Long Island Tennis Magazine March / April 2024

Courts & Cocktails Serves Up

Overthe last two years, Long Island Tennis Magazine’s event series, Courts & Cocktails, has provided an alternative Saturday night option for adults, where they can play tennis and socialize with old friends and also meet new ones, all while helping to raise money for worthy causes.

And that continued into the new year as the first Courts & Cocktails event of 2024 was held at Sportime Syosset. The event helps raise money for Grow Tennis New York, the charitable arm of Long Island Tennis Magazine, to help provide playing opportunities for underprivileged and under

resourced individuals.

A great group of people came out to enjoy more than two hours of tennis, featuring drills and games across six courts. The events are an ideal way to spend a Saturday night, and serve as both a great way for tennis players to remain active in the winter months, and also benefit newer tennis players as well.

“Our latest Courts & Cocktails reinforced the need for social tennis options,” said David Sickmen, Publisher of Long Island Tennis Magazine. “We love being in the community and bringing players of all different levels from all across Long Island together. The night allowed for everyone to meet new people and get away from the monotony of typical Saturday night plans. We know for a fact that many of our attendees have enjoyed our events so much that they have begun playing more tennis outside of Courts & Cocktails which is one of our goals.”

Jamie Milone, one of the attendees, echoed that sentiment:

cktails Recap p Saturday Night Tennis Fun

“I would recommend courts and cocktails because it’s a fun evening of tennis, cocktails and good company,” Milone said. “My favorite aspect of Courts and Cocktails is that it connects people to other tennis players that they wouldn’t otherwise meet. My family and friends participate so it’s just

an all around great time.”

While the players were on court, bartenders served cocktails, as Long Island Tennis Magazine’s event staff served drinks to all the players. A full catered dinner was provided to players post-event as attendees were treated to both delicious food and amazing drinks, all making for

a wonderful evening of good times with good people.

“I want to thank Mike Kossoff and the Sportime Syosset staff who were perfect hosts,” Sickmen added. “We look forward to a full calendar of Courts & Cocktails events where we will help raise funds for multiple charities throughout 2024!”

Point Set Team Wins USTA National Championships

By Brian Coleman

There’s nothing quite like winning when you are the underdogs.

That’s exactly how the team out of the USTA Eastern section representing Point Set Indoor Racquet Club felt when it headed southwest to compete in the USTA National Championships at the end of last year. Captained by Laura Crain and Cristina Handal, the team began the season with tame expectations for itself, but through team chemistry, dedication and hard work, ended up claiming the national championship in the Women’s 18+ 2.5 category.

“A deep drive to win,” said Crain when asked what the key to their team’s success was. “We faced some crazy competition in the regular season and actually were underdogs going into the playoffs as the team from Christopher Morley finished in first. They beat us twice in the regular season and were undefeated going into the playoffs. Finally beating them in the playoffs was such a sweet victory for us.”

That victory helped propel the team into the Sectionals and then eventually into the National Championships, a long way away from where the team was just a year ago. In fact, the team

only came together last season which was the first year competing in USTA Leagues for everyone on the roster. The team members played out of three different clubs in and around Garden City, but decided rather than playing against each other, they should come together and form a team to compete in USTA leagues.

“One of the pros in town put us in touch with Point Set and the rest is history,” Crain said. “Lori, Maureen and Melissa from Point Set were so amazing. As new tennis players and new USTA players, we had so many questions. There are so many rules

that you need to know and they were such a wealth of information for us. I can’t imagine playing out of any other club and having the same experience. One of the first texts we got after winning was from them. They followed us the whole time and were such a great support system for us.”

The National Championships were held in Tucson, Ariz. and the team took six of its players to the competition, as some of the team members were ineligible based on the amount of matches they had played during the regular season. Despite only having six rostered players, and competing against teams who primarily had more than 10 players, Crain and her team did not let that deter them.

The circumstances required everyone on the team stepping up and contributing more than they had throughout the season. Crain played singles for the first time all season, and won her match, while she also paired with Caitlin Sorohan to come back from 5-9 down in a match tiebreaker against the team from Texas in the final match of group play to qualify for the semifinals.

Lindsey Rosenberg suffered heat

stroke during her first match yet pushed through to win a key doubles match two days after that, while Elise Chamberlain battled through the heat to win a nearly three-hour long singles match in the semifinals.

“That win was the reason we made the finals,” Crain said.

In the championship match, the team from Point Set battled against the top team from USTA Caribbean, and despite falling behind 1-5 in the second set, the first doubles duo of Marie Romeo-Gough and Sivan Chapman came back to tie that set, and then win the ensuing tiebreaker 74 to seal the national title for the team from Point Set.

It’s a cliché you hear a lot, but for this team, winning was truly a team effort that required everyone to do their part.

“We came together in a way that proved to be a winning combination, but we also became really good friends,” said Crain. “The best moments of the trip were of course the matches, but also hanging out at the hotel, all the dinners, walking around Target looking for matching sandals and water bottles, talking strategy in each other’s hotel rooms, and sharing a bottle of wine or champagne when we won, those are the best memories we’ll take away from this.”

The time spent at Nationals, and throughout the season, helped provide memories that will last a lifetime for the six players who brought the championship back to Long Island. From beginning the season as novice tennis players who didn’t understand much about competing in USTA leagues, to being crowned the best team in the country in their division, it was a long journey that was well worth the ride.

“After we won, the league official was ‘shooting the breeze’ with us and he said that they had all expected to see Caribbean in the finals, and that the SoCal and NorCal teams were

the big contenders. We asked him if anyone had inquired about Eastern and he said, ‘No’, we weren’t on any team’s radar. We slid in there as underdogs and we came out National Champions,” recalled Crain. “While it was just the six of us that made it to Sectionals and Nationals, it was our whole team and our co-captain Cristina Handal who secured so many amazing wins throughout the season that got us into the playoffs in the first place. We never would have advanced if it wasn’t for them. The entire Crain-Handal team out of Point Set all played, all won and all helped in this victory.”

20 QUESTIONS FOR 21 COACHES

PART 1

By Ricky Becker

Abigtheme of my articles through the years is that many good coaches have differing opinions regarding on-court and off-court tennis issues. I put my idea to the test and asked 20-top coaches with more than 450-500 combined years of coaching experience, 20-questions.

In this edition, I’ll delve into the responses of the on-court topics and in the May/June edition of Long Island Tennis Magazine, I will give the responses of more of the off-court tennis questions. Interestingly, while I questioned coaches of many different clubs, the answers were not always consistent intra-club.

1. What is the best courtsurface to train junior players?

The survey says….Clay 17, Hard 4, Grass 0.

My take: Right off the bat this over-

whelming response surprised me the most. While I personally think clay is better because of the slower bounce to learn technique and construct points, I thought that more coaches would respond with hard courts since that is widely considered the “American” surface and most higher-level junior tournaments and almost all high school matches are played on hard courts.

2. Is it best to teach continental grip serve immediately to a junior player?

The survey says: No 12, Yes 9. My take: While I was also incorrect in thinking more people would say yes than no, I knew this response would be close. One school of thought is that continental grip is extremely difficult to learn and that it is better to give the child confidence and get them going. The other school of thought is that if

you are going to learn it, it’s better to have a clean slate than have to unlearn bad habits. Admittedly, this question is a bit simplistic. It probably also depends on the child emotionally, physically and competitively.

3. Is it best to teach continental grip on the serve to an adult player?

The survey says: Yes 12, No 9

My take: This response surprised me as well. Truthfully, I tried to predict which response would win before I started asking people and I got the first three wrong. Once again, this is probably dependent on the student. One thing I can comfortably say is that if the adult student isn’t going to put the time and work into practicing the serve in continental grip it’s going to be an uphill battle. If you are looking to play matches right away and don’t care about long-term improvement, it may not be worth it.

4. Should the net player look back in doubles when the ball is hit to their partner?

The survey says: No 15; Yes 6

My take: I have this debate with tennis coaches a lot and was pretty accurate with the results. It ultimately comes down to whether the amount of time seeing the ball travel before the opponent reacts makes up for the time that it takes the net player to turn his or head back around. Personally for me it does and I prefer turning my head but with that said, I’m in the minority in this opinion and the player’s personal choice should probably come into play as well.

5. What shot do you find the toughest to teach?

The survey says: Serve 18, Volleys 2, Backhand 1, Forehand 0

My take: While I thought serve would prevail as the toughest to teach, I did not think the results would be onesided. What I find toughest on the serve is the amount of elements to it. The toss is sometimes tough to get a hang of and when you add the elements of timing, controlling the racquet behind your head and transferring the weight there are definitely a lot of elements working together. Also, when a player gets nervous in a match, the technique breaks down easier because there isn’t as much of an auto-pilot aspect to it.

6. What forehand stance should a beginning player first learn when they are starting to play?

The survey says: Closed 17, Open 4 My take: I kind of expected the results to be about the way they came out. Of course, it is good to have both stances as you get better but I think it’s pretty unanimous among coaches that you shouldn’t start out with both at the same time. While I chose closed stance, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future more and more coaches think beginning with the open stance is better.

7. What’s the best forehand grip to start a young player?

The survey says: Eastern 10, Semi-Western 10; Western 1

My take: While over the years, moving the hand more to the right has been more commonly accepted to my surprise just as many coaches still thought Eastern was better to start with. Admittedly, this question is probably a bit generic. I would expect that the player’s expected size, physical attributes and what part of the world they live and which courts that part of the world plays on would also be a factor. For those unfamiliar, the more eastern a grip is, the more flat their shot will be and the more to the

right or western the more spin it will have.

8. What is more important for a tennis player talent or hard work?

The survey says: Hard Work 19; Talent 2

My take: I was pretty spot on with how this turned out. If two coaches think talent is more important though, it can’t be dismissed entirely. I’ve always subscribed to the 10-80-10 talent philosophy. In my own opinion, the top-10 percent of talented players can do a little bit less off the court to have more success than less talented peers. However to make it as a top-100 pro player you need to be in the top-10 percent, work your butt off and maybe have a little luck. The middle 80percent of talented players I believe will take their tennis as far as their work-ethic, time dedication, mental toughness and passion takes them up to the top-100 ATP level as a ceiling. The bottom 10 percent talent-wise probably have their school team as a ceiling when they really dedicate themselves to tennis.

9. Have you ever stopped a lesson in the middle because of a student’s attitude?

The survey says: Yes 20, No 1

My take: I’m a bit surprised by how lopsided the results were because while most of the coaches surveyed have tons of experience they don’t all coach highperformance players. But I guess, ending a lesson early could be a good lesson for a student at any level.

10. In a perfect scenario should a junior player have one coach or multiple coaches?

The survey says: 11 one-coach, 10 multiple coaches

My take: While I thought the one-coach answer would prevail I was extremely surprised by how many coaches responded multiple coaches. After all, us tennis coaches are prideful people and sometimes think we know everything!

If you are a tennis coach and would like to be included in the next ten questions that will be discussed, please email me at rbecker06@yahoo.com and kindly let me know where it is that you coach!

Ricky Becker is The Director of Tennis at Glen Oaks Club. Ricky also coaches highperformance juniors throughout the year and has been the Director of Tennis at three of Long Island’s biggest junior programs. As a player, Becker was the Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stanford Tennis team, four-time MVP for Roslyn High School and ranked in the top-five nationally as a junior. He can be reached at rbecker06@yahoo.com, 516-359-4843 or via juniortennisconsulting.com.

Kaplan Honored With George Seewagen Award

Atthe annual USTA Eastern Tennis Conference in lateJanuary, the Section spent the Saturday night honoring those who have made a substantial impact on tennis in their communities at the Awards Ceremony and Dinner.

And while he was the one being honored, Steve Kaplan, Owner and Managing Director of the Bethpage Park Tennis Center, wanted to use his time and platform to pay homage to the man whose name is on the award he received: George Seewagen.

Kaplan was this year’s recipient of the George Seewagen award, which is presented to a USTA Eastern teaching professional who exemplifies excellence in competition, sportsmanship and love of the game.

“I was thrilled to receive the George Seewagen Sr. award given by the Eastern Section of the USTA because Mr. Seewagen was my college tennis coach at St. John’s. He was a great coach, but more so, he was a remarkable man,” said Kaplan. “When I got up and got my award, I didn’t say one word about myself, but instead I wanted to talk about him. He influenced so many people including myself. That is really what the award means to me, it gave me an opportunity to talk about somebody who deserves to be talked about and recognized.”

Those words aren’t just fluff or cliché, it was truly how Kaplan felt, because of the significant impact that Seewagen had on Kaplan’s life. As a collegiate player, Kaplan played for Seewagen at St. John’s and saw first-hand how Seewagen approached the profession.

Kaplan always knew he wanted to run his own business one day and be a coach himself, and learned a lot from Seewagen, who he says is his professional role model.

“One thing I learned from George was that do what I say is an important way of teaching, but do as I do is even more important,” said Kaplan. “He was so powerful as a role model, not so much because of the things he said, he didn’t say much, but the things he did. When we would show up to practice, he was there already. When we were leaving, he was still there working. And this wasn’t his only job. He was a hard-working person and always had a positive attitude. He was always kind and polite, and was the perfect example of the phrase, ‘no one cares how much you know until they know much you care.’ He taught me and so many others just by how he conducted himself.”

Seewagen lived an extraordinary tennis life. He spent 49

years at the helm of St. John’s, and was a teacher in the New York City school system for most of those. Prior to his coaching days, he was an accomplished tennis player in his own right, competing on the professional tour. He would also coach his son, Butch, and helped him reach the fourth round of Wimbledon. Butch would follow in his dad’s footsteps and go on to coach at Columbia University, where he would coach all-time great Vitas Gerulaitus, at the same time his dad was coaching at St. John’s.

“George was such a humble guy, and as a man of humility, he didn’t boast about his accomplishments or brag about his son’s success,” recalls Kaplan. “He simply smiled, instructed mentored and loved the sport and the students he served. He is an inspiration to many, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have said a few words about him while receiving my award so that he may continue his legacy of inspiration and excellence.”

Kaplan has been at the forefront of maintaining Seewagen’s legacy, not only with the words he spoke at the award ceremony, but also the way he approaches his own programs and the method in which he teaches his students. Leading by example is perhaps the most important thing you can do if you truly want to better your students and players.

“As I later on become such a strong advocate of the need to be healthy and fit, I found it so important to become as fit as I could so I could lead by example,” Kaplan explains. “If I am going to teach kids how important it is to be prepared and be hard-working, the best thing I can do is be prepared and work hard. If I am going to talk to kids about how important it is to become educated, the best thing I can do is educate myself. Mr. Seewagen was such a powerful role model in guiding and being an object lesson in teaching my example.”

And perhaps the biggest trait Kaplan took away from his professional role model was just how he treated those that he worked with and coached, something that Kaplan continues to do to this day. Kaplan’s impact on the players he has coached was evidenced by the many former players of his that showed up to the award ceremony to be there for him.

“When he was there with you, you were the most important thing,” said Kaplan. “He never made it about him, and I think that goes a long way, and why he had such an effect on so many people.”

Saturday Night Social Tennis Raises Money for Sid Jacobson JCC

Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center (SJJCC) held a special fundraiser at Glen Head Racquet Club, Tacos, Tennis and Tequila, to help raise money for its organization. The event was held in conjunction with Long Island Tennis Magazine, who modeled the event after its successful Courts & Cocktails event series.

Sid Jacobson JCC's Tennis & Tacos event, organized by our new leaders, brought together our community in purpose, raising almost $8,000--and awareness--for our Community Needs Bank -- a vital safety net for neighbors experiencing hardships,” said Francine Stephens, Sid Jacobson JCC Director of Development.

SJJCC exists to enable life to flourish. As the only full-service JCC on Long Island’s North Shore, SJJCC provides a full range of cutting-edge recreational, health, fitness, educational, cultural arts, and social services programs. The

organization is firmly committed to enriching the lives of all individuals and families in our community. While the comprehensive programs are based on Jewish values, traditions, heritage, and culture, it welcomes and extends its arms to all.

The event featured tennis play for over 50 participants of all levels including drills, match play and other games. The lobby had catered Mexican food courtesy of Tocolo Cantina, including a hot & cold taco bar, which was a hit. Waitresses served drinks from the open bar which featured an array of margarita flavor options to keep with the Mexican theme.

