Heard Around Atlanta

Mark Your Calendars for the Miracle Babies Charity Event

Be sure to mark your calendar for April 13, 2020 for a wonderful charity tennis and golf event.

In partnership with the Northside Hospital Foundation, Miracle Babies was launched in 2012 and its fund provides resources and financial assistance to families with critically ill newborns in the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. By providing financial assistance to parents, Northside Hospital helps relieve families of stress and increases time parents are able to spend in the NICU with their newborns.

Come be a part of this worthwhile event. There is a tennis round-robin, a sports massage, or you can choose the golf option. Both are followed by awards and dinner. For more information, go to: give.northside.com/about-us/miracle-babies-fund

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020 The Standard Club 6230 Abbotts Bridge Rd., Johns Creek, GA 30097

TENNIS SCHEDULE 12:00 p.m. Registration at the Club House & Box Lunch in the Gathering Room 1:00-3:30 p.m. Tennis Round-Robin & Sports Massage 3:30-5:00 p.m. Awards and Dinner

GOLF SCHEDULE 8:00-10:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast & Sports Massage 9:00-10:00 a.m. Driving Range Open 9:30 a.m. Box Lunch Pickup 10:00 a.m. Shotgun Start 3:30-5:00 p.m. Awards and Dinner

TELL US!

PTR Accredited by USCCE and USTA Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) has been successfully re-accredited by the United States Center for Coaching Excellence (USCCE) and National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE) at Level 5 accreditation for its PTR Master of Tennis – Performance program. Additionally, PTR has received provisional accreditation from the USTA.

Originally accredited by USCCE in 2011, PTR is still one of only 30 accredited coach education programs within the United States. Through this accreditation process, NCACE ensures that the PTR program adheres to the characteristics of excellence as prescribed by SHAPE America’s National Standards for Sports Coaches. These standards feature eight domains of coaching responsibilities and within them, 40 standards and subsequent benchmarks representing the body of knowledge associated with each coaching responsibility and provide concrete examples of actions and orientations that constitute coaching competence.

Accreditation reviewers from USCCE noted that the PTR program provided “in-depth coverage of all topics for coaching, including a substantial number of hours.”

“These accomplishments were made possible by the hard work and dedication of the entire PTR staff and support of the PTR Board,” said PTR CEO, Dan Santorum. “Special thanks to PTR COO, Brian Parkkonen and renowned educational consultant, Dr. Anne Pankhurst. PTR has even more quality education initiatives planned for 2020. We look forward to working with the USTA to achieve Full Accreditation.”

Kim Clijsters to Play the Volvo Car Open for the First Time Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters will compete in the 2020 Volvo Car Open, April 4-12 on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina. The 2020 tournament will mark her Volvo Car Open debut. Clijsters is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion and a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion. She retired from tennis in 2012 and will be making her comeback next season.

The 36-year-old Belgian is returning to tennis because of the love of the game. She holds 41 career WTA titles — the third highest total among active players, behind Serena Williams (72 titles) and Venus Williams (49 titles).

“It’s hard to believe that I’ve never played in Charleston,” said Clijsters. “I’m excited to visit the city and get to play the famous green courts. I can’t wait to see everyone courtside in April!”

“Kim entering Charleston for the first time brings our prestigious and historic roster of players full circle,” said Eleanor Adams, Volvo Car Open tournament manager. “As a member of the Tennis Hall of Fame, an Olympian, a wife and mother of three, welcoming Kim to the Volvo Car Open is incredibly special. A beautiful mover with very clean and precise strokes, Kim is a joy to watch on court ...What a gift to our fans!”

The nine-day tournament is the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America. The event attracts an average of 90,000 attendees and more than 100 of the top singles and doubles tennis players to Charleston every year.

ALTA and USTA Volunteer Receives Top State Honor

The Atlanta tennis community is so fortunate to have tremendous volunteers who continue to share the great love of tennis throughout the region. One such volunteer extraordinaire is ALTA’s Candace Cole. Cole was honored recently as USTA Georgia’s 2019 USTA League Female Captain of the Year! “Passionate, inclusive, diplomatic and graceful are just some of the words used to describe Candace,” says Kimberly Letts with USTA Georgia.

The work by Cole as treasurer of both ALTA and the ALTA Foundation has provided a big boost for the entire ALTA organization. Now, Cole will be turning all of her attention to the foundation. She is excited about the opportunity to concentrate her efforts there this year as the ALTA Foundation Representative/ Secretary.

Cole and her husband play on ALTA and USTA teams out of Legacy Park. She started the junior program at that neighborhood and helped the program grow to where it had at least one team at every age level for both boys and girls. That is just one of the countless volunteer efforts in which Cole has been involved.

