Alumni – Page 5 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

Register Now For Free Webinar

Have you walked away from a conversation with your young athlete and thought, “That didn’t go very well.”? Or perhaps you and your spouse would like to have more constructive and less defensive, talks with your kids about lots of things. This webinar will give you specific strategies for improving family communication.

Learn which topics to discuss and which ones to avoid
Discover how to balance a conversation between two toxic traps
Master the art of connecting with your kids through meaningful dialogue

The How to Improve Sport-Family Conversations webinar will be held on Thursday, March 19 at 8:00 PM CST. It is slated to last 45 minutes as well time for as questions and answers. This month’s Life-Skills Webinar will be hosted by David Benzel, founder of Growing Champions for Life.

Click here to register and save your spot for the event.

Josh Rifkin Earns MTPS Designation

Austin Tennis Academy Coach Josh Rifkin passed a rigorous educational curriculum testing theory and practical applications to become the International Tennis Performance Association’s newest Master Tennis Performance Specialist. MTPS is the highest possible tennis fitness designation in the industry reserved for tennis-specific specialists with significant experience, expertise, and contributions to the industry.

MTPS’s curriculum includes extensive Pre-Work, a 3-day extensive practical program with quizzes and presentations, and Post-Work demonstrating the applicant practically applies the knowledge. Coach Rifkin is one of less the one-thousand people world-wide to achieve the MTPS designation.

The IPTA offers three levels of tennis-specific certification: Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT), Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS), and Master Tennis Performance Specialist (MTPS). “Josh has demonstrated he is a leader in this industry and possesses extensive tennis-specific knowledge and expertise,” said Dr. Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., FITPA, CTPS, MTPS, CSDC*D, the iTPA Executive Director. ‘Training tennis players requires specific knowledge about the unique movements and demands of tennis which is different to most other sports, and the iTPA has the role of bringing the most credible information, backed by science, to educate and certify individuals who work on improving physical performance and/or preventing injury.”

Coach Rifkin joined the coaching team at Austin Tennis Academy in 2016.

ATA Family Selected USTA Texas Family of the Year

Congratulations to the Ross Cockrell Family on being chosen as the 2019 USTA Texas Family of the Year. The Cockrells, Ross Sr, Jaclyn, Ross Jr., Stacie, and James, received the prestigious award during the Awards Banquet at the USTA Texas Annual Meeting being held over the weekend.

Every year, since 1975, the USTA Texas has selected a family to honor for contributions to Texas tennis. The family represents the development and promotion of tennis on and off the tennis court on a local and/or statewide basis.

In receiving the award, The Cockrells automatically become a candidate for the Ralph W. Westcott USTA Family of the Year Award.

CATA College Tennis Scholarship Deadline Approaching

Every year the Capital Area Tennis Association, a non-profit tennis organization, gives out upwards of $14,000 to senior tennis players looking to attend college.

The scholarship deadline of February 28th is creeping up fast, and we don’t want our hard-working seniors to miss out on this opportunity!

CATA’s Scholarship Committee evaluates each application on the basis of tennis involvement in conjunction with the student’s scholastic achievements and involvement in community services. The committee then submits its recommendations to the Board of Directors for approval. Funds are presented at the CATA Annual Junior Awards Banquet or sent to the recipient’s home. Scholarship funds are acquired from various CATA offered programs.

According to CATA, online application is preferred. Click here for the application link.

Get In The Know About The Changes Coming In Junior Tennis

There are many changes occurring in the competitive tennis system, here is your chance to be brought up to speed by some of the experts in the field.

Please join ATA’s Coach Brian Notis, one of the most experienced tournament directors in the country and a member of USTA committees dealing with these issues, Coach Jack Newman, and Julio Godreau, head of competitive tennis for the Texas Section of the USTA, next Thursday evening, 6-7pm in the main College Prep room on the ATA campus.