While drinks and food were served off the court to create a festive atmosphere that was entertaining for all.

“It was a fun night for all involved and the money raised will go a long way towards ensuring the Community Needs Bank will remain a resource for all in our

area who rely on Sid Jacobson JCC for so many aspects of daily life,” Stephens added.

David Sickmen, Publisher of Long Island Tennis Magazine , said: “Our Courts & Cocktails event series has become a staple in the tennis community and this event was a spinoff of that. We love helping to bring the community together for fun and unique Saturday night experiences while also raising money for worthy causes. We are appreciative of our partnership with the JCC and love all that they do and we wanted to help make sure the event was done professionally and that everyone had a great time. On this night, with a sold-out event, on court, it was a perfect time for couples and friends to spend time together on and off the court, and also meet new people. And the $8,000 raised makes everything worth it. We are looking forward to operating many more events like this throughout 2024.”

SassyLI:Discover The Perfect Tennis Bag

Born

and raised in New York, Lisa Fuchs’ tennis journey would classify her as a late bloomer.

From an early age, she was involved with dance and fitness, and that would later evolve into spin, and she eventually opened up her own Spin Studio.

But after discovering tennis later in her life, Fuchs was hooked. She immediately fell in love with the sport, and as she says: “I now live and breathe tennis, tennis and tennis!”

Fuchs had spent her professional career working in sales with some of the top fashion companies in the world, and through these client relationships she formed, she developed a real sense of fashion and style. But even more important, was recognizing and appreciating the secret of these organizations was that they were able to make women feel as good as they looked. So with that in mind, she decided to combine her business acumen with her passion for tennis to launch her own tennis bag brand, and SassyLI was born. The first bags were purchased right here on Long Island by Advantage Tennis in Westbury, and have become popular ever since.

The Sassy Li Royal Blue Bag is a lightweight tennis bag that offers a good amount of space for players on the go. Featuring high-tech features and boasting a fresh perspective on style, this bag is built for durability and premium functionality. You can easily organize your belongings with the backpack, which has room for two racquets, a zipper pocket to store cell phones, two side pockets to keep water bottles or tennis balls, and changeable velcro straps

among others. With ultra- padded adjustable straps and a cool modern look, you’ll be traveling comfortably as well as in style!

Built from the highest-quality materials, the Ultimate White Bag is a modern solution for players seeking years of durability, all-day capacity, and keen pocket organization. The bag is well customized to store two tennis racquets or your laptop when not in use on the court. The additional storage compartment includes a zipper pocket to store cell phones, two side pockets to keep water bottles or tennis balls, and changeable Velcro straps among others.

The SassyLI Ultimate White Bag is made from 100 percent down quilted polyester that will persevere through years of training and tournament travel.

The Pickleball Sling Bag is large enough to carry six pickleball paddles, and is made of a special light weight and durable material. The main compartment offers more than enough space for pickleballs, golf shoes, tennis shoes, etc.

Built in pockets for keys, cell phones, and the side bottle holder. The adjustable strap allows you to wear the bag tight or loose.

Peace, Love Pickleball.

For more information and to see more bags, visit SassyLi.com, or contact lili@SassyLI.com or 888-808-3664.

Amazing Aryna Sabalenka defends Aussie Open title to win second career major

By Brian Coleman

There was a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Aryna Sabalenka as she arrived in Melbourne. One of the best players in the world, Sabalenka had her career best year in 2023, which raised the expectations for her as we entered 2024.

Last year, Sabalenka won her first major title, a triumph at the Australian Open that earned the Belarussian the most important achievement of her career thus far. Later in the year, Sabalenka reached the U.S. Open final. And while she would end up losing that final to American Coco Gauff, she finished the year ranked second in the world, and looked to continue raising the bar.

“Actually it’s been in my mind that I didn’t want to be that player to win [one Slam] and then disappear,” Sabalenka said of the pressure and expectations she put on herself. “I just wanted to show that I’m able to consistently be there and I’m able to win another one.”

tournament. In fact, only one set throughout her run went into a tiebreaker, the opening set of her semifinal win over American Coco Gauff, as Sabalenka was practically unbeatable.

That run culminated with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over China’s Qinwen Zheng in the championship match, outslugging one of the game’s up and coming stars in just one hour and 16 minutes.

“I’m speechless right now,” said Sabalenka in her post-match press conference. “I don’t know how to describe my emotions. But definitely I’m super, super happy and proud of everything I was able to achieve so far. Yeah, just happy with the level I played today. She’s a great player and very tough opponent. I’m super happy that I was able to get this win today.”

Sabalenka’s dominance was on full display. She became the first player since Serena Williams to win the title without dropping serve one time in all of her matches. Dating back to her 2023 title, Sabalenka has now won 28 of her last 29 sets in Australia, and is the first woman since

Sabalenka entered the Australian Open as the secondseed, behind top-seeded Iga Swiatek, and thus was not the tournament favorite at the beginning of the event. But Sabalenka was a woman on a mission during her fortnight in Melbourne. She did not drop a set throughout the continued on page 12

Credit all photos to Tennis Australia

continued from page 11

Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013 to win back-to-back Australian Opens.

That was a huge motivating factor for Sabalenka. Of course she wanted to defend her title, and wants to win every match she plays, but not being known as a one-hit wonder that gets lost to the ashbin of history.

“It’s very sad that people call ‘one Grand Slam champions’ that way. And of course, it was in my head, I didn’t want to be a one-time Grand Slam champion. I’m super happy that I was able to win two Grand Slams. And I really hope that I can keep building my tennis, keep getting better, and then hopefully keep winning.”

Sabalenka is now the owner of 14 WTA-tour level titles including those two Australian Open titles, and the

next step for her now is to see what kind of success she can have on the clay and grass surfaces. And while that comes with pressure, it’s the type of pressure and challenge that Sabalenka is craving.

“It’s just a dream, and I couldn’t even dream about it. After this kind of achievement, you’re getting more hungry, you want more, and I’m even more excited now to keep going,” Sabalenka told Vogue Australia as she appeared on the magazine’s cover. “To keep doing my best…I’m hungry for more. I’m super motivated to keep working hard and keep fighting for it.”

Prior to her triumph in Australia in 2023, Sabalenka had come to a bit of a crossroads in her career. She struggled mentally which in turn had a negative effect on her physical

performance, primarily her serve. Sabalenka decided to stop working with a psychologist and instead turned her attention on herself, choosing to take responsibility for her struggles.

“Honestly, I decided [during the pre-season] to stop working with a psychologist,” she said. “I realized that nobody other than me would help.”

That resulted in her doing a lot of video analysis which helped her and her team conclude that it wasn’t a mental block on her serve, but instead a technical one within her serve motion, one that they were able to fix once identified.

With her now playing freer tennis and not worrying about that, it has allowed her tennis to shine. She has been extremely open about

those struggles, as well as what motivates her on the court, something that helped her break out of those struggles.

In 2019, Sabalenka’s father Sergey died suddenly. Throughout her life, her father and her shared an incredible bond that was forged through tennis.

“We had one dream. That before 25, I will win a couple of Grand Slams. Well, of course there was a moment where I really didn’t believe that I’m going to win it one day,” said Sabalenka. “But, I just couldn’t quit. I felt like I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. I just have to keep fighting for my dream and make sure that if there is something, I want to believe there is something that my father is watching me and very proud of me. So I just couldn’t stop—for my family.”

She continued:

“He’s been everything for me. But right now I have my mom, my sister, who is here with me, and I feel like I have to think about them. I just feel that he’s always with me. I’m very thankful for everything he did for me, and I think if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”

At 25-years-old, Sabalenka has achieved the goal she and her father set out all those years ago, and she has to feel like she has made her

entire family, especially her father, proud of what she has accomplished. Sabalenka has established herself as one of the best on tour; not just someone who can outslug you, but someone who can play smart tennis in the key moments, and someone who is as mentally strong as they come. Much of that comes from the foundation set by her late father, and

she now carries momentum into the next part of the tennis season.

“Now having two Grand Slam titles, it definitely gives me more confidence and belief in myself,” she said. “I just [know that working all my life], it wasn’t wasting my time and I was doing the right thing. I’m where I’m meant to be, and that’s really important.”

2024 High School

There is often a lot of discussion on the current state of tennis here on Long Island, with coaches and experts giving their advice and expertise on a multitude of issues, especially when it comes to junior and high school tennis. Long Island Tennis Magazine brought together junior and high school tennis players themselves to find out how they feel and their thoughts on high school tennis here on Long Island.

The Participants

What do you enjoy most about playing high school tennis?

N. Buffa: What I enjoy most about playing high school tennis is the socialization aspect of being part of a team and the thrill of competition. Being a part of my high school tennis team has allowed me to create meaningful friendships, learn how to focus better, be more self-disciplined, and seek and accept support and mentorship while representing my school and competing. I appreciate the competitive environment school tennis offers as well because it is an opportunity for growth and improvement.

Carmo: I enjoy many things about high school tennis but if I had to pick one that stands out it would

be being part of a team, because tennis is a very individual sport. The best thing to have in the tennis season is your teammates cheering you on and supporting you before and after the matches.

Mehta: My favorite aspect about playing high school tennis is having the opportunity to meet new people and form friendships with other players who I may not have gotten a chance to become close with without tennis. All of the girls on my team are wonderful people and I loved being able to talk with people who were not in my classes, or even not in my grade. The team is really like a family and we all help each other out and support each other, even outside of the season and tennis.

What are some of the challenges of competing for your high school team while balancing other obligations i.e. private training/tournaments, school work, social life, etc.?

N.Buffa: Balancing school and other obligations with high school tennis itself can be challenging. Oftentimes school club meetings and other outside commitments coincide with practices and games, which can be a struggle to manage. However, by communicating with my coach, club advisors, and other peers, I am able to overcome these challenges and work out a schedule that satisfies my tennis requirements and other obligations.

R.Buffa: Some challenges of competing for your high school team

Nadia Buffa, Junior, Half Hollow Hills East

Remy Buffa, Junior, Half Hollow Hills East

Leo Carmo, 8th Grade, Ross School

Kayla Castellano, Senior, Garden City

Nicole Clemens, Junior, Smithtown East

Didi Elliot, Sophomore, Westhampton Beach

Julia Isham, Sophomore, Syosset

Eddie Liao, Senior, Commack

Ezra Loewy, Junior, Port Washington

Sanam Mehta, Junior, Syosset

Saharsh Peddireddy, Junior, Commack

Justin Sherman, Senior, Roslyn

Anika Tolat, Junior, Roslyn

Tennis Roundtable

while balancing other obligations is being disciplined enough to use your time efficiently. Balancing all the different responsibilities can be a lot to handle, but I think it’s very beneficial in helping become a more competent person.

Clemens: Some challenging things were balancing my time. Between AP classes, tennis, and friends: time is limited. School tennis has helped me learn time management, which is an important skill for real life.

Elliot: Some challenges during my high school tennis season is managing school work. Since tennis workouts were everyday I always had to be organized and prepared for the next day of school.

Loewy: Balancing high school tennis poses unique challenges due to the unpredictable duration of matches, which is unlike any other sport. Due to this, managing postmatch activities can be difficult. If high schools around the county could avoid stacking matches by adding more courts, I believe this problem would be mitigated.

Mehta: A major challenge that many high school players, including myself, face is managing our time well and making sure that I stay healthy in order to perform well on the court. Because we have practice or matches after school, I often start my homework later in the evening. When I stay up late to finish it or study for a test, I worry that the lack of sleep will affect my performance in school or cause me not to be able to play tennis the next day because I am tired. Another challenge that comes along with high school tennis is the necessity of eating well, being consistent with meal times, and being conscious of what types of food and

drink, such as sugary soda, will negatively affect my tennis and avoiding those when I can.

Sherman: I’d say the biggest challenge is deciding what is most important to you. Although everyone around will have their opinion, you have to do what’s in your best interest to make yourself happy. There’s gonna be a lot on your plate as a student athlete, but you just have to stay organized and prioritize. How rampant is cheating/hooking during high school matches? What do you think can be done to help put an end to it or at least slow it down?

Liao: In my experience, I haven’t had any cheating happen to me but I have seen some happen to some of my teammates. I would say most of the time it is fair but there are a few times where things have happened.

Peddireddy: Cheating in high school tennis is more common than other sports, especially because of

the lack of umpires. The more that is on the line for a match, the more common it is to see that cheating occurs. Even though losing just one point due to cheating is frustrating, having a judge or official to watch the match definitely helps after and could ease tensions on court. I don’t think there is much more that could be done other than what already exists.

Sherman: Cheating gets pretty bad in high school matches, but you can’t let it affect your game. They are cheating for a reason (they can’t play with you), so you just need to continue to play hard. There’s not really anything to be done. Players just need to have self respect and respect for the game.

How do you feel about the rules for minimum practices/matches which are sometimes bent to cater to the top players?

Loewy: No, I do not believe that rules should be bent for the sport’s

top talent. While it’s unfortunate that top players are skipping out on the season, the team sport should require equal commitment from everyone involved.

Peddireddy: For top players, there are cases where rules are bent, but being a part of a high school team is an opportunity and something that people want to be a part of. So, if top players miss practices or matches, it’s up to them. I think it’s fine, especially if they’re doing so to train elsewhere.

Tolat: There should be a minimum number of practices and matches that the top players should attend in order to be an active contributor to the team. However,

2024 High School

top players should be given some latitude to practice in place of team practices in order to maintain and elevate their level. Additionally, it may be beneficial or even necessary for top players to miss certain matches to compete in national tournaments in order to preserve their USTA rankings. Again, there would need to be consistency in these policies across all schools and conferences.

Do you think players who aren’t playing should be used as line judges during matches?

Mehta: I do think teammates

should be used as line judges because it allows players to see another aspect of the game and get involved in another way. Especially for girls who may not get a lot of playing time, line judging is a great way to feel like you are important to the team. Personally, I enjoy line judging because I feel like I can support my team and help to make the game fairer by doing my best to remain impartial while line judging.

Do you enjoy competing as part of a team?

N.Buffa: Being part of a team adds a collaborative dimension to the game. It’s not just about

Tennis Roundtable

individual performance; there’s a shared sense of achievement, support from teammates, and a shared goal of representing your school, which makes the overall experience more rewarding and memorable. However, there are still individual aspects of being part of the team as in the end you are the only one in control of your performance on the court.

R.Buffa: I definitely like the team aspect of playing tennis. I feel it’s less stressful in certain ways because even if you don’t do well that particular day doesn’t mean that your team still doesn’t do well. I also feel that it can be more stressful in certain ways in that you

want to do well for your team.

Clemens: Playing on a team is so much more motivating than playing by yourself. You have more pressure to play your best because your wins and losses affect the team’s outcome. You also form special bonds with your teammates through bus rides, practices, and matches.

Elliot: Being a part of the tennis team was always something that I wanted to be apart of ever since I was 4 years old and playing over the summer every year. The team gave me confidence while playing and made me a better tennis person on and off the court and for that, I am very grateful.

Isham: I enjoy competing on a team rather than individually because I feed off the energy from my team. Tennis is a very individual sport, but being in a team environment can help elevate your game in many ways. Personally, having my teammates support me throughout a match helps a lot. On the court, I can hear my teammates cheering and supporting each other across the lineup.

Has playing high school tennis helped increase your love of tennis?

Castellano: High school tennis has increased my love for the sport.

Practicing and traveling with your friends has been such a great experience. Also traveling and competing at states will be a moment I will never forget.

Elliot: Playing high school tennis is something that I’ve always wanted to do. I used to live in the city and my high school didn’t have a tennis team so moving to Westhampton Beach and joining the team freshman year, was something that I was really excited to be apart of.

Liao: High school tennis has definitely increased my love for the sport because it’s not everyday you play a solo sport with your friends. The team aspect is something I love

2024 High School

and I always look forward to it. It’s definitely made me more excited for college tennis at Yale.

Loewy: Through playing high school tennis, I’ve managed to embrace greater community from the sport. Without the season, my tennis game becomes more self-oriented rather than team oriented.

Tolat: Having been a part of the Roslyn varsity team since seventh grade, I can say firsthand that playing for a team is far more fulfilling and exciting than playing in an individual tournament. Playing for more than just myself and working toward a common goal brings far more satisfaction than any individual accomplishment I have

had. I love the atmosphere and energy that team competition provides.

