Midwest Connection Spring 2023

Midwest Winter Forum & Midwest Winter Forum & Midwest Winter Forum & Indiana High School Tennis Indiana High School Tennis Indiana High School Tennis

Coaches

President's Message

MATT DAVIS

Hello USPTA Midwest Members,

It’s hard to believe Winter is coming to an end here in the Midwest in the next few weeks. Although, we have had snow in April before let’s cross our fingers the snow stays away. Spring weather means outside Tennis and Pickleball begin to get going again. The flowers start to bud, and racquets players start flocking to the courts.

Our USPTA Midwest Education started the year off with a bang. Last month, in Indianapolis we worked with the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association, Indiana President Tim Cleland, USPTA, and the Indianapolis Racquet Club to put on an excellent Midwest Winter Forum. There were over 200 coaches and pros in attendance for the event with two days of education and Tom Gullickson as our featured speaker. One of the highlights was the USPTA Midwest Division putting on a Pickleball social for coaches and pros. We also were able to certify 6 new USPTA Pickleball Pro’s with our tester Scott Ficks leading the way Thanks, to all of you who attended in Indiana and thanks to the Indianapolis Racquet Club for hosting us.

Speaking of Pickleball our tester Scott Ficks just completed another certification March 4th in Cleveland at the Cleveland Racquet Club, with 9 more pros’ getting certified during the weekend.

Looking ahead, in the not so distant future is our Summer Symposium! As most of you already know we will be going to downtown Cleveland this Summer, August 24th & 25th in conjunction with the Tennis in the Land tournament which is growing every year. Some of the highlights planned will be a TE3 workshop, Pickleball Certification, Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon and Speaker Presentations. We are putting the speaker list together now and will have more details soon on the Summer Symposium. I hope you will be able to attend the Summer Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Please enjoy reading our Spring Newsletter and reach out to us if you are interested in contributing to the Newsletter by writing an article on something that interests you and would benefit the membership. I hope everyone has a wonderful Spring on the courts with your students.

Finally, help us recognize your fellow USPTA professionals for their accomplishments for 2022. Complete this Midwest nomination form by April 15th and give them the credit they deserve. There is no greater honor than being recognized by your peers.

Matt Davis

USPTA Midwest President

2022/2023 Midwest Officers

President

Matt Davis • 224-247-2483 tenace4@gmail com

Regional Vice President John Frausto • 920-860-0751 johnfrausto@gmail.com

Second Vice President Cathy Thomas • 513-218-0782 cthomas6@cinci rr com

Third Vice President Matt Boughton • 715-559-3168 mboughton@ymca-cv.org

Treasurer-Secretary Chip Fazio • 313-670-3277 chipfazio@gmail com

Past President Mike Graff • 248-866-0508 mike@baselinetennis net

Executive Director Greg Aten- 330-283-5837 greg.aten@uspta.org

State Presidents

Ohio

Todd Wojtkowski • 216-905-7463 todd wojtkowski@gmail com

Wisconsin

Dan Oliver • 920-227-7005 danonhgb@aol.com

Illinois

Andrew Coon • 314-814-7959 Andrew coonstl@gmail com

Michigan

Kyle Warner • 269-207-9236 kywar8@gmail.com

Indiana TBD • USPTA World Headquarters 407-634-3050 uspta@uspta org

DENNY SCHACKTER COURT DEDICATION

By Paul MacDonald, USPTA Master Professional

Denny Schackter, USPTA Elite professional, had a court dedicated to him in a ceremony of March 18 at the ITA Men's Division 1, Indoor Team Championships at XS Tennis Village in Chicago, Illinois

XS Tennis Village “THE XS TENNIS AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION (XSTEF) MISSION IS TO PROVIDE CHICAGO’S UNDERSERVED YOUTH WITH AN ENRICHING SAFE-HAVEN AND POSITIVE PATHWAY TO COLLEGE THROUGH A COMMUNITY-BASED TENNIS AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM.”

