experience and an incredibly positive, high energy level to practice.”

Elsisi joins the ATA community after spending the past year as the Volunteer Assistant Coach at Baylor University, where she landed after moving from Florida. While in the sunshine state, Shaimaa took the court for Troy University where she competed for the Trojans and earned both her bachelors and masters degrees.

A native of Cairo, Elsisi was one of the top ranked junior players in Egypt before moving to the United States to play college tennis. She helped the Trojans to a winning record each year that she played at Troy.

“Tennis has taught me everything,” Shaimaa said. “Matches have given me mental strength, practice has given me stamina, tournaments have given me social skills, team competition has given me spirit, traveling has given me experience, participation has given me the best friendship…. tennis has given me my soul!”

After serving as a graduate assistant coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Troy, Shaimaa moved on to a head coaching position at Hillsborough Community College where she stayed until relocating to Baylor.

“I am a coach because of my passion for tennis,” Shaimaa said. “I chose to become a coach to give back to the sport, to impact my student-athletes’ lives in a positive way, to help them succeed on and off the court, and to give them the opportunity that my own coaches gave me as a student-athlete.”

That passion she mentions stems from a family full of tennis players including her sister, who is the head coach at Troy, her brother, who coaches professionally back in Egypt, but all started with her father.

Shaimaa, center, pictured with her sister and brother.

“I learned how to walk on a tennis court,” Shaimaa said. “My late father (my favorite person in the whole world) was a tennis coach and he took me to his work every day and I fell in love with tennis because of him! It was our special place! I love tennis and it’s my happy place and every time I stepped on the court in my playing years it felt like it was my first time!”

In addition to being an accomplished tennis coach and player, Elsisi is an exceptional student, earning her bachelor’s degree in sport and fitness management with a minor in recreation and her master’s degree in sports and fitness management with a concentration in sports administration. She now applies this love of learning to her students.

“As a coach, I learn everything I can about every student-athlete—not every individual responds in the same way,” Shaimaa said. “My goal is to learn what motivates them and keeps them engaged to give them the opportunity to develop their skill level in a structured learning environment that constantly challenges them while providing them with both encouragement and support.”

Off the court, Shaimaa loves traveling and visiting family and friends. She enjoys playing golf, softball, watching Disney movies with friend’s kids, and reading about nutrition and health issues.

After her first few weeks around ATA, one thing has stuck out to her that distinguishes this place from the rest.

“It’s culture! I loved it right away and I felt home the minute I walked in and I loved how welcoming everyone was right away,” Shaimaa said. “Everyone is very professional and very friendly. Kids are respectful, and they work hard on and off the court. They have great attitudes and are very coachable. The staff is great and passionate about what they do and they care about the kids on and off the court. It’s definitely a place that I can call home and family! I feel very lucky to be part of the ATA family and I’m very grateful to Coach Newman for this wonderful opportunity.”

Welcome to the ATA community, Coach Shaimaa!!

ATA Coach Lucie Schmidhauser Accepts Assistant Coach Role At Brown University

Founding member and long-time Austin Tennis Academy coach Lucie Schmidhauser will continue her coaching career at Brown University, where she has accepted a role as the Women’s Assistant Coach beginning this fall.

Schmidhauser, a former NCAA National Champion, 2-time All-American and number 1 ranked player in college tennis at the University of Texas, is fulfilling a dream by entering the college-coaching ranks while returning to the world where she earned so much success as a player.

“I am excited to work with a small group of highly motivated student-athletes who are elite level players,” Lucie said. “I also look forward to having the opportunity to impact players during matches through on-court coaching.”

Schmidhauser joined the Austin Tennis Academy when it was first created, offering her passion to the community both on the court and through her Pilates instruction.

“No matter where she travels to, Coach Lucie Schmidhauser will always hold the position of founding coach of the Austin Tennis Academy,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “She has had a tremendous impact on our program through her coaching and through her influence on our curriculum.”

Before she was commonly referred to as Coach, Schmidhauser logged a Longhorn career that left her in the UT Athletics Women’s Hall of Honor.

“When I look back at my tennis playing career, the accomplishments I cherish the most are winning 2 team Conference Championships and 1 National Championship over any individual accomplishments I had,” Lucie said. “There’s nothing better than a group of individual players coming together and competing hard for a common goal.”

Brown, located in Providence, Rhode Island, is the seventh-oldest college in the United States and is a member of the prestigious Ivy League.