What is one thing you would change about high school tennis?

R.Buffa: I think one thing I would change about high school tennis would be the accessibility to the sport ensuring that all have equal opportunities to participate.

Clemens: One thing I would change about school tennis would be a longer season. I know the season is short because it is outdoors and the weather is only good for a short period of time but school tennis is so fun and it’s sad

Tennis Roundtable

that it goes so quick.

Mehta: I would include more off season training with the team. I feel that while most players continue to train off season, we don’t get the benefit of working with our teammates and learning from them as well. I would incorporate an optional off season training during the spring or summer so that the team learns to work together, which is especially important for doubles play.

Tolat: Given there are so many factors beyond our control (weather, number of courts, lights or lack thereof, commuting time etc.), one element we can control is consistency in match scoring across all conferences. For example, we should agree on all games being either ad or no ad and all matches being a best of three with a 10point super tiebreak in lieu of a third set. These regulations would put high school matches in line with the majority of USTA junior tournament scoring and standardize results across all schools.

What is your most memorable moment from your high school career?

Carmo: My most memorable moment would have to be winning the small school Suffolk County championship with my teammates. I don’t say it only because it was our best achievement but also because we worked so hard and prepared for that moment for so many months. The feeling after we won was hard to describe.

Isham: The most memorable moment in my high school career was this past season during the Nassau County Championship against Garden City. My partner

Diya Varma and I clinched the match for Syosset in a third set, allowing the team to advance to the Long Island championship and eventually States.

Liao: My most memorable high school tennis moment is winning the state title. It was always my goal to win it and finally accomplishing it was a dream come true.

Peddireddy: The most memorable moment of my high school tennis career has to be the championship point for the Long Island championship in 2022. Never could recreate that again. But also the moments off court with the team are equally memorable, we’re a family.

How much does your relationship with your coach affect your overall experience?

Castellano: I think my relationship with my teammates and coach are extremely vital. As

a player, knowing I have full support only benefits me during my matches. Having my fellow teammates cheer me on is a rewarding experience.

Isham: Having a good relationship with your teammates and your coach can greatly affect your high school career. Thankfully, I am in a great program surrounded by wonderful people. Forming a bond with your teammates is very important because it makes the experience so much more memorable.

Sherman: I believe that a player’s relationship with their coach plays a huge role with respect to their experience playing for the team. You spend countless hours with the team. From the second the bell rings to sundown, you’re working hard with the boys and learning from the coach. So, having a close relationship with a coach can certainly make your experience more enjoyable and boost your confidence.

Christopher Morley Tennis offers year round Juniors and Adults tennis programs for all levels. Summer Camps, Holidays Mini-Camps and Tournaments, Fitness, Special events and more.

Ricardo Aguirre raguirre@cmttennis.com 516-214-1921

2024 Boys’ High School Season PREVIEW

As the winter weather slowly dissipates and we move into the spring, that means the arrival of a new boys’ high school tennis season here on Long Island.

Last season, Eddie Liao of Commack won his first ever New York State Singles title, which marked the fifth time in the last six tournaments that the singles champion has hailed from Long Island. Liao, a Yale-commit, is returning for his senior campaign as he seeks to win his fourth consecutive Suffolk County singles title and his second straight state title.

In team play, Syosset will be out to defend its Long Island Large School title after beating Commack in the championship match last spring, while Friends Academy defeated The Ross School in the Long Island Small School Championship as both Nassau teams claimed the Long Island Championships.

As we approach the spring, it’s time to look ahead to this season. Below are some of those teams and players to watch for both the Nassau County and Suffolk County, as well as the season’s key dates.

*All names, dates and locations are subject to change. Be sure to check LITennisMag.com for the most up to date information on all things high school tennis.

Nassau County Teams to Watch

Great Neck South

Great Neck South was within one win of playing for the Nassau County championship a year ago, and the Rebels are eager to return to that spot and redeem itself this spring. A key factor for Great Neck South will be if all-state singles player Albert Hu will be back to play his senior season, which would make them an immediate threat to the rest of the county. Even if Hu does not play, however, Great Neck South has a deep and experienced roster that will help it be competitive in the county’s top conference. Allstate doubles player Ayush Shroff will be tasked with leading the way and building on his successful season in 2023, and will be helped out by juniors Edmund Gan and Conner Shea, as they will try to lead a young but talented Great Neck South team deep into the county playoffs.

Herricks

The Highlanders are perhaps the most intriguing team heading into the new season. Last season, Herricks went 13-1 and enjoyed one of its best seasons in recent memory, and as a result, has moved up to Conference I, the top conference in the county. While that presents a challenge and its depth will be tested, Herricks has immense talent at the top of its lineup which can make it a threat to the established teams at the top. Leading the way will be Samarth Deepuedass, a smart and powerful player who possesses all the necessary shots to beat anybody he plays on the singles court. Backing him up is four-year varsity starter Aarmaan Walia, who has worked on and improved his serve heading into this season which has improved his game. Herricks is excited for the opportunity to prove itself among the county’s best, and could be an interesting team come playoff time.

Friends Academy

One court. That’s how close Friends Academy was to calling itself New York State Small School champions a year ago as it fell just short in the final match of the season. But with a strong lineup returning, the Quakers hope to get back to the state tournament this spring. Leading the way will be senior Russell Notaris who played in the first singles spot a year ago, and won the Nassau County doubles title alongside Alistair Wright, who graduated in 2023. Will Bohner and Bryan Bin won a number of key matches at second and third singles last spring and will be back in the singles lineup to help provide Friends Academy with a formidable top three. Zack Cohen & Danny Duke will be back to anchor the doubles lineup, while a few new young players join the team to help establish the Quakers depth, something that will be a major factor for it as it aims to repeat as Nassau County and Long Island champions.

Eddie Liao of Commack captured the New York State singles title in 2023, and returns to try to defend his title this spring

Russell Notaris returns to try and guide Friends Academy to another Long Island Small School title

Port Washington

One victory away from being crowned Nassau County champions last year, the Vikings of Port Washington are more motivated than ever as we head into the spring. Returning for the team will be its top singles player Ezra Loewy, the senior who is anticipated to once again play first singles, as well as sophomore Anton Perfiliev who should remain in the second singles position. The strength for Port Washington will be its depth, which will be led by returning starters Kirin Doshi, Harrison Roth, Dylan Albanese and Ollie Navo. The team also expects freshman Chris Verbanac to help round out the singles lineup.

Syosset

Syosset once again a threat to win the Nassau County championship.

Wheatley

Wheatley will be led by Aaron Raja, the experienced senior who has played first singles in the Wildcats lineup since he was a sophomore. Dian Yang will help bolster the lineup for Wheatley as he returns to the second singles position, and experienced doubles players Rahul Dawar and Illan Klein create depth for their team. Wheatley won the Long Island Small School title two years ago before falling in the Nassau County Small School Championship in 2023, but will have hopes to return to that position this spring under first-year head coach Mike Kazin.

Additional Nassau County Players to Watch

• Brian Berger, Jericho

• Dylan Connerty, Garden City

• Maxim Golubenko, Manhasset

• Michael Lerman, Massapequa

• Aiden Patel, Plainview JFK

Another year, another Nassau County title. That was the case for the Syosset Braves in 2023 as it continued its dominant run over the last decade, and the team will be out to defend its title this spring. It will have to do so without last year’s top singles player Ansh Chadha as well as co-captain Dylan Apfel, but the Braves have the depth to make up for it. Sophomores Evan Lee and Nikhil Shah are expected to move up the lineup to first and second singles, respectively, and the Braves have a number of players who will be out to try to earn the third singles position, including the likes of Devan Melandro and Aayan Mehta. That combined with experienced doubles players such as Spencer Keschner and Veyd Trivedi, coupled with young talented players who were on junior varsity last year, make

• Cooper Schorr, Lynbrook

Nassau County Key Dates

• Wednesday, April 3: Regular Season Begins

• Saturday, May 18 – Sunday, May 19: Individual Championships

• Wednesday, May 29: Small School Championship

• Thursday, May 30: Large School Championship

• Friday, May 31– Sunday, June 2 – New York State Individual Championships

• Friday, June 7: New York State Small School AND Large School Team Championships

Ezra Loewy will be the leader for Port Washington this spring

Syosset will look to have another great season as it aims to return to the NYS Championships

2024 boys’ high school

season

preview continued from page 21

Suffolk County Teams to Watch Commack

Commack nearly won its second straight Long Island Large School title in 2023, losing to Syosset 4-3 in the Long Island final. The Cougars will be out to exact revenge this spring. The team returns its entire starting lineup from last season, which includes three-time county singles champion and defending state champion Eddie Liao. The senior has been the best player in the county throughout his career, and will look to help his team return to the state championships. Helping him with that task will be captain James Yu, an all-state player since he was in seventh grade, who competed in the third singles position last year, as well as junior Eric Benderly, who played second singles a year ago. Commack is loaded with depth such as Joe Romito, Saharsh Peddireddy, Jeffrey Behar, Danny Strogach and Adam Fawaz who will do their part to push Commack to a repeat of the Suffolk title.

Connetquot

Last year, Connetquot finished the season 13-2 and was one of the top teams in Suffolk’s Division III. While it didn’t

advance as far in the playoffs as it was hoping, that could be different this spring. Connetquot will return many of its starters from a year ago, including Devin Elster, Brandon Ziegler, James Mauceri and Luke Plana, who will hope to build on their all-division accolades that they earned and take their team to a deeper part of the season. It will have to make up for the losses of Emil Sabovic and Daniel Widing, but Connetquot will be an intriguing team in Suffolk this spring.

Hills East

While the Thunderbirds of Half Hollow Hills East lose first singles player Krithik Madisetty to graduation, it will perhaps have the deepest roster it has had over the last several years which will help make Hills East a difficult opponent this year. Leading the way in the singles positions will be sophomore Tommy Walsh and junior Sam Stein, while junior Lohit Madisetty will be ready to compete in both singles play and doubles when needed. His doubles partner is expected to be senior Jordan Heyman, and with their leadership at the top, they will look to anchor a deep Hills East team that is eager to stake its claim as one of the best in the county.

Ross School

Ross School was crowned the Suffolk County Small School Champions in 2023 and will be out to defend that title when it hits the courts this spring. Ross loses its top singles player Ty Gelijins, but has a deep roster with playoff experience that will make it a threat to repeat as the county champions, and one that it hopes can take it one step further. Teddy Brodlieb, who played second singles, will be tasked with leading the way on the singles courts, as will Gabriel De La Maza, both

DIRECTED BY RYAN W HITE

of whom secured big wins for their teams last season.

Leo Carmo and Nicholas Sanchez played first doubles a year ago and are key factors in the Ross success, as are Alex Frohlich and Simon Aser. With a year of experience competing in high-level matches under their belt, Ross aims to return to the Long Island Championship, and have expectations to win it this time around.

Ward Melville

Ross School had a great 2023 season and will be out to defend its Suffolk crown in 2024

Max Schoolman, Ben Wu, Aidan Thomas and Jacob Zilberstein will help bolster the depth to help make Ward Melville one of the county’s top teams.

Westhampton Beach

The Hurricanes of Westhampton Beach will hope to make landfall this spring and compete for country supremacy, and it has the talent and experience in order to do so. Westhampton Beach returns four crucial players to its roster from a year ago, including Bobby Stabile and Giancarlo Volpe, who finished as runners-up in the Suffolk County Doubles Championship in 2023 and made all-state. Also returning are all-county players Theo Grellet-Aumont and Bryce Goth, who will look to improve on their successful seasons to help guide the Hurricanes deep into the playoffs.

If there is one team that has battled Commack tightly over these last couple of years it is the Patriots of Ward Melville. A year ago, Ward Melville powered its way to the Suffolk County Large School final, marking the second straight year it made it that far, and the Patriots hope that the third-time's the charm this spring. Ward Melville will be led by Harshith Pennabadi atop the singles lineup, a senior and a two-time all-state singles player, followed by his younger brother, junior Shashank Pennabadi and senior Gabe Burstzyn, who last season finished in third-place in the doubles event at the New York State Individual Championships. Returning players like Robbie Monticciolo,

Additional Suffolk County Players to Watch

• Shane Duerr, Bayport-Blue Point

• Ray Hidaka, Shoreham Wading River

• Lucas Leguizamon, Longwood

• Samuel Lopez-Cardenas, Walt Whitman

• Juan Perez, Mount Sinai

• Bryan Volk, Half Hollow Hills West

Suffolk County Key Dates

• Tuesday, March 19 – Suffolk County Regular Season Championships

• Friday, May 10 – Monday, May 13 – Suffolk County Individual Divisional Championships

• Friday, May 17 – Monday, May 20 - Suffolk County Individual Sectional Championships

• Friday, May 31– Sunday, June 2 – New York State Individual Championships

• Friday, June 7: New York State Small School AND Large School Team Championships

Harshith Pennabadi is back into the first singles position for Ward Melville

USTA Eastern Long Island Region

USTA Eastern Honors Locals

USTA

Eastern honored Long Islanders and other members of the Section at its annual Awards Dinner in January. Congratulations to the all the evening’s awardees including the following:

Denise Schmidt

Long Island Region Volunteer of the Year

Sharon Rapaport, Juan Pablo Perez, Michelle Stoerback and Denise Schmidt

Denise, a longtime volunteer and member of the Long Island Regional Council, is always one of the first to volunteer to help with all kinds of Long Island initiatives. Every year, she helps organize the Long Island Awards Dinner, the council’s biggest and most popular event. She also coordinates the region’s participation in the annual “Robbie’s Run” fundraiser. For this, she and her volunteer team give tennis lessons to children who attend this community event.

Juan Pablo Perez

Service to People with Disabilities Award

Juan Pablo received this award for his dedicated service to Special Olympics New York and the athletes they serve. In 2019, he began working with the organization as a volunteer coach. Leaders quickly took note of Juan Pablo’s strengths in this role -- he did not condescend or talk down to athletes because of their intellectual disabilities; instead, he coached them just as he would coach anyone on the court.

Juan Pablo eventually ascended to the organization’s State Tennis Sport Director, and he has served in this capacity for the past two years. In this position, he works to expand tennis opportunities for the Special Olympics community. He also oversees the organization’s largest tennis championship each summer. Juan Pablo is a coach at Long Island Health & Racquet Club in Setauket.

Michelle Stoerback Special Service Award

Michelle’s passion and energy for tennis is second to none and many know her from her role as Adult Tennis Director at Sportime Kings Park. She hosts everything from junior and adult tournaments to section-wide social events including USTA Eastern NTRP tournaments at the National Tennis Center. These events are unquestionably the section’s most popular social programming opportunities, and some have attracted players all the way from deep in western New York. Michelle leads trainings for providers and works as a clinician with students of all ages and abilities. She captains USTA League teams and forms championship ladders. She even agreed to become the co-chair of the Eastern Section’s Adult Competition Committee.

Sharon Rappaport

10 and Under Tennis Award

Sharon, the Assistant General Manager and 10 & Under Tennis Director at Sportime Lynbrook, is one of the most wellrespected 10 & Under coaches in the Long Island Region. She has greatly expanded the 10-and-under operation at Lynbrook, helping develop a wide range of players who have gone on to achieve incredible success in the sport. Sharon has connected Sportime’s Team Tennis offering with the USTA Junior Team Tennis product, efforts that have resulted in more competitive opportunities for hundreds of kids.

Steven Kaplan

George Seewagen Award

Steve Kaplan with several of his former students

The George Seewagen Award is bestowed upon a USTA Eastern teaching professional who exemplifies excellence in

USTA Eastern Long Island Region

competition, sportsmanship and love of the game. Steve has enjoyed a remarkable life in tennis. He was a member of the St. John’s team that captured the Big East title in 1980. This team was coached by George Seewagen himself. For the past 43 years, Steve has served as a coach. He is the owner of the Bethpage Park Tennis Center and was director of the Lacoste Academy for the New York City Parks Foundation. Over time, he coached 17 players who competed in the US Open—and more than 1,500 nationally ranked players. He has guided multiple high school state and NCAA Division 1 champions. Steve also has found the time to give back to the community as the Executive Director and Founder of Serve & Return, a not-for-profit organization that provides free or low-cost tennis programs to individuals experiencing adversity and struggle.

