Your 2020 Guide to Court Builders and Suppliers

Century Tennis 56 Brook Avenue Deer Park, N.Y. (631) 242-0220 CenturyTennis.com Since 1965, Century Tennis has been dedicated to the growing sport of tennis by building quality tennis courts and providing a specialized service to the tennis club industry, as well as the private community. By maintaining a high-quality of service and customer satisfaction over the years comes a trust that is ever so hard to attain.

“We simply want to be the best at what we do.” In order to build great tennis courts, you have to start at the bottom with an understanding of soil conditions and converting it to a good base. Laser-controlled road graders enable Century Tennis to build with accuracy.

Building Post-Tensioned Concrete, instead of the old asphalt type courts, are proving to be a great alternative for “crack-free” tennis courts.

Whether it is a hard court with the softness of Deco-Turf or Classic Turf Rubber or whether it is a soft court like HarTru or Hydro Court, or a surface that offers a little of both like Nova Synthetic Turfs … Century Tennis can deliver. The company is a member of the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI). Century Tennis’ building techniques meet and or exceed those of the ASBA and the USTA and with its “Certified Tennis Court Builder” staff assures this quality. The company’s intention is to deliver the very best tennis courts for the most demanding players and tennis club owners.

“Expanding the game of tennis, one court at a time.”

Har-Tru LLC 2200 Old Ivy Road, Suite 100 Charlottesville, Va. (877) 4-HARTRU HarTru.com

Har-Tru, LLC is a global tennis company based in Charlottesville, VA. It is the world’s leading one-stop shop for tennis court surfaces, tennis court consultation, court equipment and accessories. The company strives to help others build and maintain the best courts in the world, leveraging its products, knowledge, and experience to most effectively meet the needs of each customer. Har-Tru stays active in the in the industry as an advocate for the sport and a sponsor of tennis related activities.”

The Farley Group–Air-Supported Structures 6 Kerr Crescent Puslinch, Ontario, Canada (888) 445-3223 TheFarleyGroup.com

The Farley Group has installed more than 20 tennis bubbles in the New York City and Long Island areas, helping tennis facilities extend their season into the winter months. For seasonal or permanently installed tennis bubbles, The Farley Group is your number one source for quality, service and dependability.

As a manufacturer, supplier, installer and service provider of air-supported structures, The Farley Group works with you from conception to implementation and beyond. The company’s philosophy is built around the belief that a customer never leaves The Farley Group—from project planning and installation to ongoing service and maintenance—we become a trusted member of your team. The company’s expert staff of sales consultants, designers and highly-skilled production and service professionals are well-experienced in all facets of air structure technology, ready to help you through every phase of your tennis bubble project.

VelveTop Products 1455 New York Avenue Huntington Station, N.Y. (631) 427-5904 Velvetop.com VelveTop Products is a family-owned and operated business since 1968. VelveTop is a stocking distributor of a full line of tennis court materials and equipment, including:

l Deco Turf: The Cushioned Tennis Surface of Champions l Har-Tru: Developing Champions Since 1932 l Douglas Sports: Nets, Windscreens, Divider Nets l RiteWay Crack Repair Systems l Deep Root: Tree Root Barriers l Hadeka Red Clay

For more information, call (631) 427-5904, e-mail BWalsh@VelveTop.com or visit VelveTop.com.

Mastering the Mind Mindfulness at 125 MPH ... Part Two

By Rob Polishook

Mindfulness and sports go hand in hand. Look no further than George Mumford’s classic book, The Mindful Athlete, and Jerry Lynch’s newest book, Win the Day. Both authors speak to how mindfulness is helpful. If you think about it, beyond the score, the game is all about adversity management, emotional energy management and managing what you can control. Meditation is a great tool for all of this.

In his book, 8 Minute Meditation, Victor Davich simply answers the oft asked question: “Why should I meditate?” Davich says, “It’s common sense, when you are relaxed and in an allowing state, you are less mentally agitated.” This is certainly a good thing for tennis players and all athletes in competition. Maybe this is why players such as Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Bianca Andreescu, and others use some type of meditation practices.

So what happens if you don’t incorporate some type of meditation into your training? In my experience working with tennis players of all ages and levels, it’s a definite disadvantage, like trying to take a tree down without a saw! In a recent New York Times article about Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open Winner, Rick Macci, one of her childhood coaches, emphasized the

importance of the mental game: “It’s not always about how big, strong and super fast you are, it’s what’s under the hood.” The following are three match situations that actual clients of mine have approached me with, and by incorporating a meditation practice, they were able to improve, get less agitated and ultimately see their way

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through the challenge.

The first client was always screaming at herself, “OMG, I can’t believe this!?” or worse, “I suck, how can I be so bad?” Clearly, both of these forms of negative self-talk are not helpful and usually lead to a downward spiral. Meditation taught her to be more patient and kind to herself. The second client shared with me that he loses focus on things he cannot control, ie. weather, line calls, the opponent, or thinking about the result. Meditation helped him to recognize these thoughts as a loss of focus. Through this awareness, he was able to refocus on what he could control.

The third client would lose matches which she was capable of winning. She would come off the court and have no idea what happened other than knowing the score. Through conversation, we recognized that she allowed her opponents to dictate the match and use their style of play. For example, if an opponent didn’t hit with

any pace, she stopped playing her normally assertive/aggressive game style. If an opponent hit a lot of loopy shots, she allowed herself to get pushed back beyond the baseline. Meditation helped her become better aware of her strengths and individual game style, and then how to bring this style to the court. Through the practice, she became more comfortable playing her game and not playing tentative or defaulting to her opponent’s style.

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us can relate to these three situations. In the heat of the moment things seem to speed up. What’s key is that we need to take a step back and not get caught up in what we cannot control. The good news is that meditation is a useful tool to circumvent challenges like the three mentioned. It’s free and not hard, but requires dedicated and consistent practice, five to ten minutes a day. It’s a great way to relax, release and reset. In next month’s article, I will outline the key steps for an athlete to begin a meditation practice. But for now, try this: Find a spot where you are comfortable and won’t be distracted. With your eyes half-open, gaze forward. Bring your attention to your breath as your mind wanders (it will!), label it thinking and bring it back to attention on your breath. Do this for five minutes a day.

Until next month, breathe on!

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with athletes helping them to unleash their mental edge through mindfulness, somatic psychology and mental training skills. Rob is the author of two best-selling books:Tennis Inside the Zone and Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, or following on Instagram @insidethezone.