Her volunteer experience would fill an entire book, but one of her most recent initiatives with the ALTA Foundation is the START program. (Read more about the program on page 32.) “Candace is leading a Title 1 school initiative in Georgia, which brings the great game of tennis to areas that might struggle financially,” says Michaela Norman, who nominated Cole for this award and also is a high school tennis coach. “As a coach myself, I can’t put into words how her actions are setting the course for students to become more successful in struggling areas.”

Letts agrees that Cole is deserving of this year’s award. “We are delighted to have the annual opportunity to recognize and reward all of the amazing people across the state who continue to promote and grow tennis in Georgia,” she said. “Candace is an incredible example

of a captain who makes a difference. We appreciate all that she does for her team and this sport that we love so much.”

“I am truly honored and humbled by this award,” says Cole. “It is a great honor to be able to give back to a sport that has given me so many opportunities.”

Setting the Table for Your Next ALTA Match

When it comes to food decisions for matches, we all know how important it is to select the perfect snack recipe, main dish, dessert, or appetizer. Sometimes, depending on the day, you hope you are assigned paper products because you don’t have time to make something worthy of an ALTA match.

The members of Martin’s Landing River Club have now come up with what many think is the perfect way to serve your teammates and opponents. Instead of assigning one person to bring the paper and plastic disposable products, the captain chooses a teammate to be in charge of reusable plastic plates, cups, and flatware. Once the matches are over, and players have enjoyed some great tennis fare, dishes are cleaned and passed on to another teammate who is responsible for bringing the items to the next match. Club members also have a large jug of ice water and cloth napkins. ALTA Captain Louise Keim-Losch first came up with the idea as a way to safely protect the environment instead of disposing of plastic and paper products. Team members say it’s really working well and wanted to share this idea with other ALTA teams.

Georgia Coach Among Those Honored with Wilson/ITA Coach of Year Award Nine coaches were honored in December at the ITA Coaches Convention, held in Naples, Florida. The 2019 Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year honorees are: • Division I—Men: Bid Goswami (Columbia University), Women: Kevin Epley (University of South Carolina) • Division II—Men: Joshua Cobble (Cameron University), Women: Michael Cabana (Wingate University) • Division III—Men: Ben Lamanna (Brandeis University), Women: Mike Fried (Wesleyan University) • NAIA—Men and Women: Chase Hodges (Georgia Gwinnett College) • Junior College—Men: Ross Duncan (Irvine Valley College), Women: Dash Connell (Tyler College)

Chase Hodges

good pilates changes your body, great pilates changes everything

Pilates for Athletes • Pilates is an excellent foundation for providing a stronger and more stable core. • Pilates can enhance athletic performance, improve technique and prevent injuries. • Our goal for our athletes: improve performance and play without pain! Why Pilates at Studio Lotus Forsyth: • SLF is a fully equipped classical Pilates studio, promoting functional fitness. • We offer Private sessions or small group classes (6 max.) in order to provide a client specific focus. • Instructors play ALTA New clients: mention this ad for 50% off your first visit.

ALTA Member and Atlanta Native Inducted into Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Jim Powell who was recently inducted into the 2020 Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The 2020 season will mark Powell’s 27th as a Major League Baseball broadcaster and his 12th year as the voice of the Atlanta Braves. Powell, who graduated from Roswell High School, spent 13 seasons as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast team, teaming up with Hall of Famer Bob Uecker longer than any other broadcaster in Uecker’s illustrious career.

Powell joined the Brewers in 1996 and was named the 1998 NSMA (National Sports Media Association) Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year. In addition to his radio duties, he spent time as a member of the Brewers television team during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

When Powell moved back to Atlanta from Milwaukee 11 years ago, he became an active ALTA member and helped captain two mixed doubles teams to a city championship.

Powell began his Major League broadcasting career with the Minnesota Twins in a reserve role in 1993 and 1994. Prior to this, he accumulated extensive experience at the minor-league level, serving as play-by-play announcer for the Charlotte Knights (1990-91, 1995) and the Columbia Mets (1987-89, 1993-94).

While in high school, Powell started his broadcasting career with an internship in the newsroom and sports office at WGST-AM. The Atlanta native attended the University of Georgia as a National Merit Scholar and later worked at WRFC and WUOG in Athens. That led to positions in Columbia, South Carolina, with WOLO-TV and then WVOC radio. While in Columbia, he worked extensively for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and was an integral contributor to football, basketball, and baseball broadcasts. Powell was named the NSMA South Carolina Sportscaster of the Year in 1990, 1991, and 1995. In 1991, Powell was hired by WSB-AM to work weekends, where he covered the Braves, Georgia Bulldogs, and Atlanta Falcons for two years. He also worked for CBS Radio, including calling the Sun Bowl, and called numerous college football games on television for Host Communications. Powell is married to Net News Editor Emmy Powell; they have three daughters. He is an active member of his community, supporting numerous charities such as the Rally Foundation, the Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Fund, Jungle Kids for Christ, the Dunamis Foundation, Camp Kudzu, UGA Miracle, Make a Miracle, and local youth athletic programs.