The Roslyn High School Boys Tennis Team (coach Kerri-Jannotte Hinkley) Courage Award

KerriAnn Janotte-Hinckley accepted the Courage Award on behalf of her Roslyn team

Last spring, the Eastern tennis community suffered a heartbreaking loss when Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein—two young players for the Roslyn High School Boys Tennis Team on Long Island— passed away when their car was hit by a drunk driver. The devastating accident was unimaginable and senseless. Ethan and Drew had been traveling home from a team celebration.

In the wake of this tragedy, their teammates were left to deal with feelings of despair, confusion, sadness and anger. With the support of the Falkowitz and Hassenbein families, the team opted to continue their season in honor of Ethan and Drew. It was not easy. At their first match back, there were lots of tears and sadness. But as the season progressed, they all found a way to summon a quiet strength. They competed to the best of their abilities, ultimately reaching the semifinals of their section championship. They dedicated their entire season to Ethan and Drew. Members of the team are still feeling the loss. It is not something that will ever go away. But they try to live their lives as Drew and Ethan would have wanted: with purpose, integrity and the pursuit of excellence. And above all, they remain committed to each other. They have a long road ahead, but they are walking it together—as a family.

Lawrence, a longtime junior coach, is one of the top developmental tennis coaches in the country. Most recently he was director of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at Sportime Randall’s Island. Over the course of his career, Lawrence has trained countless Eastern juniors who earned local, sectional and national rankings. Hundreds of his students have received full tennis scholarships and gone on to play at top colleges and universities. They also collectively have captured a junior Wimbledon title, numerous USTA National Junior Championships and more than 20 USTA Eastern Sportsmanship Awards. Lawrence is universally beloved by all his students and colleagues.

Perhaps Lawrence’s most extended coaching relationship has been with Noah Rubin. Lawrence coached Noah for over 10 years during a period when Noah won some of the world’s biggest junior events including the 2014 Wimbledon junior boys singles title and the 2014 USTA National Junior Championships. Noah is effusive about Lawrence’s incredible personal approach. He says: “Lawrence always puts the ‘person’ first. He never said “leave your feelings at the door.” Lawrence always created a place where I felt safe enough to say, “I am not okay.”

Thank you to the USTA Eastern Section for the above write-ups of the award winners. To see all the photos from the USTA Eastern Annual Conference and Awards Dinner, please visit: bit.ly/49jW9oN

Lawrence Kleger Lifetime Achievement Award

The family of Lawrence Kleger were on hand to accept the award for Kleger

By Brian Coleman

spotlight Junior Player

Dustin Shmuely Sportime Syosset

Oneof the things we love about tennis is the unbridled joy it provides us. For many, being on the tennis court creates some of the most precious and prized memories, and it helps us find confidence in ourselves.

For Dustin Shmuely, he found his tennis passion right from when he first began playing, and he can remember the moment that he knew tennis was the sport for him.

“I started playing when I was threeyears-old. My dad took me to a group lesson and I loved it from day one,” he recalls. “The thing I enjoy most about tennis is competing against other players and making new friendships with tennis friends from all over the country. I love the sport because of all the strategy involved. I feel like I can control things on the court for myself.”

And simply put, he said:

“I just love hitting the ball!”

Beating your father will always be one of the most important wins of a young person’s life, and this win was a result of Dustin’s vast improvement since he began playing, which is a result of his time training at Sportime.

Since he began, Shmuely has been playing tennis at Sportime. That first group lesson he took part in was at Sportime Syosset, and it has always been and remains his tennis home.

“Sportime is such a fun place to play because the coaches are amazing and it is a good facility with both hard and clay courts,” said Shmuely. “There are also other top players there that I look up to which really motivates me. Coach Sammy helps me a lot because she teaches me how to fix the areas of my game that need improvement, while making tennis fun. She has been my coach from the beginning so we make a great team.”

Now nine-years-old, tennis has always been a part of Shmuely’s family-life as both his parents and his sister also play tennis. In fact, he recently achieved a big milestone for any young athlete.

“Tennis is huge in my family—my dad, mom and sister all love it—everyone plays!” he said. “I just beat my dad for the first time…but don’t tell him I told you that.”

Coach Sammy refers to Samantha Siegel, who is the Regional Tennis Coordinator and Tennis Professional at Sportime Syosset, the Long Island annex of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. She has been Shmuely’s coach since he first walked through the doors, and she says she knew there was something special about him from the beginning.

“I still remember the first day Dustin walked onto my court

back in 2018. I knew he was destined for greatness,” said Siegel. “Dustin’s dedication and relentless effort day-inand-day-out has truly been a sight to see. As his coach, I couldn’t be prouder of his progress and honored to play a role in his development.”

While Shmuely is fully dedicated to his tennis and achieving his goals, he and his family want to make sure he has a “normal” childhood, and not send him out of state to live at an academy or choose to homeschool him. He has plans on continuing to go to public school and hopes to play for his high school team (Half Hollow Hills East) when he gets older.

Shmuely also has a lot of other hobbies outside of tennis, things that will help him avoid getting burnt out from tennis but also keep him active.

“I play travel soccer and some flag football,” he says. “Some of my hobbies include everything sportsrelated, as well as spending time with

my family and hanging out with my friends.”

Shmuely is currently ranked No.8 on Long Island in the Boys’ 12s, an extremely high ranking for someone who is younger than most of the other players in that category. According to TennisRecruiting.net, he is the top-

ranked player nine-year-old in New York.

But don’t expect Shmuely to rest on his laurels, as he will continue to work on his game and always look to improve, including focusing on the mental side of his tennis.

“My strengths are my forehand and my serve. I am working hard on improving my backhand and my mentality, so I am more measured on court,” he said. “My biggest tennis goal is to play Division I college tennis at a big-time school, and I would also love to play at the U.S. Open.”

Shmuely has come a long way since he first showed up at that group lesson when he was three-years-old, and Siegel and the whole team at Sportime is excited to see his continued development.

“His journey is far from over,” said Siegel. “Here’s to many more victories, challenges and countless memoires ahead for Dustin.”

spotlight junior player spotlight junior player spotlight junior player spotlight junior player spotlight junior player spotlight juni

Ina world as fast-changing and full of information as our own, all of us—from school children to college students to career-driven adults—need to know how to learn well. Despite this, evidence confirms that most of us don’t use the learning techniques that science has proven to be most effective. A brute application of willpower isn’t the answer. The best ways to improve the odds that we’ll not only complete our learning tasks, but also maximize our potential to reach our goals are very feasible, and are similar in both the classroom and on the tennis court. The following are optimally effective strategies for both tennis players and SAT/ACT students.

Making Improvement Faster

The oddly addictive practice of tracking every calorie consumed or burned, every step taken or minute slept is very common. This practice of

Acing In The Classroom, ACEing on The Court

By Barbara Becker

using data to monitor and motivate yourself is important to learning endeavors also. Oftentimes, students get discouraged in their attempts to improve scores on their standardized tests. They aspire to get either a perfect score on practice tests or a minimum number of correct questions. Even if their overall score improves, but they don’t reach their goal, they feel they’re not progressing. However, that is misleading. All practice tests label the Category and Difficulty Level of each question, and often, students have actually improved in a question type or have mastered questions that are considered “difficult”. Keeping a record annotating the types of questions, missed and correct, as well as difficulty level, makes their progress tangible and motivating.

The next invaluable step is to collaborate with a test specialist to ensure that the student thoroughly

understands why the mistake was made. Without doing that, all the practice in the world is useless! Be sure to create a “Wrong Answer Journal” in which you write each missed question/correct answer next to the rule that pertains to it. Review that Journal frequently and you will never make the same mistake again.

Tennis players can profit from mentally tracking all negative/positive match data and also keeping a journal. Position a camera when hitting with a ball machine or practice partner. Just like students should understand what types of mistakes they make, tennis players should watch a replay of their ball-hitting and practice sessions. Even better, watch it with a tennis pro and get feedback to log into an “Improvement Journal”.

Spending Less Time To Make More Progress

Here’s a prime example of “less is more”. Should you emulate the zealous students who brace themselves for marathon sessions of intense memorization? No! There is a scientific phenomenon called the “Primacy-Recency Effect”. During a learning episode, we remember best that which comes first, second best that which comes last, and least that which comes just past the middle. This translates to: ½ hour is the optimal study session length! Our brains are thirsty sponges during the first 15 minutes which sends everything to empty Long Term Memory. Then the door slams shut. Only in the last 15 minutes do our brains become a sponge again. That’s the most recent material studied so it’s indelibly

imprinted in the brain. All middle material disappears. Allocate all studying to 30-minute intervals and in between, do something physical, have nourishing snacks, play a video game, etc.

The optimal practice session for an adult is 2 hours, 2.5 hours for a teenager, and 2 hours for a pre-teen. When you’re preparing for a match, a warm-up should be just long enough to break a sweat. Concentrate on thinking about strategy, not technique.

Students must warm up before their test also. You wouldn’t accelerate your car on a cold day from 0 to 60 mph after it’s idled for eight hours. That also applies to your brain. Take 15 minutes before you leave the house to practice sample questions.

Reducing Anxiety

Anxiety among test-takers is ubiquitous, and that applies to tennis players as well. Fortunately, it’s scientifically proven that anyone can immediately stop that feeling. Anxiety

causes us to do rapid shallow breathing which oversaturates our blood with oxygen and depletes it of carbon dioxide. That’s the sole cause of panic symptoms. To help with this, instantly switch into “Breathing Mode”: Inhale for four Seconds—Hold for four Seconds—Exhale for eight Seconds”.

Repeat.

The body’s chemical reaction quickly lowers our stress hormones. Practice this before you go into a test or a match or between games in a match. Another classic strategy is

Counting, a non-stimulatory activity, that distracts our mind from anxiety and refocuses it on a specific task.

My tennis tips aren’t secondhand knowledge. I’m the parent of a highlyranked player who juggled academics, tennis and social life. I saw how invaluable such traits as optimism, self-esteem and tenacity are. It’s not the tennis lessons or the test prep lessons that you’ll remember in the future. It’s the life lessons you encounter on your journey that will leave their indelible mark and that’s worth everything!

Barbara Becker, M.A., M.S. has tutored the Verbal sections of the ACT, PSAT and SAT for over 4 decades. She achieved perfect scores on her high school Verbal PSAT, SAT and ACT. Her unique copyrighted teaching materials facilitate rapid long-term understanding and memorization. She has Master’s Degrees in Clinical Psychology, School Psychology and Counseling Psychology and is a PhD candidate in School and Clinical Psychology. She also specializes in helping students relieve test-taking anxiety. Ms. Becker assists students in writing Application essays at all levels, and can be reached at BBCKR100@aol.com.

What Tennis Players and Coaches Can Learn From Other Sports

Whybother examining other sports like football, golf or baseball to understand tennis better?

I see two clear cut reasons. First, in many other sports, specific and relatable mechanics have been examined, broken down and explained well, sometimes better than what's been offered in tennis.

Next, other sports are recognizable for those who have played or even watched them. So we can look at how a quarterback throws a football to better understand the upward arm thrust of service mechanics. We can also examine how a golfer "slices" to create a ball that "fades" or "hooks" to create a ball that "draws" and we can adapt such techniques to create an off-vertical axis tennis stroke.

Do these sports offer perfect analogies to tennis movements? No, perhaps not, but they can be illuminating and offer valuable insight. In this article, I will focus on how a hitter in baseball hitter creates a movement similar to a tennis backhand.

Let's start by talking about the "lag" or the tendency for the racket head to remain behind the handle at the end of the take back. Many call this movement "natural" however what baseball hitters know is that such a lag can be vastly improved by the use of one simple technique, one that was used by all-time hits leader Pete Rose years ago as it is used by Novak Djokovic today.

If you watch carefully, you can see Djokovic collapse his left arm ever so slightly as he nears the end of his take back. This causes the handle of the racket to push away from his body. The slight straightening of his left arm as he approaches the ball for contact brings the handle nearer to his body. This subtle movement in baseball and tennis creates the "lag"

By Steve Kaplan

and such a movement is well documented in many analysis of baseball swings as well as being demonstrated in many tennis videos.

We can further compare Rose's swing to Djokovic’s backhand by looking at their similar stances. Both start in a conventional athletic stance with knees slightly wider than hips, and feet slightly wider than knees, and as the swing progresses both reposition their right front foot forward and plant their toe sideways alighted with crest of their illium so that they have a strong base to push. Their hands stay to the inside of the ball with their hips just a little restrained which helps to keep their hands steady against unwanted movement. If you look at Rose, you will see that his torso moves at a steady progression through impact. It's no surprise then that he was perhaps the best contact hitter in baseball history with consistency in movement that was prioritized over power. Keep in mind that since his torso moved at a steady rate rather than stopping suddenly, it was smooth, reliable and predictable but did not transfer maximum power. Notice that Djokovic creates the same steady torso movement on his backhand which might help explain why his backhand is perhaps the most reliable stroke in tennis history. Of course, he can demonstrate power but it is more the result of his clean contact that transfers incoming

energy with high efficiency rather than his creation of ultimate strike force.

Let's also not underestimate how both athletes' reliability contributes to their confidence to "swing for the fences" if they choose at opportune times to maximize useable power. Both Rose and Djokovic line up to the ball by dropping their wrists into a power position, and progress at an off-vertical axis contact to create a "fade" movement and result. What is often nebulously called "Inside-Out" in tennis thus can be more accurately be recognized as "maintaining the hands between the ball and the body" (Inside) and permitting the hands to progress to "drag across the body following the natural arc rotation of the torso" (Outside) .

Only immediately after contact do we see both athletes create a shortening of the arc of the swing from the elbows to increase acceleration of the swing as well as to manage inertia forces. So while I wouldn't use this extended explanation as a cue, it is valuable to understand what exactly is happening. A simple cue might be, "Hands Inside, Hands Flow, Bend Elbows.”

Many tennis coaches recommend their athletes play other sports to gain athletic skill diversity and competency. Why not then examine other sports to gain coaching skill diversity and competency?

Steve Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation, executive director and founder of Serve & Return Inc. and co-director of The City Classic Junior Tennis Academy. Steve has coached more than 1,100 nationally- ranked junior players, 16 New York State high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous highly-ranked touring professionals. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone on to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com.

Across Long Island

Huntington Indoor Tennis Team Set to Compete at Nationals

The 18&Over Tri-Level (3.0, 3.5 & 4.0) team from Huntington Indoor Tennis is headed back to San Diego to compete in the USTA National Championships in March. Captained by Lisa Newell and Tracy Kleinberg, who also took their 40&Over 4.0 team to Nationals last October, will lead their Tri-Level team to compete against other top teams from around the country to try and bring home a national title to Huntington Indoor Tennis.

Bielen Competes in ATP Challenger Event

Sebastian Bielen, who trains at Robbie Wagner's Tournament Training Center, received a wild card into the Cleveland Open of the ATP Challenger Tour, marking the teenager’s ATP debut.

Teixeira, Pylla Take Home L4 Doubles Crown

JMTA Honors Seniors at Collegiate Signing Day

Luma Teixeira (left) of the Ross School Tennis Center paired with Dhriti Reddy Pylla (right) to capture the title at the L4 Winter Championships at the Ross School Tennis Center. Teixeira and Pylla brought home the title in the Girls 14s doubles division.

Many of the seniors from the John McEnroe Tennis

Academy’s programs throughout Long Island and New York came together to officially sign their National Letters of Intent to their future colleges. The event was held at Sportime Randall’s Island as John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe, Mike Kossoff, Jay Harris and Richard-John Mensing spoke to both the players and parents to honor them for their hard-work and dedication, and wish them well as they embark on the next stage of their tennis careers.

2024

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Bethpage Park Tennis Center Summer Tennis Camp

99 Quaker Meeting House Road, Building #4 l Farmingdale, NY (516) 777-1358 l BethpageParkTennis.com

The 2024 Bethpage Park Tennis Center Summer Tennis camp begins Monday June 24, 2024 and runs through Friday August 23, 2024, with consecutive one-week sessions throughout the summer.

Camp begins each day at 9:30 a.m. with warm-up and fitness, and continues with instruction and drills with our top level staff. We take a break for lunch from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m, and camp resumes after break and continues until 4:00 p.m. We welcome campers to bring or order their own food and drinks.

