Coach Newman explains to the group the significance of what is happening.

This past June, Breck visited a number of projects in Tigray, funded by the Austin Tennis Academy through local charity A Glimmer of Hope Foundation. The lack of access to improved water supplies is a huge problem in Ethiopia with more than 80 percent of all disease being attributed to dirty water and poor sanitation. In rural parts of the country, where A Glimmer of Hope focuses its efforts, just one in three people have access to clean water while just 13 percent has access to adequate sanitation services.

The group filled Jerry cans in the creek, then strapped them to their backs with rope, using the same cans and rope as are used in Ethiopia.

At any given time, more than half of the country’s population of 80 million people is suffering from an unnecessary water-related disease. More than 250,000 children under the age of five die each year from diarrhea.

Breck came back motivated to do something about this. The ATA Water Walk was an idea he came up with and with the help of his parents and sister and friends at ATA, executed the event yesterday afternoon.

Breck makes his way down the Spanish Oaks hill as he struggles with the rope on his shoulders.

Beyond the issues of health, poor access to clean water also has a detrimental impact on development. In particular, water scarcity severely affects the lives of women as female family members are traditionally responsible for water collection.

Collecting water is a back-breaking chore that saps women’s energy, diminishes their health and restricts their involvement in productive activities and community affairs.

Jeff Offerdahl embarks on his water walk.

Most women in rural Ethiopia spend hours a day collecting water from distant and polluted sources. Many girls never get an opportunity to go to school because the responsibility of collecting enough water to keep their families alive takes precedence.

Friends, Kyler Bender and Tyler Anson take turns with one Jerry can.

Kyler carried the can for the first half, then Tyler took over for walk back.

The ATA students got the chance to see just what that was like yesterday. Here’s what I heard afterward:

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I can’t imagine having to do that every day over a longer distance.”

“I thought I knew what this was about, I didn’t know. After carrying water, I really know how hard it is and know what this is about.”

Many students came away with bruises and sore shoulders from the ropes used to carry the Jerry Cans. Everyone came away with a better perspective on how easy their life is compared to the rural poor of Ethiopia.

Breck shows the difficulty of this walk on his face as he comes to the end.

Austin Tennis Academy CEO Jack Newman said: “I am so proud of these students, especially the junior academy and younger students who approached this challenge with gusto. Great idea by Breck, great execution by ATA students and staff. Well done to all!”

Molly Fisher works through the hand toss drills with Coach Kendall.

Hard hitters, Conor O'Rourke and Colton Malesovas work on making 50 balls without missing.

Many of the top athletes played matches amongst themselves. See some pictures from the match-play below.

Taylor Shamshiri connects with a return against Josh Hagar.

Josh Hagar uses his quick footwork to hit a defensive forehand.

Aaron Chaffee plants his left foot before stepping into a backhand.

Charlie Shin uncoils into a forehand in a match against Chaffee.

Coach Strecker is doing the first round of fitness testing for the new year this week. Here, Rob Steinewdell gets ready for a lateral movement speed test.

Liam Leddy and Andrew Parks face off in a sprint test.

Leighton Forshee and Hunter Goertz do sprints for time while Coach Strecker keeps the time.

Breck Spencer came up with the idea for this walk and will be leading he way on Wednesday.

We will be offering all our students (and parents) the chance to see what that experience is like this Wednesday. We will fill Jerry cans up at the creek behind ATA, and will make a short hike into Spanish Oaks.

All students and parents of ATA students are invited to participate. We know for sure FoxNews is sending a crew to video and other local news stations are being recruited to do the same, to help raise awareness.

Hope you can join us.

Coach Jack Newman

ATA

Sessions

Week 11: August 16-20

Times

QuickStart Camp 9:00am – 10:30am (age 5-8)
Morning Camp 9:00am – 12:00pm
All Day Entry Level Camp 9:00am – 4:00pm
Tournament Tough Training Camp 1:00pm – 4:00pm^**
All Day Tournament Tough Training Camp 9:00am – 4:00pm^**
**advanced Champ and Superchamp-level only

Cost

QuickStart Camp $110/week ($25/day drop-in)
Morning Camp $235/week ($75/day drop-in)
All Day Entry Level Camp $495/week ($125/day drop-in) including DVD
Tournament Tough Training Camp $260/week ($75/day drop-in)
All Day Tournament Tough Camp $495/week ($125/day drop-in) lunch, DVD and video analysis

Quick Start Camp

9:00am - 10:30am ($110 per week or $25 per day)
The Quick Start tennis format used by the Austin Tennis Academy gives kids the opportunity to rally a ball over the net and learn to play points as quickly as possible - all in a fun environment. Our coaches recognize the importance of starting kids off well, and with success. The ATA was instrumental in developing this groundbreaking nationwide program and served as the pilot program for the USTA. This program uses the appropriate size racquet, court and ball to allow kids to do more – faster! Suggested Age: 5-8 years old.