XS has been a long supporter of grass roots tennis thru the top levels of tennis. In the last several years they have had players participating in USTA Orange, Green, and Level 7 thru National Junior Championships They also host six college teams the ITA Indoor Team Championships and several professional tournaments

Denny's court will be next to courts named after people who have had a big impact in the Chicago, Midwest and International Tennis scene like Billy Martin and Billie Jean King

Denny was honored because of his nonstop work to promote tennis in the Milwaukee, Chicago, Midwest and Nation Denny was a Men's Tennis Coach at the University of Wisconsin, a long time Wilson Tennis Representative, and a long-time tennis volunteer for the Milwaukee Tennis Foundation, the Chicago District Tennis Association, the Midwest USTA, the National USTA, and the USPTA.

Just as important is how many tennis professionals that Denny has mentored including many tennis professionals that welcomed him into the USPTA Midwest Hall of Fame.

Currently along with tennis volunteering Denny is the owner of Tennis Priorities where he is in the profession of recruiting new men and women to the profession of tennis teaching. The USPTA Midwest Division inducted Denny into their Hall of Fame in 2020.

PICKLE BALL CERTIFICATION is happening in the Midwest. There will be other certification training opportunities in May & August. You can find a date that fits your schedule here. Take advantage and maximize your USPTA membership and be a Racquet Sport Certified Professional.

Pickleball certification / Winter Forum

Pickleball certification / Winter Forum

Pickleball Certification Cleveland, OH.

Pickleball Certification OH.

PICKLEBALL SOCIAL /Winter Forum

APRIL/ 15th 19th

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2023 2023

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USPTAWebinar,Tactics-Firstapproachtocoaching,RegisterHERE 23

MAY/ 6th 7th

PickleballCertification,WI.,RegisterHERE

CardioTennisTraining,Chicago,IL. 23 CardioTennisTraining,Kohler,WI.

AUGUST/ 13th 24-25th 25th 26th

USPTAMIDWESTSUMMERSYMPOSIUM,Cleveland,OH.

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SEPTEMBER/ 16th 24 - 28th

USPTAWORLDCONFERENCE,Orlando,FL.RegisterHERE

What’s The Goal?

By Sam Kercheval, USPTA Elite Professional Volunteer Assistant Coach Men's Tennis, Notre Dame Athletics

Understanding the goals of a student is imperative to help them in their growth as a tennis player. Whether a junior or adult, beginner or experienced veteran, social cardio player or competitive league and tournament participant, a clear comprehension of the goals by both coach and student is essential. Having a conversation with your player early in your relationship when working with them is an important building block It should probably be the very first thing you do with a player after basic introductions, to ask “what are your goals in tennis?” You have to get an idea of what they are looking for to be able to start working with them and create a plan moving forward Are they a beginner and need to learn the basics including how to hold the racket and how to turn sideways? Are they someone who has hit a bit but never had a lesson and learned by trial and error or from watching YouTube? Are they wanting to have their technique corrected or do they want to keep their strokes and work on strategy? Not everyone is in it to have perfect technique and play competitive tennis Some just want to be able to hit the ball around with their spouse, kids or friends Others, want to master the skills or to win enough and move to a higher level of competition As coaches, we must know what our players are hoping to do, and it is our job to then work with them accordingly But it is also our job to help set goals for our players in order to push them With young kids and beginners in particular, they may not have any idea what types of goals they should be setting for themselves. It might be necessary for you as the coach to set sights higher because you know they are capable and need to challenge them, maybe set the bar at making 8 out of 10 serves instead of 5 out of 10 because you know hitting the fifty percent mark is too low for that player. Or maybe you need to save a player from them-

selves when they set a goal way too high and unreachable for the current level they are at. I’ve asked players before, “how many forehands in a row can we make here?” I’ve had some respond with a number that far exceeds anything they have come close to hitting so we might need to recalibrate a bit to make it challenging but also reachable. Knowing the goals of a player is also a necessary piece of information to help the coach personally. We have all been there when a student of ours has come to their lesson and clearly has not practiced what you have worked on, has not improved their technique and in some cases maybe has not even stepped foot on the court since you last saw them. This can be frustrating as a coach because it can feel like the player isn’t trying or investing in their craft after the effort we as coaches have put in. To that point, it is important to remember that it is not about us as coaches despite the time and energy we put into the players, it is about the player themselves. But understanding the goals of the student we are working with can help calibrate expectations and

alleviate frustration. If you understand that the man or woman you work with once a week has four children at home, you also realize practicing outside of the lesson might not be of interest or even possible for them given their schedule and you have more appropriate expectations of how fast they’re picking up the skills you are teaching.