The morning session is tennis-only and will run from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., while the afternoon session will give campers the option of tennis or pickleball each day from 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.

We have four indoor, air conditioned hard courts, four indoor air conditioned red clay courts and two outdoor Har-Tru courts so that players can learn and train on a variety of surfaces and conditions, and play is guaranteed: Rain Or Shine.

For over 40 years, the summer program has provided the best learning and training environment to develop more top level Student-Athletes than any program on Long Island. Our record of development with our long time students include 20 players ranked #1 nationally by the USTA. Our record is unrivalled and unprecedented for a single facility that is not a massive academy.We know that summer plans of our students don't always fit perfectly into our camp schedule. We are flexible and we can adapt a program that fits tournament, vacation and the other activities that many of today's students engage in.

Contact us for an application form or call us at 516-777-1358 for more information and to reserve your spot today. Enrollment is limited so act soon!

BETHPAGE

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Carefree Racquet Club

1414 Jerusalem Avenue l North Merrick, N.Y.

(516) 489-9005 l CarefreeTennis.com

Summer Camp For All Ages

Where can you find a junior summer sports camp highlighting the excitement of competition, high energy, structured instruction and plenty of all around play time? At Carefree Racquet Club, complete with seven air conditioned indoor tennis courts, two half court basketball courts and four pickleball courts.....that's where! At Carefree's Summer Camp, the staff encourages the social and healthy aspect of loving sports just for the fun of it.

The camp runs Monday-Friday, July 1 to August 16 from 9:00 a.m.5:00 p.m. or you can sign up for a half day from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Led by Director Ryan White, a typical day at camp consists of stretching and warm ups along with tennis, pickleball, and basketball as well as other sports and activities both on and off the courts.

Contact CarefreeTennis@gmail.com, call us at 516-489-9005, or visit Carefreetennis.com for more information and to sign up!

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Centercourt Tennis Academy High-Performance Full-Time Academy & Elite Camps

Of fered Weekly, Annually and for Specific Periods required

Chatham l Florham Park l Gillette l Marlboro

Just 25 miles from Manhattan

(862) 308-3029 l Centercourtcta.com l Conrad@Centercourtclub.com

Our commitment to Excellence at Centercourt Tennis Academy has earned our reputation as the Toughest Playground in the Northeast. With a passion for Elite Player Development and with a dedicated High-Performance Team as well as our multiple World-Class facilities from Indoor and Outdoor Clay & Hards to our Strength and Conditioning Institutes.

Our players experience Only the Best in Competitive Training and an array of Tournaments and Events in one Academy.

Based just 25 Miles from Manhattan Players come from International as well as the Tri - State area. We offer Additional Homestay and Transportation Options upon request.

The Centercourt Tennis Academy Points of Difference

l World renowned International Tennis Coaches on Court daily in our innovative environment

l Attention to detail allows athletes to improve in multiple dimensions: Technical, Tactical Fitness, Emotional & Mental

l Centercourt’s list of events including USTA, ITA & official UTR tournaments provide opportunities for athletes to compete weekly and improve UTR ratings quickly.

l Centercourt is dedicated to meeting the individual needs of each one of our players. We use cutting edge technology for Match Play Analytics, Mental Toughness Training & SMAP Video Technical Analysis with our resident Biomechanist

l Centercourt’s players results are amongst top National rankings and the ITF100 ranked players. Our Alumni are competing ay Ivy League as well as top Colleges all over the country.

l Centercourt puts the needs of the player first, in a development-focused model of training. Our Partners offer Medical, Rehab and Prehab services as well as Nutritional and Sports Dietetics.

l Athletes are grouped in level by UTR; featuring small group training, match play, individualized fitness plans, Mental Toughness Training and On the Spot video analysis.

l Tournament Support, Supervised Practice Sets and Team coaching are all available.

l Our Environment shows our commitment to develop players Holistically - we believe in shaping people from the Inside Out and guide our team in our Team based Academy setting.

Centercourt Tennis Academy's Proven Superior Player Development Model has seen countless outstanding results achieved including 2 WImbledon Junior Finalists and 1 Champion. With our athletes competing at Top Colleges around the nation we are confident in our ability to bring your Child's Ability to their potential .

Centercourt Tennis Academy offers programs with rolling admissions yearround and Summer Camp from June 10 – August 30, 2024

Annual Full Time Academy with Academics commences

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Chris Lewit Tennis Academy

Manchester, Vermont l (914) 462-2912 l ChrisLewit.com l Chris@ChrisLewit.com

No Rainouts Ever! We have indoor courts onsite. Train seriously in the picturesque green mountains of Vermont!

Come train personally with elite coach Chris Lewit, who has recently developed several junior players to #1 nationally!

Chris Lewit Tennis Academy (CLTA) Summer Camp is a serious high performance sleepaway and day camp set in the natural paradise of Vermont. In addition to the summer program, Chris Lewit Tennis Academy also offers year-round training—with boarding—both short term and long term!

Players at CLTA have the opportunity to train personally in very small groups with Chris Lewit, one of leading high-performance junior development coaches in the United States. Chris is known as an expert in technique and biomechanics, and in Spanish training methods. Chris wrote the best-selling book, Secrets of Spanish Tennis, and he is currently pursuing an advanced degree in kinesiology and biomechanics. He has coached numerous top 10 nationally-ranked juniors—including several #1 ranked juniors in the US—many of whom are now graduating to the pro circuit. He also has extensive experience building the foundations of many young prodigies.

The camp focuses on players from ages 8-18, from serious beginner to national and ITF ranked players, and offers day or full boarding options. Campers live in a charming Vermont Inn and have exclusive use of a private tennis club, CLTA Vermont, which offers both outdoor red clay courts and indoor hard courts in the event of rain, gym, yoga studio and clubhouse, all set on 15 picturesque acres with a majestic river for swimming onsite, plus 35 acres of additional natural parkland.

The camp features daily morning yoga and mindfulness training from a certified master yoga instructor and an injury prevention program overseen by an NSCA certified strength and conditioning coach from NYC.

CLTA offers a unique hybrid teaching system based on the Toni Nadal, William Pato Álvarez, and Bruguera Methods from Spain, as well as other European influences based on Chris Lewit's travels abroad. Chris has spent the last 20 years studying with many of the legendary coaches in Spain and Europe. Recognized as a world-leading expert in Spanish systems, he is the only coach in the US certified in three distinct Spanish styles: Nadal, Bruguera, and Álvarez. Chris brings the most cutting-edge training methods from Europe back to the U.S. for his students.

CLTA summer camp features a new character building and mindset training based on the teachings of Toni Nadal!

All students receive personal coaching and mentoring directly from Chris Lewit, and are supported by his highly trained staff of top college and ATP players. This summer, the academy will host a full series of UTR tournaments onsite for campers every weekend!

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Christopher Morley Tennis

The Christopher Morley Tennis Camp 2024 will run from July 1 to August 30. Our coaching philosophy is centered around the belief that every child has the potential to become a successful and confident tennis player, and is based on these key principles:

1. Focus on Fun and Learning. We believe that tennis should be an enjoyable experience for children. By making camp sessions engaging and fun, we can motivate young players to learn and improve their skills. We also focus on creating a safe and nurturing environment that encourages children to explore and develop their abilities.

2. Tailored Instruction. Every child is unique, and we understand that different players have different learning styles and needs. Our coaches take the time to understand each child’s strengths and weaknesses as we tailor our instruction to help them maximize their potential. We also provide individualized feedback and support to help each player reach their goals.

3. Emphasis on Fundamentals. We prioritize the development of fundamental skills such as footwork, hand-eye coordination, and racquet technique. By focusing on the basics, we help children build a strong foundation that they can build upon as they progress through the sport.

4. Focus on Character Development. We believe tennis can be a valuable tool for building character and developing life skills such as perseverance, sportsmanship, and teamwork. We emphasize the importance of these values in our coaching approach and use tennis as a vehicle to help children develop into well-rounded individuals.

Overall, the Junior Tennis Camp is committed to providing a positive and supportive learning environment that fosters growth, learning, and fun. As part of our tennis program philosophy, campers will benefit from the integration of our conditioning program and multi-sport activities. The importance of the multi-sport program, in addition to the tennis program, is that it allows our campers to play and learn different skills.

In our Multi-Sport program, our campers will play team games like basketball, volleyball, soccer, kickball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, and many others. This Multi-Sport program is a fantastic opportunity for campers to work together as a team and, at the same time, integrate with different kids they may not be with on the tennis courts, allowing them to start new friendships that will last for years.

A conditioning program is essential for tennis players. It helps to improve overall fitness and performance on the court. Tennis is a physically demanding sport that requires a combination of speed, agility, power, strength, and flexibility.

Our program is designed to help our players develop these physical qualities and enhance their ability to perform at a high level for extended periods. Run by outstanding and high-energy trainers, we can guarantee our campers will come out feeling the impact and benefits of a great workout.

You can sign-up weekly, and prices are based on the number of weeks your child will attend. Tennis Directors Ricardo and Salomon are on-site and supervising 100 percent of the time to make sure your child is having the best experience possible!

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

CourtSense Tennis Training Center at Bogota Racquet Club

(home of the High Performance program)

156 West Main Street l Bogota, N.J. l (201) 366-2898

CourtSense at Tenafly Racquet Club (Home of the Performance program)

195 County Rd. l Tenafly, N.J. l (201) 254-5836

Cour tSense.com l Info@CourtSense.com

With CourtSense, you’ll achieve your personal best, because our training is of the highest professional caliber and easily tailored to suit your age and skill level. We use tennis as a vehicle to teach life lessons by tapping into the spirit of every player, with lots of passion, expertise and character. Students have access to 17 outdoor and 16 indoor tennis courts, so regardless of the weather conditions the players are guaranteed their practice sessions..

High Performance Summer Tennis Camp at Bogota Racquet Club. This camp is geared towards High Performance Tournament and high-level High School players for UTR level 4 and above and age group 11 and older. CourtSense has trained and is currently training players who have become ATP- and WTA-ranked players, U.S. Olympians, as well as many college scholarship athletes. CourtSense’s International High-Performance Coaches, in collaboration with the fitness staff and a sports psychologist, have developed a program that maximizes all athletes’ strengths, both on and off court.

l Full Day High Performance Tennis Camp at Bogota Racquet Club runs from Monday-Friday, June 24-Aug. 23 (nine weeks), featuring 10 hours of tennis training; 5 hours of fitness and 8 hours of match/point play) for players ages 11 and older, and UTR level 4.00 and above. Campers will have access to outdoor and indoor hard and clay courts, with a 3:1 student-to-coach ratio. Weekly dual matches with other academies, and mental toughness training are also included. Evaluation is required prior to enrollment. Transportation service between locations is provided.

l Full Day Performance Tennis Camp at Tenafly Racquet Club runs from Monday-Friday, June 26-Aug. 25 (nine weeks), featuring 8 hours of tennis training; 4 hours of fitness and 6-8 hours of match/point play) for players ages 8-12, and UTR level under 4.00. Campers will have access to a premier and very unique facility where they will be able to experience playing on all grand slam surfaces (European red clay, grass, hard court), with a 3:1 student-to-coach ratio. Mental toughness training is also included. Evaluation is required prior to enrollment.

Eastern Athletic Club’s Summer Camp

Multiple locations across Long Island and New York City

EasternAthleticClubs.com

l EACTennis@yahoo.com

Eastern Athletic is family-owned and is one of the New York’s original and finest indoor tennis and fitness facilities, offering tennis camps during July and August. With two locations in Suffolk County to accommodate the ever changing needs of our clientele, Eastern Athletic has 12 Nova Ultra cushion indoor tennis courts, seven racquetball courts, and much more.

Eastern Athletic’s Camps are directed by Laurie Tenney Fehrs at Dix Hills and Gary Gaudio at Blue Point and the very talented tennis staff that are committed to helping their students be happy and successful in all aspects of their lives. Eastern Athletic Tennis Camps integrate strength and agility training, drill sessions, group lessons and match play. Eastern Athletic offers camp from two hours up to five hours per day, for one day up to eight weeks.

In addition, Eastern Athletic has one of the best performance training programs, integrating tennis with athletic

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

performance programs. All of their programs are offered year-round in a climate-controlled tennis facility. Eastern Athletic has produced some of the top tennis players on Long Island under the direction and supervision of Laurie Tenney Fehrs, Gary Gaudio and their renowned tennis staff. Eastern Athletic has programs for juniors and adults of all ages and level of play, and is confident they have something for you.

To find out all about what Eastern Athletic has to offer, visit EasternAthleticClubs.com. For more information and to join the growing family, e-mail EACTennis@yahoo.com, EACJrTennis @gmail.com or visit one of Eastern Athletic’s locations:

l EAC in Blue Point, 9A Montauk Highway, Blue Point, N.Y. (631) 363-2882

l EAC in Dix Hills, 854 East Jericho Turnpike, Dix Hills, N.Y. (631) 271-6616

l EAC in Brooklyn Heights, 43 Clark Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 625-0500

l EAC in Prospect Park, 17 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 789-4600

Ed Krass' 36th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp® & Clinics

(813) 684-9031 l CollegeTennis.com

l USTA National Campus, Lake Nona, Fla.: Saturday-Sunday, June 1-2

l Massachusetts Instiute of Technology, Cambridge, M.A.: Saturday-Sunday, June 29-30

l Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.: Saturday-Sunday, July 13-14

l Mercer County Park Tennis Center, Windsor, N.J.: Saturday-Sunday, July 20-21

l Wesleyan University, Middletown, C.T.: Saturday-Sunday, July 27-28

l Beerman Family Tennis Center, Lakeland, Fla.: Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8

Coach Ed Krass' 36th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp & Clinics, for ages 14-18, are taught exclusively by head college coaches who will work with you on-court to improve your singles and doubles match play strategies and provide college recruiting advice. Instructional drills and match play competitions will be conducted in the same style and intensity as a college team practice. Coach Krass' camps are still the world's only tennis camps taught exclusively by all head college coaches!

The two-day College Tennis Exposure Camp will be offered at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., SaturdaySunday, June 1-2; Massachusetts Instiute of Technology, Cambridge, M.A.: Saturday-Sunday, June 29-30; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., Saturday-Saturday, July 13-14; Mercer County Park Tennis Center, Windsor, N.J., SaturdaySunday, July 20-21; Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT; Saturday-Sunday, July 27-28; University of Colorado, Lakeland, Fla., Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8.

Coach Ed Krass, Founder and Director of College Tennis Exposure Camp & Clinics, has coached varsity tennis teams at Harvard University, Clemson University and the University of Central Florida prior to founding the College Tennis Academy.

For more information, call Coach Krass at (813) 684-9031 or visit CollegeTennis.com. Look for more camp locations at CollegeTennis.com.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Evert Tennis Academy

10334

The Evert Tennis Academy is located in sunny Boca Raton, Fla., and is considered by many as one of the best tennis camps in the country. John and Chrissie Evert set out to continue their father’s legacy 22 years ago by installing core values: Excellence, Resilience, Integrity and Leadership. “Our core values are the roadmap to coaching every student-athlete towards reaching their full potential.”–John Evert

Evert Tennis Academy clinics will focus on technical development, tactical training and competitive settings. Players will experience a typical Evert program that includes tennis lessons, strength and fitness conditioning, mental conditioning and competitive match play against players from all over the world. Players will get a coach’s evaluation during their stay here to review at home.

Top four reasons why to attend this summer (Monday-Sunday, May 26-Aug. 17):

1. Coaches/program: Our coaching staff continues to put a program together that is second to none. Each program is designed so that each player will get the personalized attention needed to improve his or her game while having fun. Whether you are an intermediate player looking to fine tune your game or a high-level nationally ranked player we have the program for you.

2. Facility/boarding: Evert Tennis Academy is one of the only academies to provide boarding services for any

Our racquet sports facility is a paradise for those who love a good game, with six USTA caliber hard courts, two Har-Tru tennis courts, and six vibrant pickleball courts. Off the courts, an 18-hole golf course, swimming, fitness center, indoor and outdoor dining, a buzzing social calendar, and private event space all round out our phenomenal lifestyle.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

student wishing to stay only steps away from the courts. Its eight-acre facility provides a safe environment nestled in the beautiful and secure Mission Bay residential neighborhood, surrounded by lakes, manicured lawns and lush Floridian foliage.