Morning Camp

9:00am - 12:00pm ($235 per week or $75 per day)
Players will improve their game by learning fundamental skills, practicing game situations, and improving overall movement. Using the latest techniques and international innovations, players learn valuable athletic skills for tennis and other sports. Take home DVD of each player is included.

Afternoon “Tournament Tough” Camp

1:00pm-4:00pm ($260 per week or $75 per day)
Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive game situations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training. This camp is limited to Champ and Superchamp-level. ATA Academy players will be training at this time.

All Day Entry Level Camp

9:00am - 4:00pm ($495 per week or $125 per day)
ATA’s full day camp includes both morning and afternoon sessions. Lunch is included. Players will improve their game by learning fundamental skills, practicing game situations, and improving overall movement. Using the latest techniques and international innovations, players learn valuable athletic skills for tennis and other sports. After lunch, players will participate in off-court activities, such as swimming, miniature golf, and other fun activities. A minimum of 6 players is required. Take home DVD of each player is included.

All Day Tournament Tough Training Camp

9:00am—4:00pm ($495 per week or $125 per day)
ATA’s full day camp includes both morning and afternoon sessions. Lunch is included. Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive game situations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training. This camp is limited to Champ and Superchamp-level. ATA Academy players will be training at this time. Take home DVD of each player and video analysis (one day) is included.

Policies

1. Registration must be made online.
2. Payment in advance is required to reserve your slot.
3. ATA camps are held rain or shine. Indoor sessions are held in the event of inclement weather.
4. No refunds or make-ups for days missed.
5. Weekly rate applies to that particular week only (no carryover).
6. Medical Release and Hold Harmless must be filled out online.
7. Lunch may be purchased if ordered in advance for $7. Lunch is included for all day campers.
8. Players may leave credit card on file to cover pro shop purchases, lunch, etc.
9. Private housing may be available. Email info@austintennisacademy.com to inquire.
10. Early drop-off and late pick-up is available upon request for $50 per week.

Share this Summer Tennis Training Camps flyer with others to have them join the fun.

Claire Cahill moves up and back to catch the ball in her strike zone.

Molly Fisher shows off her athleticism as she works on her backhand.

Andrew Parks steps into a slice backhand in a match against Jake Rother.

Jake locks in on an open-stance forehand against Andrew.

One group played practice sets. Another went with Coach Brandon Davis, who spoke about moving into a shot with your feet. The group worked on attacking groundstrokes and perfecting the front-foot pivot.

Harrison Chiu uses every muscle in his body to attack a forehand.

Colton Malesovas focuses on a forehand.

Erik Kerrigan plants his left foot and prepares his racquet for a backhand.

Keaton Qualls gives everything he has to reach a short backhand.

Last week, the ATA all-day campers had the privilege of touring Sony Online's Austin game studio. Michael Daubert, the studio art director led the tour. The kids saw artists, designers and programmers hard at work putting the finishing touches on their latest game, DC Universe Online. The game is to be released November 12. The campers were excited about playing online alongside heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe and other players from all over the world. The highlight of the tour was seeing the new game trailer just released at Comicon in the company theater. The movie the kids saw can be seen here: http://www.dcuniverseonline.com/movies.vm?category=gametrailer

As well as visiting Sony Online's Austin studios, the group also spent an afternoon at Blazer Tag last week.

The drill : The player in the server position feeds an approachable topspin ball. The returner attacks it crosscourt, follows it in, and they play out the point. The idea is for each player to work on positioning, based on where the serve goes and where the return goes. So, if the return is hit out wide, then the returners partner needs to follow it out wide and cover the line, while the returner covers the middle.

On court 9, Andrew Parks teamed up with Philip Seifert, to work against Blake Davis and Jake Rother. Above, Jake feeds the ball to Andrew and they play the point out, attacking through the middle of the court.

