Austin Tennis Academy News

May 14, 2009

USTA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT NAMES AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY AS THIRD USTA CERTIFIED REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER

Austin, Texas, May 14, 2009 – The USTA announced today that the Austin (Texas) Tennis Academy will be the third USTA Certified Regional Training Center as part of its continuing expanded efforts to develop future American tennis champions. The USTA plans to announce at least two additional sites throughout the state to create a Regional Training Center network to better serve the junior tennis community in the USTA Texas Section.

“We are excited to partner with the Austin Tennis Academy in Texas which is known for its dynamic programming and accomplished coaching staff,” said Patrick McEnroe, General Manager, USTA Player Development. “Through our Regional Training Center program, we will be able to share the USTA’s coaching philosophy while learning from the personal coaches who are developing our best young talent in Texas as we move towards our goal of working with the top American coaches to grow the base of American tennis and develop American champions.”

The USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players.

“Because of the size and scope of the USTA Texas Section, we are able to take a unique approach with regards to creating a network of Regional Training Centers throughout the state,” said Martin Blackman, Senior Director of Talent Identification and Development, USTA Player Development, who oversees the Regional Training Centers. “By adding additional programs, we will be better equipped to expand our reach throughout Texas, one of the most talent-rich areas of the country.”

In addition to continuing their already existing programs, the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will now also host USTA training camps for players in their region ages 10-14. These players will be selected in conjunction with the USTA national coaching staff and their respective USTA Section Coaches Commission. The Centers also will help identify talent in players as young as 6-years-old, run programs using the QuickStart* format and host QuickStart tournaments for players 8-and-under and 10-and-under.

The camps will be staffed by the top coaches at the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers with assistance from the USTA national coaching staff. The coaches at the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers also will serve as an extension of the USTA Coaching Education program by working with and training the top coaches in their region and respective USTA Section. Additionally, the coaches will attend training sessions at the USTA National Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla.

In December, the USTA named the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta and The Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland as its first two Certified Regional Training Centers. The USTA plans to name approximately a dozen Certified Regional Training Centers during the next five years.

The Austin Tennis Academy (ATA), while only 7 years old as a business, has a long history of developing top players. Coaches Jack Newman and Doug Davis have collaborated for over 2 decades and developed players in the Texas Section for over 50 years collectively. Coach Newman is a USPTA Master Pro and was one of the first graduates of the USTA High Performance coaches' training program.

The ATA is known for its successful Academy program, for sectionally and nationally-ranked competitive players, as well as its Quickstart and Junior Development programs. The ATA has a unique program, which includes all aspects of a players training program, i.e. group training, private training, fitness, and tournament travel in a year-round format combined with a culture of teamwork and of giving back to the community.

USTA Regional Training Center players will join in and take advantage of the ATA's program which is designed to provide the greatest development of the player's physical, mental, technical and tactical performance levels at the fastest rate of progress. Each player's program is based upon the child's chronological and physiological age, as well as their experience level.

The ATA's vision and culture is to develop players of significance as well as accomplishment.

The Austin Tennis Academy is located at the western edge of Austin, Texas in a secluded, picturesque Texas Hill Country setting. ATA's main facility has 12 lighted hard courts with World Class Athletic surface specifications. ATA's "sister" facility, Lakecliff Racquet Club, (within 20 minutes travel time) has 5 hard, 2 clay and 1 grass court.

Academy coaches include Jack Newman, Doug Davis, Cristina Moros, Trey Phillips, Lucie Ludvigova Schmidhauser, Brian Notis, Estevam Strecker, Kendall Brooks, John Schoenmakers and Norman Houston. The ATA's management team is comprised of Jack Newman, CEO and Deb Cahill, COO.

ATA is looking forward to partnering with the USTA towards our common goal - developing American champions."

The new USTA Player Development unit has been created to identify and develop the next generation of American champions by surrounding the top junior players and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their maximum potential. The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Facility in Boca Raton, Fla., and also utilizes the USTA West Coast Training Center in Carson, Calif. Last year, the USTA announced its first two Certified Regional Training Centers, in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., as part of its expanded efforts to develop future American tennis champions. The USTA expects to name approximately ten more Regional Training Centers over the next five years.

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