3. Competition: The Evert Tennis Academy provides match play for each student every day and all levels are welcome. Although the tournament schedule is not yet confirmed, we normally host three UTR tournaments throughout the summer for any player looking to get match play prior to the Clay Court & Hard Court Nationals, Zonals or just get access to players of equal playing level.

4. Family Oriented and Personal: The Evert Tennis Academy in known worldwide for a family oriented atmosphere and a place where players enjoy both on-court training and off-court activities. Students that choose the Developmental Program will receive a tailor made personalized program that is second to none in the industry.

5. Location: Located in the beautiful town of Boca Raton, Fla., the Evert Tennis Academy is located only a few minutes away from the beach and only 30 minutes away from the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach airports making it an easy trip from the northeast.

Extreme Tennis Academy

18900 NE 25th Ave. l Miami, Fla. 33180 l (786) 290-1546

ExtremeTennisAcademy.com

Extreme Tennis Academy Summer Camp 2024 is the best place for you to take your tennis game to the next level this summer!

Camps are available for kids eight-years-old and older. The High Performance Tennis Camp is run by Freddy Azucey and Carlos Maehama and their dedicated staff of top coaches.

Azucey is a PTR & Competitive Junior & Professional development coordinator, Dominican Republic Davis Cup, Former ATP/ITF Circuit Player who faced opponents such as Hernan Gumy & Wayne Ferreira among others, and helped develop Junior and Professional Players such as: Eddie Herr Winner Roy Lederman (USA) #1 National, Gabriela Paz (VEN) Top 10 ITF and US Open Junior Finalist, Adriana Perez (VEN) ITF 21, Sofia Melikishvili (GEO) WTA 250.

Maehama is an Academy Director, PTR International tester – former Japanese Junior team Traveling Coach & National Coach, USTA Junior Team Tennis Coordinator (North Miami Dade), and has helped develop numerous College and Junior players, as well as Finalist of French Open Mariano Puerta, PTR International Tester, is also fluent in Japanese, Spanish, and English.

Housing is available for players traveling to the camp. Come train with the best tennis camp in South Florida! Visit ExtremeTennisAcademy.com for more information, see you on the courts!

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Future Stars Summer Camps

(914) 273-8500 l FSCamps.com

l Purchase College SUNY

735 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, N.Y. (914) 273-8500

l The College at Old Westbury

223 Store Hill Road Old Westbury, N.Y. (516) 226-CAMP (2267)

l Farmingdale State College

2530 Broadhollow Road Farmingdale, N.Y. (631) 769-CAMP (2267)

l Future Stars Tennis Club

1370 Majors Path Southampton, N.Y. (631) 287-6707

l St. Joseph’s College-Patchogue

155 West Roe Boulevard Patchogue, N.Y. (631) 572-0232

l Aspatuck Tennis Club

25 Howell Lane, Westhampton Beach (631) 287-6707

Future Stars Summer Camps offer the finest weekly tennis day camps at five outstanding locations: Purchase College SUNY, The College at Old Westbury, Farmingdale State College, St. Joseph’s College-Patchogue, Future Stars Tennis Club in Southampton, N.Y. and the Aspatuck Tennis Club in Westhampton Beach.

Programs are directed by experienced and qualified teachers and coaches who share a passion for working with children. Weekly programs are offered for boys and girls entering grades K-12.

Tennis camps offer the perfect mix of match play, drill work, strategy sessions and off-court activities to challenge players of all levels. The program is designed to improve every facet of the game, including technical, tactical, physical and mental components under the guidance of our experienced and enthusiastic tennis professionals.

Campers will be carefully grouped according to skill level and age and will be encouraged to enhance their strokes and strategies via group lessons, skill building drills organized play, target training, fitness routines and more.

At Future Stars Summer Camps, we play with confidence, enthusiasm and a genuine love of the game! Go to our website for more information and take advantage of enrollment savings. fscamps.com

Gotham Tennis Academy Montauk Summer Tennis and Sports Camp

91

Street l Montauk, N.Y. l (631) 267-8525

www.GothamTennisMTK.com l Info@GothamTennisMTK.com

For over a decade, Gotham Tennis Academy has become known for innovative, world-class- tennis instruction in NYC and the Hamptons. Gotham Tennis – Montauk is on a beautiful nature preserve with eight pristine clay courts, just minutes from the center of Montauk and its world famous attractions and beaches. Beginners, rising stars, recreational players, and tournament players are all welcome.

Camp Hours: Weekdays from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (Half Day Option : 10:00 am-12:00 pm or 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm)

Campers are grouped according to age and level and can expect to improve fundamental tennis skills, self-confidence and conditioning and hopefully build on a lifelong love of the sport of tennis. One of our paramount goals throughout the summer is to build confidence and keep all campers active and motivated, so that they continue to learn at the fastest possible pace. Our camp staff with international backgrounds excels at teaching junior players of all levels. Your child can expect to not only improve tennis skills, but also life skills, such as discipline, the value of hard work, sportsmanship, independence and mental toughness.

Whether your child is a Beginner or Advanced level player, he or she will gain confidence and learn appropriate tennis fundamentals, strategy, match play, conditioning, and footwork, while having tons of fun during the camp sessions. And maybe most important of all, your child is sure to develop memories and relationships that will last a lifetime!

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Hofstra Summer Tennis Camp

Hofstra University l 1000 Fulton Avenue l Hempstead, N.Y. l (516) 463-CAMP l Hofstra.edu/Camp

A great tennis experience for two or four weeks Hofstra Summer Camps offers three unique tennis programs for beginner and experienced players to learn and refine their tennis skills.

In the new USTA program “Net Generation” players in grades 2-10 learn the basics of tennis using tennis equipment in a scaled down version to fit their smaller size, and it builds confidence, respect, responsibility, cooperation and much more. All aspects of tennis are introduced and taught, all scoring, strokes and strategy, and all in a fun and entertaining way!

The Elite Tennis program offers experienced players in grades 6-10 the opportunity to receive full-day instruction. Campers will participate in supervised practice and competition, while the afternoon will consist of learning new skills and strategies, as well as drills and specific games to enhance the camper’s full tennis skill set. Admission to this program is selective; campers will be interviewed to see if this is the right fit.

For additional information about Hofstra Summer Tennis Camp, call (516) 463-CAMP or visit Hofstra.edu/Camp.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

Huntington Indoor Tennis

100 Broadway l Huntington Station, N.Y.

(631) 421-0040 l HuntingtonIndoorTennis.net l Infor@HuntingtonIndoorTennis.net

Huntington Indoor Tennis is celebrating 43 years as the top tennis facility in the greater Huntington area and is proud to be once again offering our Summer Camp.

Huntington Indoor Tennis Camp combines the learning and fun of the game of tennis through personalized instruction, interclub matches, roundrobins, ladder matches and drill games.

Huntington Indoor Tennis offers a Full-Day Junior Tennis Camp, from 10:30-3:00pm, as well as a Half-Day Mini Camp, from 10:30am12:30pm. One-week sessions begin Monday, June 24 and run through Friday, Aug. 23.

Visit HuntingtonIndoorTennis.net or contact info@huntingtonindoortennis.net for more information.

John McEnroe Tennis Academy Summer Tennis Training Camps

Locations on Long Island including the Hamptons, in Manhattan and Westchester:

JMTA New York City l SPORTIME Randall’s Island l (212) 427-6150

JMTA Long Island l SPORTIME Syosset l (516) 364-2727

JMTA Long Island l SPORTIME Port Washington l (516) 883-6425

JMTA Hamptons l SPORTIME Amagansett l (631) 267-3460

JMTA Westchester l SPORTIME Lake Isle l (914) 777-5151

CampsNYC@Spor timeNY.com l SportimeCamps.com/JMTA

No one knows junior tennis training better than SPORTIME! And, with multiple tennis camp locations across Long Island, including in the Hamptons, and in New York City and Westchester, aspiring tennis players can enjoy John McEnroe Tennis Academy and SPORTIME tennis training programs throughout the region, this summer.

SPORTIME’s and JMTA’s innovative tennis training approach is rooted in competitive games, underpinned by technical development and tennis-focused athletic training. We present tennis so that players quickly develop an understanding of winning tactics and learn skills that help them achieve their goals, all in age and level based groups. More experienced juniors receive enhanced training to prepare them for the physical, mental and emotional demands of match and tournament play. SPORTIME’s international coaching staff is dedicated to turning weaknesses into strengths and strengths into winning games.

Our younger players work through clearly defined stages of development that make it possible for kids to play tennis from the moment they step onto the court. With our unique “gamification” approach, junior players don’t just take lessons—they go on missions, acquire skills, collect points and achieve milestones. Campers also enjoy instruction and competition in a variety of team sports activities that help to enhance their coordination and athletic skills.

Visit SportimeCamps.com to find the SPORTIME EXCEL or JMTA Summer Tennis Training Camp nearest you, or e-mail Camps@SportimeNY.com to find out more.

Programs vary by location.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

LuHi Summer Programs

131 Brookville Road l Brookville, NY 11545 l LuHi.com

LuHi Summer Programs offers a premier tennis experience for players of all levels, but also so much more! Located on a scenic 32-acre campus in the heart of Long Island's North Shore, LuHi Summer Programs has been the home and camp choice for thousands of Long Island children for 60 years. We provide a fun-filled learning experience in a variety of sports, educational, and recreational programs to bring out the best in each of our campers. With over 20 diverse programs to choose from, campers from all across Long Island and NYC find their home here at LuHi Summer Programs.

Foster personal growth, team spirit, and perseverance in one of our varied Athletics programs designed to challenge and motivate athletes to be their best. Inspire curiosity, spontaneity, and independence in our diverse Arts programs designed to nurture creativity and expression. Spark new passions, hobbies, and friendships with well-rounded Recreation options to suit all learning styles and interests. Galvanize tomorrow’s makers, creators, and innovators with science and technology options in our STEM division that drive experimentation and investigation.

If all four of these programming areas sound right for your child or they just want to try them all, they may yet find their home in LuHi Country Day, where action, adventure, and discovery await them! A culmination of LuHi’s culture, LuHi Country Day offers a safe & structured environment where campers are encouraged to engage in new experiences, form friendships, and most importantly, have fun!

With so many offerings, families have the opportunity to customize their summer based on their schedule and child's varying interests. The day-camp format also allows children to experience all of the best parts of camp during the day and spend time with their families during the evenings and weekends. Professionals in their specific field direct each LuHi program, providing experiences that educate, enrich, and inspire each child. We hope to welcome you to the LuHi Family for Summer 2024!

Nassau Tennis & Sports Center

73 Fern Place l Inwood, N.Y. l (516) 239-8303

NassauTennisCenter.com

l info@nassautenniscenter.com

The camp schedule per day is as follows:

The Nassau Tennis & Sports Center Summer Camp 2024 is almost here!

This year’s summer camp will run for 12 weeks, beginning on June 12 and running through September 1. Our dedicated staff and camp counselors will introduce players to the game of tennis through a variety of fun on and off-court activities. Campers will have the opportunity not only to learn the game of tennis, but do so in a fun and welcoming environment that will keep them engaged in the sport for years to come. Nassau Tennis’ Summer Camp is open to players aged 5-18.

l 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: On Court Drilling: focus on theme of the day, incorporate athletic development

l 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.: Lunch Break/Fun break

l 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Match play for both singles & doubles play

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

There are a number of different pricing and packages available, for half day, full day and five days, as well as weeklong registration. Nassau Tennis & Sports Center offers is 10 percent discount if you register for full day camps for four weeks or more.

Nassau Tennis & Sports Center has an array of top-tier coaches and instructors who will ensure your child has the summer of their life! Our facility features four climate-controlled Har-Tru courts and includes a clubhouse as well.

For more information, visit NassauTennisCenter.com, e-mail info@NassauTennisCenter.com or call (516) 239-8303.

Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center

60 Sea Cliff Ave. l Glen Cove, NY 11542 l (516) 759-0505

rwtennis@hotmail.com l www.rwtt.com

Whether you're starting out as a beginner eager to grasp the fundamentals or an experienced player seeking to elevate your skills, RWTT Summer Tennis Camp promises an enriching experience. From expert coaching to fun drills and matches, it's a great way to spend your summer honing your tennis abilities while enjoying the outdoors and meeting new friends who share your passion for the sport. Plus, the summer camp environment often fosters camaraderie and sportsmanship, creating lasting memories and friendships.

Why choose RWTT Summer Camp?

For the past 24 years, RWTT has organized highly successful summer camps. We provide exceptional instruction led by expert coaches, ensuring a perfect blend of learning and play in a supportive atmosphere that fosters both growth and enjoyment.

Whether your aspirations lean towards college competition, securing a spot on your varsity team, or benefiting from top-tier coaching, RWTT tennis camps cater to youth players with diverse goals.

The Daily Program Includes:

l Dynamic warm-up exercises

l Drills emphasizing shot/stroke refinement, tactical decision-making, and movement

l Competitive play

l Strength and conditioning sessions

We offer both High Performance and 10 & Under Tennis Camps, granting campers access to cutting-edge indoor and outdoor tennis facilities.

The high-performance camp is tailored for individuals aiming to excel in National and International Tournaments. It's also ideal for those looking to participate in middle school, high school, college tennis, and beyond. Additionally, it welcomes players of all levels who are committed to reaching their maximum potential on the court.

The 10 and Under tennis camp is designed specifically for young players who are starting their tennis journey. It focuses on age-appropriate techniques, skills, and drills to help children develop a strong foundation in tennis while having fun. The camp provides a supportive and engaging environment where kids can learn the basics of the game, improve their

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

coordination, and foster a love for tennis from an early age.

Join us for an unforgettable summer filled with teamwork, competition, and unforgettable fun!

Camp options: Full day & Half-day, Weekly & Daily. Lunch is provided at an additional cost.

For further inquiries, please contact the club at rwtennis@hotmail.com or call 516-759-0505. For online registration, visit https://blumecustomer.com/cmportal/rwtt/login.

Ross School Tennis Academy and Ross Summer Camp

20 Goodfriend Drive l East Hampton, NY l 631-907-5162 ross.org/tennis l tenniscenter@ross.org

Ross School Tennis Center (RSTC) is a beautiful tennis facility in the Hamptons that is open to the public and located on the Ross Upper School campus in East Hampton, NY. The tennis center features six HarTru courts that are enclosed by a bubble from mid-fall through mid-spring, allowing for year-round play. There are also two hard courts for junior tournament training. The courts are directly adjacent to a state-of-the-art Field House, featuring amenities such as locker rooms, lounge, snack bar, and ping-pong tables. The staff here provides a fun and supportive atmosphere that allows for the greatest amount of success.

Summer Tennis Training

Monday–Friday, June 24–August 16: From specialized U10 programs with orange and green dot balls designed for developing competitive tennis players to our high-performance training with live ball drills and match play series, this 8-week all-encompassing summer program is our most intense and complete junior tennis education offered.

Players considering this program should be serious about their commitment to tennis, consistently practicing at least two days per week year-round. All training in each age and development level includes daily fitness and match play components.

Ross Summer is pleased to welcome legendary tennis coach Larri Passos back to Ross to work on-site with players this summer. Players can sign up for this program weekly, but space is limited. Tryouts are required (videos accepted). Visit ross.org/summer for more information.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

SPORTIME

Summer Tennis & Sports Camps and John McEnroe Tennis Academy Training Camps

Locations across Long Island, in Manhattan and Westchester and in Schenectady:

SPORTIME Amagansett l JMTA Hamptons l (631) 267-1038

SPORTIME Bethpage l (516) 933-8500

SPORTIME Hempstead Lake l (516) 282-7222

SPORTIME Kings Park l (631) 269-6300

SPORTIME Lake Isle l JMTA Westchester l (914) 777-5151

SPORTIME Lynbrook l (516) 887-1330

SPORTIME Port Washington/JMTA Long Island l (516) 883-6425

SPORTIME Quogue l (631) 653-6767

SPORTIME Randall’s Island/JMTA New York City l (212) 427-6150

SPORTIME Roslyn l (516) 484-9222

SPORTIME Schenectady l (518) 356-0100

SPORTIME Syosset/JMTA Long Island l (516) 364-2727

SPORTIME Harbor Island Westchester l (914) 777-5050

EHSC@SPORTIME Amagansett l (631) 267-2267

SPORTIME Volleyball Camps l (515) 731-4432

Camps@SportimeNY.com l SportimeCamps.com

“Last year, I had the best summer ever!” Who said that? Every kid who attended a SPORTIME Summer Camp last summer! That’s because at SPORTIME summer camps, our staff of teachers, coaches and counselors makes sure that every camper has a positive and memorable experience. SPORTIME knows how to make camp fun and safe!