Here’s a look at what will be covered:

2020 Schedule – increased offerings, especially for Champ players
Players who qualify no longer need to wait till the next month to play their first tournament at the next level as long as they haven’t missed the entry deadline. They must be eligible for that level at the time of the entry fee (you can’t enter hoping you’ll qualify).
Quick note on increased entry fees
Quick note about player retention and the complexity of the TX competitive system
New Age Up Rules – 60{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} instead of 35{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} – more players staying in supers, more players staying in champs
New System – 2021
Common ranking, common point chart
Net Gen Pathway
Variety of Event Offerings
Transition from 2020 to 2021 in terms of Ranking (Shadow Ranking)
Explanation of L1 through L7
Benefits of a simpler system
Coach Newman’s Recommendations – what does all this mean for you?
Questions

Update Your Contact Information

2020 is going to be an exciting time here at Austin Tennis Academy, and we want to be able to connect with all those who’ve called ATA home over the years. We do our best to keep our records up-to-date in order to stay in touch with as many alumni as possible, however, contact information can often change. So, we’re asking for your help in updating our files.

Whether it’s only been 6 months since you headed off to college or 18 years ago since you took part in ATA practices — we’d love to have your current contact information. All you have to do is click here and complete a short form. Once you hit the submit/subscribe button, your information will be sent to us and imported into our database. We take your privacy seriously; your information will be for ATA use only.

This year will mark the 20th anniversary of our Scholarship Shootout; we’ll be launching a monthly newsletter in February which will include a featured article called Alumni Spotlight. These are just two of the things we’re excited to share over the coming months, and we want to make sure we can get in touch to do an interview as well as keep you in the know as a valued member of the ATA Pack.

Again, thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you!

ATA Master Calendar Added To Website

Finding out what events are happening when at Austin Tennis Academy just became a little bit easier.

We’ve added an ATA Master Calendar to our website. To get to it, simply place your cursor over the ‘About’ tab, located near the top, and a drop-down menu will appear; ATA Master Calendar is the third item in that list. Just click on it.

Some items, such as tournaments, are listed as all-day events, while other items are noted by a specific time. Clicking on any event, opens a window that sometimes will contain additional information or helpful links.

The ATA Master Calendar does not replace the CP Calendar. However, events listed on the CP Calendar are also listed in the ATA Master Calendar.

Events are continuously being added to the calendar or updated, so feel free to check it often.

Dual Match This Friday at ATA

Come on out to Austin Tennis Academy Friday evening to watch our juniors compete against players from St. Edward’s University in our annual dual match.

The competition kick offs with doubles action for two out of three sets, no ad scoring, followed by a set of singles for 11 men and eight women. Players start warming up at 4 with doubles getting underway at 4:30. Singles matches will follow.

This event is a great reminder of our relationship with the Men and Women’s Head Tennis Coaches at St. Edwards, Coach Estevam Strecker and Coach Kendall Brooks, who both started out at Austin Tennis Academy.

We hope you’ll come out to cheer on the players and make some noise!

Please, Take Note

In light of the holidays, we’ve made some adjustments to the hours the ATA Pro Shop will be open starting Monday, December 23rd through Friday, January 3rd. For your convenience, we’ve listed our Holiday Hours just below.

Monday, December 23: 9 AM – 3 PM

Tuesday, December 24: 9 AM – 12 Noon

December 25-26: Closed

Friday, December 27: 5 – 9 PM

December 28-29: 9 AM – 2 PM

Monday, December 30 – Friday, January 3: 8:45 AM – 4:15 PM

Please be aware these hours may vary or our Pro Shop may close during inclement weather.

Happy Holidays!

Learn How To Respond Effectively

Some of the most important relationships in our lives can also produce
some of the most uncomfortable conversations and emotions. Why is that true? If you feel like a particular person brings out the worst in you, there’s probably a good reason.

Would you like to know how to handle these situations in a more productive manner? That’s the focus of this month’s Life-Skills Webinar on Thursday, December 19, hosted by David Benzel, Founder of Growing Champions for Life.

Join us for this session so you can teach your children how to handle their buttons. You will learn:

How to separate the symptoms from the real issue
What fears are compelling unhealthy words and behaviors
How to keep it from happening in the future
Specific agreements you must make with yourself

David will connect the key life skills of the lesson with winning on the court, and in life. The live webinar will begin at 8:00 pm CST on December 19; it will be 45 minutes in length plus Q&A. Plus, Power Point materials are loaded with practical information worth saving for future reference.