Once there, Lucie will lean on her mastery of the game’s technical fundamentals, her many years of experience coaching young women (and being a mother to a 17-year-old college freshman), her understanding of the mental side of the game as well as her Pilates teaching background. Her worldwide path as a junior, collegiate and professional player combined with her extensive coaching knowledge makes Lucie a valuable addition to the Brown coaching team.

“I’ve gained perspective on what type of players are able to successfully transition from junior tennis to college tennis,” Lucie said.

While she has passionately served the ATA community for years, Lucie will take with her some lasting lessons of her own.

“I’ve been fortunate to have colleagues who have helped me grow as a coach. In particular, Coach Doug Davis has been an incredible mentor for me to learn the technical aspects of the game and Coach Newman has taught me a lot about the mental and motivational aspects of the game, as well as how to build a culture of substance,” she said.

This mutual support is a major theme throughout the ATA community, and one Coach Newman works to maintain even amongst his all-star staff.

“Both our students and our coaches will miss Coach Lucie, but also understand that every coach needs to follow their own passions. Just as we encourage our students to set and work towards their goals, so too we encourage our coaches. We are excited for Coach Lucie to begin her college-coaching career and will be pulling for her to continue to grow and we all will follow her career with special interest.”

For Lucie, the look back on her time at ATA is all about the people.

“I’ve developed so many great relationships over the years with so many players, parents, coaches and staff at ATA. I will always cherish these relationships and memories, from the founding of ATA in 2002 through the present. It’s been a great ride!”

Good luck at Brown, Coach Lucie, and go Bears!!

The Feeling, The History, The Nats at the Zoo by Jack Newman

Before things got too busy here at Kalamazoo, I wanted to give everyone a sense of what it feels like to be at the biggest junior tournament in the United States: the Boy’s 16s and 18s USTA National Hardcourts, hosted by Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University for the past 75 years.

I have personally traveled to Kalamazoo over 25 times for this tournament, with my only misses to attend the Girl’s 16s and 18s Hardcourt Nationals.

The things that set this tournament apart from other junior tournaments are the history, the environment and the level of play. With a U.S. Open main draw wildcard on the line for the winner, the Nats at the Zoo draws Americas best junior players. Each match has a chair umpire. The sites are run like a Swiss watch. Blueberries and cream are served at the concession stand. College coaches surround matches like bees around Texas bluebonnets.

Coach Newman with Denver Head Coach Ricardo Rubio

ATA has been lucky to have players in this tournament each year for the past 14 years of its existence and, prior to that, many of our students from Saint Stephen’s and Fretz Tennis Center earned a chance to play this tournament.

The tournament has many traditions and, in parallel, our trip to this tournament also has had many traditions. One such tradition is where we stay. The Stewart Avenue Inn is a bread and breakfast across the street from Kalamazoo College. Our visits to Stewart Avenue include a made-to-order breakfast and living in a house rather than hotel room.

The Stewart Ave Inn

We have stayed at the Stewart Avenue through the tenure of three different innkeepers. Chris and Dana, the current innkeepers, have always had a dog, first Belvedere now Arlo. The Stewart Avenue Inn offers us a home away from home and a very comfortable environment in a very high-stress level tournament.

Arlo

Another tradition is coming up a few days early to get acclimated to the weather and the courts. Another tradition is team meetings each evening in the living room of the Stewart Avenue Inn where we go over the day’s events and plan for the next days matches. One final tradition is at the end of the tournament, many players are still in the middle of the college process, so we have college coaches come to visit and we sit with them in the Stewart Avenue Inn and talk recruiting.

To make it to Kalamazoo or SoKalamazoo for the girls is the pinnacle of junior tennis in the United States. Any player who makes it to this tournament, one or multiple times, is one of the best players in the United States. Many of America’s top professional champions made their first splash on the center courts at Stowe Stadium at Kalamazoo College. As you can see from the pictures enclosed, the Nats at the Zoo has a tremendous history and flavor to it.

Wilson Hamilton, Roger Chou, Juan Abboud, Alejandro Rodriguez and Harrison Chiu pose at this year’s Natz at the Zoo

I have watched many matches at the Nats at the Zoo with parents of players, with college coaches recruiting players, and with other members of the team supporting. Tres Davis has had the best results at Kalamazoo. Jake Berber and Payton Holden were two points away from the doubles semi finals one year. Adam Slagter and Santiago Montoya also had a great match on center court here one year. I remember Jeff Offerdahl and Chase Curry battling here. I remember sitting with Notre Dame coach Ryan Sachrie talking about Josh Hagar.

Congratulations to all of the current ATA players who have made it to Hardcourt Nationals, you have truly distinguished yourself among your junior tennis-playing peers. And, congrats to all our alumni, we remember your exploits as well.