How does SPORTIME do it? Our experienced, enthusiastic and caring staff members are skilled at providing camp programming that is challenging, innovative and educational, all at facilities that are state-of-the-art, safe, and easily accessible.

From preschoolers to pre-teens, kids who enjoy tennis, sports, friendship and fun love coming to SPORTIME summer camps. With camp programs tailored to every age group, at locations across Long Island, including in the Hamptons, and in New York City and Westchester, we’ve got your summer covered! Go to SportimeCamps.com to find the perfect camp for your child, or e-mail us at Camps@SportimeNY.com for personal assistance. We are here to help! Programs and facilities vary by location.

2024 Long Island Tennis Magazine Camp Guide

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Flushing Meadow-Corona Park l Flushing, N.Y. l (718) 760-6200 l NTC.USTA.com

The USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center will once again offer funin-the-sun tennis day camps starting in June. Enrollment will soon be available online for the weekly programs:

Please note that the camp will be held both indoors and outdoors this summer.

June 2024 - August 2024

We offer summer camps for all ages and levels from 10 and under tennis to recreational juniors to high-performance players. Space may be limited so register early.

The weekly full-day program runs Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break or a twilight session from 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Campers work on the development of tennis techniques, tactics, sports conditioning, multi-sports, and strategy geared toward maximizing the learning experience in a fun presentation.

As the juniors develop, they are advanced to more challenging groups. Tennis activities include Stroke of the Day, team games, and competitive match play.

The camp also offers cross-training activities, such as soccer, softball, and basketball and other multisport training activities. Along with many fun activities on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, we also offer on site spirit days, talent contests and other on site activities designed for camper involvement and team building. The program accepts junior players, ages four- through 10-years-old for the 10 & Under programs.

Recreational players 11-years-old and up are enrolled in the Junior Camps (8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.). Advanced High-Performance Tournament training campers will also be invited to participate in an intensive Tennis Academy training program.

The National Tennis Center has 18 outdoor courts, 12 indoor courts, and four stadium courts. Also on-site are ping-pong tables, ball machines, a fitness center, and other age-appropriate fun activities like arts, multi-sports, arts and crafts, and other engaging sporting events. The primary focus will be on developing tennis skills while offering other activities to enhance the learning and summer camp experience. Also offered are junior evening and weekend programs, as well as adult daytime, weekday evening, and weekend camps. Subject to change.

The Zone And How To Get There

By Dr. Tom Ferraro

Everyathlete wants to play “in the zone”, but this state of mind rarely occurs. All athletes are familiar with the term, “the zone”, that calm, energized, protected state of mind that screens out all distractions. Long-distance runners and swimmers regularly enter the zone since their sport is so solitary and has relatively few external distractions.

In psychological terms, getting into the zone is a sign that the player is able to dissociate and temporarily establish a new identity. Dissociation is a psychological defense that is usually acquired in youth and is based upon having a history of abuse coupled with a higher than average IQ. Dissociation is defined as the ability to temporarily, but drastically, modify one’s identity to avoid anxiety, pain or feelings of helplessness. We can’t provide a young player with a history of abuse so we are left with the challenge of helping the tennis player establish this kind of defense just before they play and also during the match. I will take you through a step-by-step

process which will explain the way I do this with players.

Every athlete deals with anxiety differently, and this is based upon their identity, self-image and their defenses, so a unique intervention is needed for each player in order to get them into the zone. George Kelly’s pioneering work on personality development helps in this effort because he was one of the first behavior modifiers to suggest that we have a choice as to how we behave and feel. His work suggested that if you act confidently, that will help you to become more confident. Essentially, you can fake it till you make it.

There are three types of identities that work well in tennis. Some players feel they need to be quiet and focused, some feel they ought to be aggressive and dominant and others feel they would benefit by being cheerful and kind to their opponent. I usually leave it up to the player to decide which works best for them, based upon their previous playing history. I discuss in detail behaviors related to each character type and we

rehearse this in the office by role modeling each. Each type of identity can be used to help the player to deal with their anxiety. Here is how we do it with each type of identity:

The Quiet One: Bjorn Borg was this character type. He was silent, quiet and non-disruptive. He did not relate to his opponent and he did not want to. For the player who picked the “quiet, more focused identity”, I teach them ways to be silent, nonverbal and non-interactive with the opponent during the entire match. With silence, the player learns to stay focused. Giving your opponent the silent treatment is very effective, and this type of behavior is what we call passive aggressive in psychoanalysis. The player is told to adopt this identity before they get on the court and to remain this way for the entire match. They are instructed to remain silent and not to talk to their opponent the entire match. This treatment was first designed by Pia Nillsen, the famous Swedish sport psychologist, who taught Annika Sorenstam how to dominate on the

LPGA tour. When the player commits to this identity and behavior and sticks to it during the match, they enter a dissociated state and thus are in the zone.

The Alpha: This kind of identity is seen in players like John McEnroe, who was not afraid to shout and scream. McEnroe would sneer, yell and scream at anyone who crossed him and this kind of behavior not only allowed him to ventilate his rage, but also enabled him to suppress his anxiety with aggression. This type of behavior is referred to as identification with the aggressor and although one does not want to be too aggressive, it is always good to be assertive when you are being wronged. This is very useful in youth tennis when games are often won or lost due to one player making bad calls. To dissociate into this kind of personality does not mean you must yell or scream, but it does mean you need to feel tough and use that

attitude to win.

The Friendly Player: This type of identity can be used to relax you and help you enjoy the game of tennis, no matter what the stakes. Some athletes feel this is a good attitude to bring onto the court because it helps them to be more free and at peace. It also disarms the opponent and shows that you are confident. Joking and fooling around on court is sometimes seen in tennis by Novak ‘The Djoker’ Djokovic and he is a good role model for some players.

The key to all of these temporary tennis identities is to commit to them while playing. The full commitment to a new way of being and acting is the

way dissociation works and it leads you into the zone. Anxiety is always the great disrupter in your game and adopting a whole new identity as you play is a very good way to approach this issue. You can pick any of the above identities and try it on as you would a uniform or a suit of armor. To get into the zone you need to have a strong defense and one of the best ways to do this is to pick a role model and emulate them. Contrary to what Charles Barkley once said athletes are role models.

To find out more about how to enter the zone by forming a new identity give me a call any time at (516) 248-7189 or visit my website at drtomferraro.com. For consultations, treatment

In the Kitchen

An in-depth look at Pickleball on Long Island

Doubles Teams Come Out for President’s Week Classic

Long Island Tennis Magazine hosted the first President’s Week Pickleball Classic on the courts of Sportime Kings Park. A sold-out draw of doubles teams came together to compete across four different divisions.

The energy was high as teams competed in round-robin play which led into the knockout rounds. The format ensured all teams were able to get an array of matches against a

multitude of opponents. The atmosphere was great as spectators filled the deck above the courts to watch the action, all the while, players and spectators enjoyed the tournament amenities, which included pizza, margaritas, snacks and more.

"The entire tournament ran smoothly and featured great competition,” said LI Tennis Magazine Owner David Sickmen.

"We have received great feedback from players and spectators. We would like to thank Sportime Kings Park for their hospitality, and my cotournament director Michelle Stoerback for helping us put on another professionally run event. We’re excited to continue our pickleball event series throughout 2024."

In the Women’s 3.5 division, Rose Gardner & Jennifer Walsh used their

The Men's Doubles 3.5 Champions: Josh Henline & Carlos QuinonezThe Men's Doubles 4.0+ Champions: Alex Ricciuti & Eric Ho

chemistry together to come away with the title, defeating Mari Rose Fusco & Shavawn Lockhart in the championship.

“It was a great tournament, and the key to our success was knowing how each other move, and knowing what the plan was,” said Walsh.

Gardner jokingly added:

“Jen also brought me some (adult) drinks during the matches, which helped us a lot.”

Lisa Golderg & Darlene Pergola teamed up to win another LITM pickleball tournament as the pairing won the Women’s 4.0 division with a victory over Heidi Hothan & Jennifer McGraw in the finals.

“I’m enjoying being back on the court and competing with friends,” said Pergola, who was injured last year. “The key for Lisa and I is our communication and we trust each other, and Lisa is a beast.”

A key strategy for the pairing was continued on page 56

The top three finishers in the Women’s 3.5 Doubles Division (from left to right): Silver Medalists Mari Rose Fusco & Shavawn Lockhart; Gold Medalists Rose Gardner & Jennifer Walsh; Bronze Medalists Alexis Buatti-Ramos & Terri Catania

The Women's Doubles 4.0 Champions: Darlene Pergola & Lisa Goldberg

in the kitchen continued from page 55

simplifying the game and making sure they were not the ones committing the errors.

“We kept balls in play and tried to let our opponents make the errors,” Goldberg added. “We’re really good friends and work well together. We stacked today, which is something we don’t normally do, and it worked.”

Josh Henline & Carlos Quinonez were competing in their first tournament together, but found their footing together during the roundrobin stages, and took that momentum into the playoffs as they won the Men’s 3.5 division, defeating Frank Frisone & Chris Biscuiti in the finals.

“You have to develop that chemistry and it took some matches to do that, but I think we understand each other well, where we are on the court and things like that,” ssid Quinonez. “There were some matches in the beginning where we were four or five points down, but we kept our cool and stayed composed.”

Henline added:

“I think we were consistent and

kept our unforced errors down. We were patient and just tried to play our game.”

Alex Riccuiti & Eric Ho made the trip out to Kings Park from New York City, and it paid off as they captured the title in the Men’s 4.0+ category. Like Henline and Quinonez, the pair was playing in their first tournament together, and came together to win over David Hernandez & Roberto Guzman in the championship.

“I think the thing for any new partnership is just understanding what your role is, what your strengths are and what your teammate’s strengths are,” said Ho. “I think we were able to figure that out early on, and stuck with our plan.”

And that plan, according to Riccuiti, was:

“We had a gameplan of getting to the net, playing it slow but offensive when we saw the opportunity. We were clean when we came to the net and capitalized on those opportunities…it was a very fun tournament, we got to meet some new people and saw some familiar

faces as well. We’ll definitely be back.”

Below are the full results from the President’s Week Pickleball Classic:

Women's Doubles 3.5

• Gold: Rose Gardner & Jennifer Walsh

• Silver: Mari Rose Fusco & Shavawn Lockhart

• Bronze: Alexis Buatti-Ramos & Terri Cantania

Women's Doubles 4.0

• Gold: Darlene Pergola & Lisa Goldberg

• Silver: Heidi Hothan & Jennifer McGraw

• Bronze: Karen Willmont & Lara Wang

Men's Doubles 3.5

• Gold: Josh Henline & Carlos Quinonez

• Silver: Frank Frisone & Chris Biscuiti

• Bronze: Scott Baker & Matt Demeo

Men's Doubles 4.0

• Gold: Alex Ricciuti & Eric Ho

• Silver: David Hernandez & Roberto Guzman

• Bronze: Roey Heymann & Brad Berger

Sportime Port Washington Hosts Gold Tournament

Q&A With Jackson Krush, Carefree Pickleball

Jackson Krush is the Director of Pickleball at Carefree Racquet Club. Long Island Tennis Magazine spoke with Krush about his background, pickleball on Long Island overall, and the pickleball offerings at Carefree.

LITM: Tell me a little bit about your background. What sports did you play growing up?

Krush: Growing up I participated in baseball, football, basketball, and track and field. I was a wide receiver/cornerback in football and I did sprints and jumps in track and field, continuing into college. I have always enjoyed being around athletics and that is what led me to pursue a degree in Sport Studies while I was at SUNY Cortland. I believe that athletes, especially those with an explosive nature, such as mine in sprints and

jumps, are handsomely rewarded within Pickleball. To truly excel at a high level in Pickleball, a specific competitive drive and previous athletic experience are pretty much necessary.

LITM: When did you first get into pickleball? How did that come to be?

Krush: I first played pickleball in high school and again as part of the curriculum while I was at Cortland. After each occasion, I did not think I would ever see the sport again, as it felt very niche. However, during the resurgence of pickleball in the fall of 2022, my mother persuaded me to join her on the court during an open play. After being exposed to the sport again, I realized the potential of what it has to offer, and I was immediately in love with playing it. The selling point for me was how it is a much a mental game as it is a physical game; like a combination of chess and a 100m dash.

LITM: When did you first take over as the Pickleball Director at Carefree? What led up to that?

Krush: I started my time at Carefree

in November of 2022 as an instructor, filling in for programs and doing lessons here and there. I quickly became acquainted with the demands of the sport, and given my background, instructing came naturally. I got my certification in February of 2023 and became the Director of Pickleball in August of 2023. I think that teaching Pickleball comes very easily for me and I believe I was rewarded for my proficiency in being given the Director position. Running a program is much different from instructing on the court, but I believe I do both things quite well.

LITM: As Director, what is your role at Carefree and how have you seen the programs grow since you took over?

Krush: As the Director of Pickleball, I handle every aspect of Pickleball from the beginning to the end. It all starts with emails and phone calls regarding our programs and what we have to offer. I am completely in charge of what we offer - I plan and create our programs, monitor signups, and

The Men’s 50 - 59 Champions: David Seidner / Andrew Goodstadt Men's 60+ Champions: Tony Sacco / Chris Olsen The Women's 50-59 Champions: Heidi Hothan / Caryn Kaplan

in the kitchen

continued from page 57

promote on social media. I also teach most of the programs that we offer, ranging from absolute beginner “Intro to Pickleball” to Advanced Intermediate “Skills and Drills” and Leagues. The programs have definitely grown since I have been Director, but I have also witnessed the emergence of a culture since I have been there... a culture that is very respectful of other players and willing to play and participate with all who attend. I am hopeful that the future presents dedicated Pickleball courts with which I can create as much programming as the demands account for, ranging from Beginner (2.0) to Advanced players (4.0+).

LITM: What makes Carefree a great place for people to play pickleball? What do you guys offer?

Krush: Carefree is a great place for people to play Pickleball because it is a casual, non-competitive environment in which people can learn the game at their own pace and enjoy playing it socially with others. I like to think I have helped curate and facilitate this environment. We offer programming from the beginner to the Advanced Intermediate level and are actively looking to expand our offerings to incorporate players of all levels. Currently, our programs appeal mostly to the advanced beginner and intermediate levels, but plans for expansion are definitely there.

LITM: Who should consider trying out Pickleball? Is it a sport for everyone? Does Carefree welcome all levels? Krush: Absolutely anybody can play

Pickleball - this is not a diss, but actually a testament to Pickleball as an accessible sport. Anybody can learn and enjoy the social, physical, and mental aspects of it. Not everyone will perform at a tournament level and some players will learn faster than others, as is true with any sport. Yet, there is always room for improvement, and I have seen nonathletes pick up the sport and become competitive with players who identify with previous sporting experience. I also see many former tennis players crossing over, as the sport is less physically demanding and offers a new realm within which people can start anew and reach new heights that are previously unattainable. At Carefree, we warmly welcome any person who has never played the sport before.

Pickleball Plus Creating Social, Fun Environment for Players

Oneof the best qualities of pickleball, and the one that keeps people coming back, is the social aspect that comes along with playing the sport. At Pickleball Plus in West Hempstead, the club has not only created a top-notch dedicated-pickleball facility, but also an environment that has helped foster friendships on and off the court.

Jim Kelly, a fully certified teaching professional at Pickleball Plus, has seen that first-hand. Kelly came to the pickleball world from tennis, and he began working at Pickleball Plus at the beginning of 2023.

“At first, when I saw people playing pickleball when I was a tennis pro, I said, ‘that’s stupid, I’m not doing that,’” said Kelly. “Once I tried it though, I loved it, and now I predominantly teach pickleball. I teach beginners, advanced beginners and intermediate players. Some people want to be active, and you just tell them the rules and they want to go play with their friends.”