Click here to register to reserve your spot!

ATA Sweeps at JTT 18U National Championships

BY: Dan Pryser/USTA

The Austin Tennis Academy, representing the USTA Texas Section, swept the 2019 USTA Junior Team Tennis 18U National Championships, capturing both the advanced and intermediate national titles. The event was held at the McFarlin Tennis Center in San Antonio, Nov. 14-17.

The 2019 USTA Junior Team Tennis 18U National Championships brought together the top 32 teams at intermediate and advanced levels from various USTA Sections throughout the country.

Both Austin teams won their respective pools to advance to the national semifinals, where they cruised to the championship matches. In the advanced final, the Austin team knocked off a team from Los Angeles, 59-24, while the other Austin team defeated a team from Potomac, Md., 52-36, in the intermediate final.

This is the second consecutive year that both 18U Austin Tennis Academy teams reached the finals, as the advanced team secured back-to-back national titles while the intermediate team improved upon last year’s national runner-up finish.

The advanced team is coached by Brian Notis and features team members: Juandedios Abboud, James Cockrell, Anushka Dania, Megha Dania, Nico Jamison, Lawrence Li, and Caroline Wernli.

The intermediate team is coached by John Schoenmakers and features team members: Austin Beckham, Alexandra Malysheva, Keana Moon, Kael Peterson, Jordan Phillips, Jonathan Snell, Clark Sweeney, and Sydney Williams.

Established in 1991, USTA Junior Team Tennis provides youth with all of the health and social benefits of tennis in a coed, fun and competitive team environment – all while allowing participants to compete with and against individuals of similar ages and skill levels.

With more than 85,000 players competing nationwide, USTA Junior Team Tennis brings players together to enjoy camaraderie and teamwork, providing a fun environment for kids to learn that succeeding is really more about how they play the game – win or lose.

CATA Honors Two of ATA’s Finest

The Capital Area Tennis Association will present the Carol Welder Contribution to Tennis Award to ATA’s Owner/CEO Jack Newman and Brian Notis, Director of Junior Academy/Tournament Director. This award is selected by the CATA Awards Committee and given to the outstanding individual(s) widely known to devote numerous voluntary hours, time and energy to the growth of tennis at all levels and is recognized by their tennis community for their exceptional and selfless dedication and devotion to tennis.

The Capital Area Tennis Association serves Austin and the surrounding metropolitan area as a non-profit community service tennis organization. CATA’s membership is composed of tennis enthusiasts who are dedicated to fostering national and international amateur sports competition through junior and adult programs that promote the sport and its benefits.

Carol Welder will present the award to Newman and Notis during the CATA Annual Membership meeting on Sunday, November 17th.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE ADVERSITY – LIKE A PRISONER, SETTLER, OR A PIONEER?

BY DAVID BENZEL

Any cyclist will tell you that riding downhill or downwind is a lot of fun. It’s possible to go fast with little effort. However, if your life depended on the strength and endurance of someone on a bicycle to reach emergency help in the shortest time possible, you’d want to choose a cyclist who has spent a lot of time riding uphill or into the wind. They are the ones who have overcome the adversity of incline and resistance and are therefore the strongest cyclists. The trials of their training have given them an edge, both physically and psychologically.

However, not everyone responds to adversity the same way.

There are generally three camps of people when it comes to facing adversity. And the different responses can help to explain the varying degrees of success experienced.

There are Prisoners, Settlers, and Pioneers. Let’s take a brief look at each one.

Prisoners

Are most likely to GIVE up
Are conquered by fear, controlled by anger, and captured by circumstances
Use language like “I can’t” and “It’s impossible”
Perform at minimum levels, or just enough to get by

Settlers

Are most likely to COVER up
Are satisfied with today, and with themselves. They are happy to be comfortable
Use language like “It’s good enough” and “That’s as far as I can go”
Will give some effort, show some drive, meet the minimum requirements, but never excel

Pioneers

Are most likely to CLIMB up
Learn continuously, changing strategies & habits, and strive to meet the needs of the team or the cause
Use language like “I choose to…” “We can…” and “Just do it”
Show a sense of urgency, embrace challenges, and are always driven to improve

Where do most of your reactions to adversity fall? How about the people on your team?