Looking at any given day, we as teaching professionals and coaches all likely have a wide variety of clients and may teach them in a single day. For example, my Mondays always include a private lesson with a philosophy professor who is a solid 3.5 player in the morning. In the early afternoon, we have team practice with top NCAA Division I players who have been nationally ranked and some who have ATP points to their name. Immediately following that I teach a class of 24 red ballers, 4-8 year olds followed by our highest level clinic of middle and high school players, many of whom are varsity and tournament level players That is quite the spread in ability and more importantly, of engagement and training Because I know the goals of each of the players at all levels, I can set my plans before stepping foot on the court and be ready to pour everything I have into the lesson with appropriate expectations of performance and measures of success Without that, it would be easy to go from coaching my college players who strike a very good forehand to teaching young kids where making contact on forehands is sometimes a challenge and get frustrated by the kid missing a few times in a row But having a clear understanding of the goals ultimately allows us to engage with everyone we teach and clearly see points of success we can celebrate with our players Knowing the goal(s) is critical for us as coaches to know and have communicated with our players Having clarity from both the player’s and coach’s side will allow you to create more effective and targeted lesson plans to help them achieve what they want

HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE

OHIO, INDIANA & MICHIGAN OHIO, & MICHIGAN OHIO, INDIANA & MICHIGAN

HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE HIGH SCHOOL COACHES CONFERENCE

OHIO, INDIANA & MICHIGAN OHIO, INDIANA & MICHIGAN OHIO, INDIANA & MICHIGAN

Singles Strategy for HS Players

Nicholas Bennett, USPTA Elite Professional

During the Indiana High School Coaches Conference, Nicholas Bennett presented several singles strategies to help high school tennis players These drills can be some of the most effective drills players can use to help them perform their best on the court.

In drills 1 and 2, Bennett discussed the importance of depth. By hitting the ball deep to your opponent, it gives them less opportunity to attack you, and often times gives you a shorter ball to attack. He focused on the “Percentage Posts” These posts are the target areas where players should aim most of their balls too. They give players the most margin for error and also will help players hit with depth. He continued to focus on depth using Oncourt Offcourt’s Airzone System. The Airzone system is an additional net above the normal net for tennis Players practiced not only hitting higher over the net but also continued to try to hit each ball to the Percentage Post that Bennett asked them to. An additional option would be tying a helium balloon to the net

Drill 3 continued with groundstrokes and the Wardlaw Directionals. These are patterns of play that players can follow which are the highest percentage shots in tennis He discussed the difference between outside versus inside shots and when players should change direction. He also discussed the importance of where to position yourself to bisect the shot and the possibility of your opponent.

In his last drill, Bennett discussed the importance of practicing hitting the return deep down the middle of the court. Especially against a fast serve. By hitting the return deep down the middle, players can either be early or late, but still have a chance to make the ball in the court due to the location you are trying to hit. With slower serves, he recommends following the directional patterns from above (outside vs inside)

For video explanations, a link to the presentation or conference material, please reach out to Nick at nick@matchpoint10s com

Teaching Strokes;

Helping Seasonal Players with the Basics

John Frausto, USPTA Elite Professional, Cathy Thomas, USPTA Elite Professional

By Dan Oliver USPTA Elite Professional

John Frausto and Cathy Thomas, both USPTA Elite Professionals, gave an informative presentation called “Teaching Strokes; Helping Seasonal Players with the Basics” at the Indianapolis High School Coaching Conference. This presentation expertly covered exactly how to make new and beginning students successful right away and keep them in the game of tennis.

The presentation progressed from going over the grips, contact points, body positioning, and ball placement for strokes in this order: forehands, two-hand backhands, volleys, then serves. Each stroke included drilling and practicing at a slow speed so the student could get the feel of how to find the ball. This progression aimed to make the students successful from the beginning.