Here, Blake feeds to Philip. Then, Jake covers the middle when Philip is pulled out wide.

After each player worked through each position, the group played a set of doubles. Blake and Jake took on Andrew and Philip.

Jake finishes a point at the net with a high backhand volley.

Austin Priess plants his foot as he leans into a backhand.

Coach Strecker put his group through service points on court 3 and 4.

Rob Steinwedell makes Jake Rother work hard for a point.

The group takes off on a sprint.

Coach Strecker put the afternoon through sprints on the soccer field to finish the day.

Chad Howland connects with a backhand.

Sydney Young and Meredith Parks team up for some doubles.

Harrison Chiu approaches up the line and finishes with a volley to the open court.

Ali Young works through hand-tossed drills with Coach Notis.

Coach John does the hand-tossed drills with Mikaela Pope.

Coach John talked to his group about the volley rule: If the contact point on a volley is below the level of the net, it goes back where it came from. If the contact point is above the level of the net, then you attack it to the open court, and move across to cover the line.

After explaining the drill, the players hit the court to execute their newly learned skill.

Taylor Shamshiri and Andrew Parks work for a point against Chris Dale and Jacob Herndon.

Meghan O'Malley rips a forehand return.

Payton Holden plays defense in a practice match on Thursday.

The day finished with Coach Newman feeding a game of 105. The basic idea of the game is the group splits into 2 teams and play points with 2 players on each side. When you lose, you go to the back of the line. A team gets to 105 with points won, where different shots have different values.

Charlie Shin rallies with Andrew Parks. The two didn't miss a groundstroke while rallying from the baseline. Coach Davis explains in the background how each player should be hitting the ball with about 3-5 feet of net clearance.

Charlie and Andrew then rally with one up and one back, working on volleys and footwork at the net.

Andrew took his turn at the net.

The group partnered up and went out with 1 ball per team to try to Single-Ball Grand Slam Warm Up before the dark clouds crept in.

Coach Claire set up a path to help the kids understand where to start, and how to move, to return a serve. She explained that you start in the ready position on the red dot, and then move forward and follow the path to the left or right depending on where the ball is hit.

Sarah O'Malley started in the ready position on the red dot, and moved forward, like Coach Claire said.

Then, Sarah showed where she would go for a forehand return.

Coach John works on the correct serve grip while the other kids practice serving.

Max Schmidhauser sticks out his tongue as he sets up for a serve.

When the rain hit, the afternoon group moved inside for fitness, footwork, and core work.

Jeff Offerdahl starts the group on the ladders.

Coach Strecker calls this one 'scissors'.

Coach Strecker explains exactly how to do the footwork drill.

Charlie talked about how every player their was very good, and there wasn't an easy match the entire tournament.

Charlie, flanked by Coach Newman on his left and Coach Davis on his right, tells the group about the experience overall.

Next, Coach Newman and Coach Davis talked about the agenda and goals for practice. Coach D explained the concept of balance, as it applies to the game of tennis. He explained how a player should have balance between forehand to backhand, or forehand volley to backhand volley. Meaning, if you have a strong forehand, the racquet position and swing shape on the backhand should reflect, and be balanced with, the stronger shot. In other words, a player can improve a weakness simply by mimicking the strengths of a better stroke.

Here, Coach Davis talked about Claire Cahill's backhand, and how she extends her follow-through after contact so well. He explained that she should learn from that, and do the same on the forehand side.

Here, Coach D talked about balance in terms of a players ready position, or preparation for a shot. He explained that the arms and shoulders should remain level and balanced and level in the ready position. He brought the group inside to see a video of Roger Federer doing exactly what he was explaining, and then went outside to have each kid show him what they saw.

The group then moved on the court to put it into action.

Rob Steinwedell connects with a backhand in a practice match versus Andrew Parks.

Representing Austin Tennis Academy at hard-court nationals will be Jeff Offerdahl, Chase Curry, Meredith Parks, Brooke Hughes, Payton Holden, Tomas Stillman, Jacob Herndon and Taylor Shmashiri.

Take a look at a few videos of the group practicing at ATA today:

Taylor Shamshiri patiently earns a point from Chris Dale.

Jeff Offerdahl unloads for an ace down the tee.

Jacob Herndon works to win a point against Jeff.

Meredith Parks uses her steady groundstrokes create the error.