In the book, Adversity Quotient, Dr. Paul Stoltz identifies three factors at the root of most responses. They are genetics, upbringing, and faith. And he asks these questions to help establish how much each aspect influences you.

Did your parents supply you with enough of the Pioneer genes that you automatically respond to adversity by working hard to overcome whatever it is?
Did your childhood environment provide you with real-life examples of people triumphing over their obstacles so that your response is “I am the kind of person that does that too.”?
Have you developed a positive, optimistic, hope-filled belief that the right attitude, coupled with hard work, always pays off with a victory or a lesson learned?

As a leader, you don’t have control over “nature and nurture” that your followers experienced growing up. However, you can provide a simple PROCESS to grow their faith in the PIONEER response. This mindset will equip them with the tools to face adversity like a pioneer.

Teach them to have this internal conversation when faced with adversity:

1. Listen to your first response and ask yourself, “Does this kind of thinking help me generate a Pioneer approach to this obstacle, or is it a pity party?”

2. Next, ask yourself, “How can I reframe this or look at it differently to gain a new perspective?”

3. Finally, say to yourself, “I wonder what options are available to me that will propel us over, around, or through this obstacle.” To wonder is to activate the creative part of your brain, where “Ah-ha” type ideas come from.

Get Registered for ATA’s One-day UTR Event

Wednesday (October 30) is the last day to register to play in ATA’s one-day UTR event on Saturday, November 2nd. The cut-off time for entries is 8 PM. Click here to register.

Level Based Divisions will be set up in 8 player compass draws when possible. Alternate non-elimination format will be used if some draws are smaller than 8 players. Adults, juniors, boys, girls, men, women, all welcome to participate.

Matches will be best of 3 short sets (sets to 4), ad scoring with a 10 point match tiebreak for the 3rd set. The goal is to get everyone 3 matches. One of the draws will be played on our beautiful Italian red clay courts. The plan is for the draw with players primarily in the UTR range of 5-7 to play on the clay.

This will be a “Verified UTR” one day event on Saturday. Sunday will be a backup weather day. No coaching will be allowed and officials will be present.

The Scholarship Shootout

Can you believe it?!? The 2019 Scholarship Shootout is just about here and we’ve got some really cool stuff going on leading up to, as well as during the event, that we want to make sure you know about.

First up: Tomorrow evening (Thursday, October 24) from 6:00 – 6:30, we will be doing a Live Stream giving a preview of all the items up for auction this year. In fact, you can even drop in to check out everything in person. We will be set up in the ATA gym. If you can’t stop by, then watch the Live Stream on either the ATA FaceBook page or the ATA YouTube Channel. Coach Jack Newman and Carol Hagar will be hosting the Auction Preview Live Stream.

Then on Friday night, for the first time ever, we will do a Live Stream from the Player Party. That Live Stream starts at 7:00 PM and will last the duration of the event. Again, you can watch the Live Stream on either the ATA FaceBook page or the ATA YouTube Channel. Even if you can’t attend, you’ll be able to hear and see what’s going on, including the coveted list of who’s playing on which teams this year for the tournament.

Saturday is when all the action on court takes place for the Calcutta tournament going on at ATA. And yep, we’ll will be doing a Live Stream courtside from one of the showcase courts, and Coach Doug Davis will be one of our commentators! That Live Stream begins at 9:00 am Saturday and will last until the last match is over. Again, you can watch the Live Stream on either the ATA FaceBook page or the ATA YouTube Channel.

Finally, we’ve also added the ability to make donations on-line and hope this is handy for people who want to contribute, but can’t attend The Shootout. Thanks in advance for helping make this year’s event a success!

Coach Newman Shares His Insights on Junior Tennis

The Parenting Aces Podcast got an early start in the world of podcasting when its creator, Lisa Stone, was trying to find information on how to help her son reach his goal of playing high-level tennis. Nearly 10 years later, she’s still gathering information and advice to share with other tennis parents.

Not long ago, Stone’s search led her to Austin Tennis Academy’s Owner and CEO, Coach Jack Newman. Their discussion became the latest episode – When 1 Teaches, 2 Learn – released earlier this week. Here’s what Stone tweeted about the interview: I love interviewing jr tennis coaches & learning their philosophies, not only about on-court development but also off-court. Jack Newman is 1 coach who really seems to get it.