Through this, Kelly has seen bonds form on the court that carry off the court.

“I also work as a league coordinator, and at the end of last season, one of the league groups went to dinner together. The players start group chats and stay in touch, bring in food or treats for people’s birthdays,” said Kelly. “It definitely goes beyond the court.”

For three players in particular, that sentiment rings true. Monica Devito, Barbara Diorio and Diane Detwiller met as new pickleball players at the club, and now play together in the Advanced Beginner programs. Through dedication to pickleball, they have not only improved their games, but created newfound friendships.

“It’s a great way to meet new people,” said Detwiller. “We are all so fortunate that we just fit together so nicely.”

Starting a new sport can be intimidating for a lot of people, but pickleball has a welcoming nature to it

that helps prevent that sort of gatekeeping.

“When I first began taking lessons, I was intimidated and thought I would not be able to catch on or keep up with the other players,” said Devito. “I heard good things about Pickleball Plus so decided to go there, and it was the best decision I made. Our instructor, Maria, made the game enjoyable while learning, and I was able to meet a group of nice ladies and we clicked right away.”

Diorio echoed that sentiment, and talked about how the group’s friendship began on the court, but has extended way beyond it.

“During those lessons, we got to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but more importantly we got to know each other,” she said. “We are all up on each other’s children, grandchildren, vacations, etc. Our group texts are no longer about setting up court time, but are filled with pictures of new grandchildren, concerns about injuries and general everyday activities. We even spent one night texting as we

were all watching an episode of ‘The Bachelor’ that featured pickleball, and had a fun hour laughing at it all. The point is we have fun on and off the court.”

Among pickleball’s many positive qualities is the ability for people to pick it up quickly and stay with it while staying active. It also creates an environment where people can bond t, and as Pickleball Plus has demonstrated, helps build friendships that go beyond the sport itself.

Diane Detwiller and Monica Devito at Pickleball Plus (not pictured: Barbara Diorio

Game, Set, Life

Sharing our learned experiences with Long Island tennis enthusiasts with another taste from our upcoming book

By Jay Harris and Mike Kathrein

Love The Stress

Toughness equals the ability to get yourself to believe that a difficult task at hand will be easy for you to accomplish. –

Jay Harris

One of the first super important lessons I learned in my studies in the Sport Psychology program I was in at Miami University was this concept of “loving stress.” It is sort of a strange concept to most, as society has so often painted stress to be the bad guy. Stress is the thing to avoid, the thing to control, the thing to fear. But what I learned was to take a completely different perspective when it comes to stress, and the power one can create if able to do so.

After Rafael Nadal captured his 21st major title at the 2022 Australian Open, Patrick Mouratoglou gave his insight on how Nadal somehow came back from the verge of losing to win; he said Nadal’s number one quality is his resilience and love for the situations where he faces the toughest moments. It makes him feel alive. Other players don’t like when it’s tough. Nadal loves it.

Mike responds: Many coaches and influential sports figures refer to loving the stress as “don’t be afraid of the moment.” However, because the brain often doesn’t comprehend the negative word and will only hear “be afraid,” I love Jay’s positive spin to get the message across better.

Personally, I have always loved the stress. Stress challenges me. Stress forces me to be better. Stress gives me an adrenaline boost. This is not to say that I always succeed and conquer the

stress. It just means I love the challenges stress creates.

I have often heard the phrase “pressure is a privilege”, but how does pressure make a player a better performer? Let’s say a basketball player gets fouled going in for a game winning layup with just one second left. Most people will make the assumption that there is a lot of pressure on the player, but who creates it? How is this free throw any different than a free throw in the first quarter? If the player misses at the end of the game and the team loses, will other players on the team think about the shots they missed throughout the game, or, will they blame the player who missed the last one? No one wants to be viewed as the player who missed to lose a game, but players need to play with a sense of urgency from the start to help avoid the pressure situations late in competitions. Fans, coaches, parents and teammates all contribute to creating pressure, and privilege of pressure is simply the opportunity to play and overcome challenges at all stages of the game with those people watching and even judging.

Jay’s turn: Lots of great questions there, Mike! Let’s start here: why is the free throw with a second left different from the others? Fear is the answer. We all have fear inside us. Some feel it more than others. Some who may feel it a lot can control it well. People also fear different things of course! If I’m at the free throw line at the end of a basketball game, many unproductive thoughts flood my brain! I would of course have the fear that if I miss, we are going to lose. I would fear letting my teammates down. I would fear my

own personal judgment of my own mental toughness if I wasn’t able to find a way to make the shot. I may fear the embarrassment of others thinking that I choked. Now, I can’t control the initial onslaught of those thoughts, but, I can control how my brain responds to them!

Last summer, while competing in a National Basketball Tournament in NYC, I had all of the fears I just mentioned while standing at the line at the end of a game. So what did I do? The first thing is that I knew what my thoughts would be, so I was ready to shield the bad ones away. Next, I knew I had to replace the “thought chamber” in my head with a new, positive thought. So, I looked at my teammates on the bench and visualized them getting excited when I made that free throw. Then, I focused on the task at hand. I’ve taken lots of these shots; I went to my trusted routine; I repeated my reminder line (further explanation in the self-talk chapter) “stay tall,” and then I swished that free throw!

I love almost all sports including basketball, but I also really love tennis. At 51 years old, I made a bit of a tennis comeback last year after not competing for years. I went back to my hometown tournament in Ohio, the site of my first ever tournament win in 1983. While I did realize this was just a small hometown tournament, I felt the need to preserve the little “legacy” there. Because of that “pressure,” I went in nervous, and the nerves were compounded a bit by the fact that I really had no idea what level I would be able to play. The unknown was a little scary.

I went into my first singles match as a heavy favorite, but found myself playing

really bad and went down 4-1 in the first set. I actually asked myself: “am I really this bad now?” I was too competitive to believe the answer was yes, so I replaced all of the negative thoughts and fears with an intense desire to solve a puzzle. How could I get my old body and fuzzy brain to perform at a level good enough to win this match? The first step was to love being where I was. I had to love the stress, especially because I was the one creating it! So that’s what I did. I loved the puzzle that was in front of me and the challenge that it presented. I also loved the fact that I won that match 64, 6-0, losing just one point in the second set! Overcoming those types of obstacles in such a strong way furthers my love for stress, and that is a very important reason for athletes to start this journey of stress-loving soon if they haven’t already done so!

My comeback continued into the fall of ‘23 as a friend of mine, Will Calhoun, asked me to compete in some National tournaments with him. I was

kind of excited to say yes (knowing that some fears will have to be overcome), and the first tourney was the National Grass Courts in Rhode Island. It was an incredible opportunity as my own boys, Jackson and Mason, live just minutes from the tournament site, and I would get to spend some invaluable time with them. Before the tournament began, Mason asked me if I would be nervous. He may have been surprised by my quick yes answer, and he asked me how I would handle that. I explained to him what I do at the beginning of matches. Again, I know myself well so I’m ready for the fearful thoughts that present themselves and at the beginning; I actually take control of them by actively leading these sorts of thoughts. I actually sort of imagine

He

some of the worst case scenarios and then get myself to realize that even if that all happens, I will still be fine. This helps to calm me down a bit, and then I can move on to battle the task at hand, which in this case was hitting a fuzzy tennis ball off of grass! While advancing to the quarterfinals of singles and doubles in my first National Tournament in years was something I was proud of, more importantly, it reminded me of the benefits of loving the stress and the value of falling short of hopes - I became super motivated to improve certain aspects of myself so that I could perform even better next time! Two months later, Will and I won a national title in Philly and ended the year ranked #1 in the country!! Apparently sports continue to build character all throughout life!

Jay Harris is the Director of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at Sportime Port Washington and Director of the Academy’s College Advisory Service. Prior to moving to New York in 2010, Jay was the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Brown University where he was a National Coach of the Year finalist. Mike Kathrein, a current Ohio resident, was the President of the Northwest Ohio Golf Coaches

a hall of fame high school coach having coached basketball, golf, baseball and tennis for 27 years and has sent the Lexington High School girls’ golf team to the state tournament several times.

Prodigy Making—15 Ways Principles To Improve Junior Tennis Technique and Development

By Chris Lewit

Unfortunately, kids around the world often do not receive a strong technical foundation in their strokes and movement. I have a great passion for training children and have dedicated much of my coaching work in tennis to developing a great base of technique for kids. I have also been fortunate to work with many tennis prodigies. This article will offer advice and guidelines, based on my experiences, about how to build world-class technique and elite juniors in general.

It’s critical to give children a great base of technique that is grounded in sports science and proven by experience. The following essential 15 principles relate to technical training and development for children during the junior years. Coaches and parent-coaches can use the principles to guide their students better. Kids can follow the principles to help their own technique and game.

15 Technique Principles

Principle #1: Make Movement Skills Training A Priority From The Beginning World-class movement and footwork is everything for children. Without great movement, kids can’t learn to be consistent. Lateral movement is the foundation of movement training for kids because it comprises the majority of tennis movement patterns on the court during matches.

Principle #2: Focus on Topspin

Focusing on topspin is crucial, not

just for the performance benefits, but as a teaching tool to refine technical checkpoints. Kids will play better with topspin, but their technique will also get better if they focus on imparting topspin—so it’s win-win! Remember that topspin must be combined with power and depth.

Principle #3: Make It Fun, But Teach Technique

A major problem in junior coaching today is that kids are entertained— but not trained enough. Kids need technical discipline, not just games or fun.

Principle #4: Determine Where the Player is on the Magician and Mechanic Scale, and Train Techniques Accordingly

Magicians are more creative, artistic type players who learn with open drills and competing in games. Mechanics are players who are analytical and benefit more from many repetitions performed in closed drills. Balanced players are somewhere in the middle. It’s important to learn your player’s learning and personality type and train accordingly.

Principle #5: Don’t Worry About Burnout

Burnout can happen but you have to take the risk and train hard. Without risk there is no reward. Let kids play as much as they want. Kids generally need thousands of quality repetitions to master their skills and become elite.

Principle #6: Worry About Injuries

Injures are dream killers. Develop efficient and safe technique and be cautious and closely monitor training loads.

Principle #7: Cross-training Multiple Spor ts is Good But Not Required

Some kids don’t like multiple sports. For kids who love tennis and only want to play tennis—that’s okay. Just make sure they have a good injury prevention and athletic training program in place to balance and train the body physically.

Principle #8: It’s Okay To Specialize Early

Every kid is different. Some kids specialize early and some later. Many prodigies in tennis specialize early. Don’t be afraid to play a lot of tennis at a young age if the player loves it and has fun on the court.

Principle #9: It’s Possible To Identify Talent

Some claim that it is impossible to identify talent in young kids, especially pre-puberty. That’s not true. You can see talent in a young kid. I look for foot speed, hand-eye coordination, power, agility, mindset, and the ability to learn, among other gifts in my players. The most underrated talent is durability—the ability to stay healthy and rebound quickly from injuries when they happen.

Principle #10: Quality Repetitions Unlock Technique Mastery

The secret to world-class technique is quality repetitions, but how to get

those repetitions is the art of coaching and learning.

Principle #11: Start With More Conser vative Grips

As the great American technical coach Robert Lansdorp once said, “Start the kids closer to an eastern grip and let them slide over to semiwestern if they must.”

Principle #12: Encourage the ATP Style Backswing But Don’t Force It

Compact backswings on the same hitting side are excellent and should be encouraged, but don’t force them. Many kids will grow out of excessive backswings, so there is no need to panic about backswings at a young age.

Principle #13: Modern Tennis is An Aerial Game and Should be Taught and Learned That Way

Jumping off the ground for shots is a major part of the modern professional game today and should be taught to young kids from the earliest lessons. Players need to understand that it’s good to leave ground on shots in a controlled fashion.

Principle #14: The OneHanded Backhand is Dead—or Almost Dead

With the number of one-handed players on tour dwindling, the onehanded backhand should probably not be taught to kids, especially girls. I’m sorry to all the onehanded fans.

Principle #15: Teach OnThe-Rise Skills Early

Taking the ball on-the-rise is very difficult and needs lots of practice. Talented little kids always get moonballed so they need to learn how to hold their ground on the baseline to beat older kids.

Conclusion

I hope these principles help inform and guide parents and coaches, and players themselves on the junior development journey. Contact me at chris@chrislewit.com with any specific junior development questions. Vamos!

Chris Lewit is a former number one for Cornell and pro circuit player. He is a highperformance coach, educator, and the author of two best-selling books: The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible. He has coached numerous top 10 nationallyranked players and is known for his expertise in building the foundations of young prodigies. Chris coaches in NYC and year-round at his high performance tennis academy in Manchester, VT, where players can live and train the Spanish Way full-time or short-term. He may be reached by phone at (914) 462-2912, e-mail Chris@chrislewit.com or visit ChrisLewit.com.

Whole Human Athlete

The Secret to Being Your Best

By Rob Polishook

What’sthe secret to being your best? How do the top pros sustain their performance tournament after tournament? Clearly, this is an important question, one worth exploring and trying to understand. With this knowledge, we could greatly improve our individual performance, coaches could better guide their students, and parents could help their kids.

As a mental training coach, I have front row seats to the challenges, adversity and obstacles that tennis players face at all levels from juniors to professionals. Many people think that if a player works harder, push’s stronger, and focuses on the prize with more intensity that that will be enough. Certainly, these elements are important, even vital. However, this doesn’t take into account the whole picture.

The mental side must be part of the equation, without it, there is an imbalance. For peak, sustained and repeatable performance, an athlete must commit to their game, focus on what they can control and bring who they are to what they do, among other things. From this place they can approach a tournament from a grounded, centered and balanced place. They can bring their personal heart, energy and spirit to the competition. Only from this place will they have the capacity to manage challenges, obstacles, adversity, pressure and the natural ups and downs in a match.

Remember a time when you watched a player who got nervous, tight, or seemingly just froze during competition. You know that “deer in the headlights” look? We wonder how this

can happen especially when the athlete has been in this situation before or performed the shot hundreds of times in practice? In fact, if we are honest with ourselves, many of us have been in that situation one time or another.

What is usually holding an athlete back is not what’s on the outside. It’s not the part that everyone can see: the athletic talents, skills and technique. Certainly, these skills can always be improved upon. However, the key is to look at the whole person, the whole human athlete. We always need to look at what’s on the inside, what’s happening below the surface of the player. Competitors are not robots, what’s on the inside affects how we play on the outside- it’s one and the same.

Sometimes issues that get in the way of performance might be: confidence, focusing on the result, worrying about what others think, or ranking pressures. Other times it might be something that is not tennis related but the player carries onto the court such as a bad test result in school, an argument with a friend, family problems, fear of a reoccurring injury, or a combination of some of these stressors. No matter what the issues, carrying this weight on your shoulders will negatively impact performance every time!

When an athlete, coach or parent doesn’t understand the synergy between the person and the athlete? There is a disconnect; they are not taking into account the multifaceted whole human athlete. Usually, it’s a fast track to performance blocks, anxiety and burnout. The player becomes unable to get the most of

themselves because they are pushing and pulling so hard that they never step back to be patient, piece things together, and reset to allow their skills to show through.

As players, coaches, and parents we must look at the whole human athlete, not solely the performer or performance in front of us. We must refocus through the lens of the athlete within the person. From this lens, we immediately see a wider perspective to what’s happening and also additional attributes which make the player unique. We see their all-important heart energy and spirit. This expanded visibility allows the athlete to utilize more tools during their performance, and for coaches, parents and fans to see the whole picture, what the player is experiencing on the inside and outside both on and off the court.

When an athlete competes, they are more than just a tennis player. Their unique energy, distinctive spirit and authentic heart are what make them the player they are. This is the foundation of any athlete’s greatness. We all have our own DNA and wiring. The key is tapping into this uniqueness, not assimilating to a one-size-fits-all mentality.

Rafael Nadal said, “Tennis isn’t who I am, it’s what I do.” His greatness starts with the person (heart, energy and spirit) and then transcends to the player (talent, skills, technique) and then the performance. The next time you compete or watch the greats remember you are a whole human athlete. Your success lies in not only bringing your talent, technique and skills but also your heart, energy and spirit. Play your game, be yourself, it’s what makes you, you!