Coach Newman's Corner

« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »

October 31, 2008

Ashley Weinhold's Day 1 & 2 in Spain

Hola!

I have finally gotten online for the first time since arriving in Barcelona yesterday morning. We arrived around 8am and took a taxi to our hotel that was only a few minutes away, then grabbed some breakfast. We took a little nap and then headed over to practice at the Sanchez-Casal Academy. We had to walk about a mile from our hotel to get there and waited an hour for a court to open up, so I did some fitness in that time before we practiced. Coach Cristina and I practiced for an hour or so, it was nice to get some exercise after sitting on the plane for 8hrs. After we walked back to our hotel, we cleaned up and took a shuttle to La Ramblas which is an area with lots of restaurants and shops and little side streets to walk down. We had dinner and walked through the streets for awhile before we headed back. We were both pretty tired from the travel and fell right asleep.

Now I'll catch you up on what we did today. The jet lag hit me today, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open for nearly half of the day. When we woke up it was raining a lot so after we had breakfast we got a workout in at the gym. Then we packed up all our stuff again and headed to the airport for our flight to Mallorca(an island off of Spain just south of Barcelona). Our flight was only about 30 minutes.Once we arrived in Palma, Mallorca we got a taxi that took us to our next hotel which is also where my first two tournaments are held. After we checked in and got settled, Coach Cristina and I went to go hit before it got dark. There are 5 clay courts on the hotel grounds and the other 8 courts are up the road a few blocks. We were only able to hit for about 20 minutes before it got too dark and the court we hit on was in pretty bad shape as well, fortunately they won't be playing matches on a few particular ones. Since we couldn't see the ball any longer I did some fitness on the court. After that we ate dinner, our hotel includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner which is nice but at the same time it can get old pretty quickly. After dinner we walked down to check out the beach and around the town. Now I am in the lobby which is the only place they have internet and catching up on some e-mails.

Tomorrow the 1st round of qualifying starts, but I am in the main draw so I still have a few days of practice ahead of me. Hopefully the weather holds up, supposedly it's been raining here for the last week. It's a bit on the chilly side here as well, good thing we packed a lot of warm clothes! need to go catch up on some sleep now as well as my spanish! Buenas Noches!

Ashley Weinhold

Posted by Jack Newman at 4:21 PM | Comments ()

October 28, 2008

ATA's Ashley Weinhold Playing Pro Tournaments Throughout Spain

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to take a little time to tell you all about the journey that I’m about to embark on. I am heading off to Spain tomorrow afternoon for 6 weeks. Coach Cristina Moros will be going with me for the 1st three weeks which will include 2 tournaments and a week of training. After that I will be traveling and playing on my own unless my mom or dad decide to make the trip over to join me. I will be playing a series of 5 pro tournaments all throughout Spain. I’ve been to Barcelona once before to play for USA in Jr. Fed Cup, but this will be my first time playing pro tournaments out of the country.

I have been looking forward to this trip for sometime now. All of my tournaments will be $10k’s on the European red clay. I enjoy playing on the clay every chance I get. I feel like it suits my game pretty well and I’ve had success on it in the past. Playing over in Spain will be a great experience for me. I will be getting a different look at players from around the World who I’ve never seen or played before. Playing on the clay will help me learn how to really develop points and build my endurance and stamina. Points tend to be longer and more physical on the clay. You must be smart with your shot selection and clear on your strategy. I’m feeling good about my game and fitness level right now. I’ve had a couple of solid tournaments this month to gain match play and build my confidence. My main goal
is to gain valuable experience and grow as a player as well as learn things about myself while I’m on my own in an unfamiliar place. I’m looking to gain wins along with building confidence and bringing home some titles in singles and doubles.

My 1st tournament will be held in Mallorca, ESP starting November 3rd. I am anxious to start playing. I will be keeping a daily blog while I’m over there and I encourage you guys to check it out when you get a chance on the ATA website. Thanks for all of your support at ATA!

Talk to you from Espana!

Ashley Weinhold

Posted by Jack Newman at 8:06 PM | Comments ()