As you may know, Coach Newman recently started his own podcast, Double Bagel, and said it was interesting to be on the other side… the one being interviewed. To hear Coach Newman’s episode on Parenting Aces, click here.

ATA’s Scholarship Shootout to serve up plenty of food, forehands and FUNdraising

There are plenty of exciting events held during the fall around Austin, and the ATA Pro-Am Scholarship Shootout is among them. This will be the 19th year for the annual fundraiser, which will be held October 25-26.

The Shootout is a Calcutta doubles tournament which brings together ATA’s patrons, students, and coaches for a day of fun and friendly competition. There will be a number of alum (names to be released soon) who return to play in the Shootout as well. The event also includes a silent auction, live auction, and a team auction.

All money raised during the two-day event benefits Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)3 which supports dedicated and deserving student athletes in their quest to achieve excellence through the sport of tennis and in life.

If you are not able to attend the Shootout, and would like to make a one-time donation, or become a perpetual donor, click here. Thank you in advance for helping today’s dreamers become tomorrow’s visionaries.

ATA Player Becomes USTA Section Essay Winner

Adrianna Peradoza won the 2019 Arthur Ashe NJTL Essay Contest in the G15-16 level of the USTA Mid-Atlantic Section. Perdoza competed in that section prior to her family moving to Austin and becoming members of the Austin Tennis Academy family. Her younger brother, Adrian, was the B11-12 Section Winner.

The question for the essay was, “This year marks the 50th anniversary of NJTL. What specific impact do you hope your chapter can make in your community today that you would want remembered 50 years from now?”

The NJTL Essay Contest is a widely acclaimed educational tool. NJTL participants are asked to write essays answering a thought-provoking question requiring research and analysis. Thousands of entries are received each year and 10 national winners (one boy and one girl from each age group) receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City to participate in Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the US Open and to accept their awards at the NJTL Essay Awards Luncheon.

The National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network is a nationwide network of community tennis organizations seeking to develop the character of young people through tennis and education.

ATA Alum To Compete In ITA All-American Championships

Princeton Senior (and ATA alum) Payton Holden is one of three members of Princeton’s men’s tennis team selected to take part in the ITA All-American Championships coming up in October in Tulsa, OK.

Holden qualified for the main doubles draw, as well as the qualifying singles draw. The qualifying singles competition will begin October 7, while main doubles play will begin October 9. This will be Holden’s first trip to the ITA All-American Championships.

Congratulations Payton!

WTA Player Returns Home To ATA To Coach

The Austin Tennis Academy is excited to announce the addition of one of its alums, who spent the past 10 years playing on the WTA pro circuit, to the ranks of full-time coach in our programs. Ashley Weinhold trained at ATA as a junior player, as well as a pro player.

“No ATA student has been as clear about their goal from an early age as Ashley Weinhold,” said Coach Jack Newman, CEO and Owner of Austin Tennis Academy. “Her number one goal from the age of eight years old was to be a professional tennis athlete. She maintained clarity about that goal throughout her junior tennis career, and then applied the work ethic necessary to reach it. Her professional attitude and drive started early. The end result was to become top 200 in singles, top 100 in doubles and to compete in the game’s biggest stage: the Grand Slams.”

Spending a decade on the tour after reaching the pinnacle in junior tennis, winning the USTA’s G18’s Hard Court Nationals, translates into a wealth of experience, knowledge, and standards Weinhold says she’s excited to impart on players at ATA. “My standards might be a little different than everyone’s standards just because of the world I’ve been around,” said Weinhold. “There are things I like to hold people accountable for – things like footwork, your effort, your attitude, and hold players to a certain standard that you can’t get away with certain things, even if you’re playing college tennis your college coach isn’t going to want to see. I might be hard some times on the the players, but I hope later in life they realize it was because I care and it was good for them.”

While she admits it’s going to take a little bit to get used to stepping on the court as a coach not a player, Weinhold feels blessed to be making her coaching debut at a place she calls home.

Click here if you would like to know more about Ashley.

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