They’re league ladies from down the street and scrappy juniors on the rise. They are the backboards that return everything and club pros that will teach you a thing or two. And they all have one thing in common: they play Ultra v3, a no-nonsense racket with power so easy it amplifies the superpowers players already possess – at the club, public courts or in that grudge match against their fiercest frenemies.

“This is a winwin-win. It’s in the northeast portion of the city, an area in need of greenspace and surrounded by neighborhoods.”

Tom Lambert, Dunwoody Councilman

City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County Partner on New Park Space Dunwoody City Council approves the purchase of Waterford Swim and Racquet Club using county park bond money.

I n December of last year, the Dunwoody City Council approved the purchase of seven acres from the Waterford Swim and Racquet Club to create additional park space and trails. DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester secured funding for the $125,000 purchase using District 1 park bond money.

“It was a great journey to get here,” said Dunwoody Councilman Tom Lambert, who began meeting with Waterford residents in April 2018. “This is a win-win-win. It’s in the northeast portion of the city, an area in need of greenspace and surrounded by neighborhoods.”

After the purchase of 4565 Dellrose Drive and 2371 North Peachtree Way, the Waterford pool, which has been closed for years, will be removed. Two tennis courts on site will be refurbished for public use.

“I am delighted to help the City of Dunwoody with the acquisition of this new green space. I see this as a valuable use of commissioner-directed funding for the citizens of District One and the county as a whole,” said Commissioner Jester. “Preserving land for parks in Dunwoody, and all of DeKalb County, as the metro area grows, is a priority and will help maintain quality of life for all residents. I look forward to the city doing great things with this addition to its park portfolio.”

Councilman Lambert had praise for Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Director Brent Walker. “He did a tremendous amount of work to get this across the finish line,” Lambert said.

“The City is excited about the opportunity to add a new neighborhood park,” Walker said. “We’re planning to build a playground, small gazebo and trail network to connect surrounding neighborhoods to the park and each other.”

The two properties, which cover 7.16 acres of land, will be redeveloped using City funds.

TECH TALK

The Member Portal When logged in on the ALTA website, you have a more personalized view of the site. Starting at the Member Portal page, you have access to anything you might see from ALTA’s home page. The key is using the white bar categories pictured below. Hovering over any of these categories gives you a description of the information available there. • My Active Teams – Teams in season from the point the schedule is out and everything ALTA offers to manage these teams. Please note that suggested improvements are being reviewed for future enhancements. • My Rosters & New/Reinstate – My Rosters is all rosters you are connected with as a player or team leader. If you are listed as a Designee only or a Team Manager for any rosters, they will show in green. New/Reinstate is where rosters are entered for a new season. Once a roster is entered, any corrections are under My Rosters. • My Account – All your personal ALTA information is located here. Take a look and update it if needed to stay current. Please contact the office to add a birthdate to an existing membership. • My Resources – You’ll find ALTA Documents, searchable Division Standings, Adult and Junior League information, etc., similar to if you were not logged in and searching from the ALTA Home Page. • Members & Memberships – Here you can do a Member Search for ALTA members, create a New Membership(s) or Renew Membership(s). If renewing your personal membership, that’s easiest done under My Account > My Membership Renewal.

—Joan Appelbaum ALTA IT Manager

Palmetto Dunes Tennis & Pickleball Center to Host Debut of APP Tour

The Palmetto Dunes Tennis & Pickleball Center will serve as the site for the grand debut of the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) Tour, the first pickleball tour for professionals and amateurs. The new tour will make its debut at the Hilton Head Pickleball Open from March 19-22. This inaugural event will take place at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis & Pickleball Center, with 24 dedicated pickleball courts, and will include a $25,000 purse for the professionals. The amateur events will be divided by age and skill, 19+, 35+, 50+, and 60+. Tournament registration is $65 — which includes a goodie bag with a Dri-Fit event T-shirt and a program guide — and will conclude on March 5. A player’s age will be considered as of Dec. 31, 2020 and the minimum age for the tournament competition is 10 years old. Sign up at pickleballtournaments.com. The inaugural APP event will be hosted by highly ranked professionals Sarah Ansboury and Steve Deakin. Ansboury serves as the Palmetto Dunes Pickleball Touring Professional and Director of Pickleball Instruction. A nationally ranked tennis player, she has been a pioneer in the pickleball explosion of the last few years. She discovered pickleball in 2014 and was instantly hooked. Deakin began his career in late 2017, also transitioning to pickleball from tennis,

where he was a former ATP ranked player, 12-time Canadian National Champion, and a member of Canada’s Senior World Team. The inaugural APP event will be bookended by the Ansboury’s 2020 Pickleball Academies at Palmetto Dunes. The academy scheduled from March 12-15 is for 4.0 level players and the academy that runs from March 26- 29 is for 3.5 level players. To register, go to: https://bit.ly/371Hhv8