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hen we think of spring and summer, we welcome lazy, long sunny days, walks on the beach, outdoor concert series and live sporting events, and vacations with our family. Well, this year proved to be beyond what anyone could foresee, predict or imagine. Many of us had to get creative to come up with activities to keep our kids busy. We had to home school, learn to cook, find a new hobby, and just try to create as normal a life as we had been used to living this time of year. We saw communities come together, working to help each other. Many could not continue to play tennis or enjoy other social activities, so we came up with ways to fill our days during a difficult time. We want to share some of these stories from our ALTA members and how they managed to keep it all together:
Ben Hestley, Tennis Director at Druid Hills Golf Club As a tennis coach and someone who manages other coaches, my ref lection time during all this was naturally spent on how we coach. Not necessarily the “COVID stuff,” although I did spend a considerable amount to time tackling that daunting task, but how coaches develop players, and more specifically, how do we make the learning “stick.” I had been doing some coach development of my own and dabbling in this notion of push vs. pull; pulling information from the student to guide them to the answer, instead of pushing them the information in expectation for them to remember. As this epidemic hit, suddenly I was an elementary school teacher and got to practice this concept on my own children, and in a setting completely
different than giving a lesson on a tennis court. Some days were good, and some, well, hopefully one day we can laugh about, but it was absolutely rewarding to be so involved in my children’s education. With some assignments, I certainly “pushed” to get the job done, but constantly reflected on this question: I could just give them the answer, but is that best for long-term learning? The long way home is often the most scenic. Prior to the pandemic, I was honored to be selected to serve on USTA’s ADM Task Force. ADM stands for American Development Model. Ty pically, we would have difficulty scheduling regular meetings, but quarantine gave us much time to meet virtually. Every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., we coined “ADM Time!” For me, this was an important hour. Turn off all of the news buzz and have discussions with great cont. on p. 32
No Pandemic Playbook BY EMMY POWELL, NET NEWS EDITOR
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NETNEWS JULY/AUGUST 2020