Finding Happiness Teaching Tennis

By Barbara Wynne

Barbara Wynne gave an engaging presentation called “Finding Happiness Teaching Tennis” at the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Conference Prior to her on court presentation Tim Cleland, President of IHSTeCA, rewarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to Barbara for all she has contributed to tennis in Indiana during her career Barbara is the epitome of a local tennis supporter and trailblazer in Indianapolis Just a few highlights from her dedicated tennis background include founding the Northside Tennis Program on a backyard court, which has grown into the Indianapolis Community Tennis Program as well as teaching tennis at the Indianapolis Racquet Club for more than five decades Barbara has organized tournaments, served on boards, volunteered, and raised funds just to name a few ways she has helped grow the sport of tennis in the Midwest.

Barbara’s passion for helping tennis players and her community shined through during her presentation. Barbara collaborated with three local junior players to demonstrate various drills one player aged six, one player aged 13, and one player aged 16. Barbara emphasized the importance and joy of mentoring young players at every level.

Dan Oliver, USPTA Elite Professional, Fox Cities Racquet Club, Applewood, Wisconsin

Dan Oliver, USPTA Elite Professional

OHIO Coaches Clinic, 2/25-2/26

By Dwight Taylor, USPTA

Hello USPTA members!

We just wrapped up the 57th Annual OTCA Coaches Clinic and USPTA Midwest event at the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, just outside of Cleveland We would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who attended.

This event covered a wide variety of challenges and opportunities to exchange knowledge with some of the best tennis coaches in the Midwest – bringing value to coaches and their players at every level of the game. Topics ranged from innovative drill demonstrations and doubles strategies for today’s coaching styles by Katie Orlando and Adam Ford to discussions from Craig O’Shannessy about injecting positivity and a focus on skills and successes rather than what is missing from players to help encourage and motivate them to reach their full potential We even covered some of the less commonly addressed challenges of the game; the mental and emotional demands, as well as speed & quickness, that players face, with tremendous presentations from Ramona Husaro, Melvin Hodge, and Alla Kudryavsteva on how to prevent and support players before they get to an emotional breaking point.

Also, during the event, was the 57th Annual Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony. Our very own Greg Aten (USPTA Midwest Executive Director, coach at Hathaway Brown High School) and Janet Disbennett (coach at Chillicothe High School) were inducted into the OTCA Hall of Fame for 2023. Congratulations Greg and Janet!

We cannot wait to see what exciting things are in store for the next event and hope to see you there!

USPTA MIDWEST DIVISION NEWSLETTER ADVERTISEMENT –SUMMER, FALL, WINTER, SPRING

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TO ADVERTISE: Please send the form below with payment to:

Greg Aten PHONE: 330-283-5837

USPTA Midwest Division E-MAIL: greg.aten@uspta.org

361 Lake of the Woods Blvd.

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Make checks payable to: USPTA Midwest Division.

Please send ad as PDF or JPG to greg.aten@uspta.org.

Deadlines:

June 10th (Summer), October 10th (Fall), December 10th (Winter), March 10th (Spring)

MIDWESTTRAININGCOURSES

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Midwest Cardio Tennis @ Western Athletic Club, Cincinnati, OH.

JOBPOSTINGS

The Lake Forest Club is seeking a full-time professional to serve as the Head Racquets Professional beginning in April of 2023

About The Club - The Lake Forest Club was established in 1958 and serves the community as family-oriented gathering place for friends, neighbors to recreate, dine and socialize We offer members a premier and professional destination for racquets (tennis, platform tennis, pickleball), aquatics (multiple pools, swim team), and full-service dining (restaurant, bar, banquets) In it’s 64 years of existence, established itself as one of the North Shore’s preeminent swim, racquet and social clubs The LFC states its founding mission: “ …to offer its members, great recreational activities and it does so first as a sporting club.”

The Racquets Program - The Lake Forest Club has a large and active racquets program that plays on 12 har-tru tennis courts, 4 platform tennis courts and 2 pickleball courts. LFC has a very active adult program that has 12 ladies teams that play in the NSWPTL, 12 men ’ s teams that play in the CPTC and 8 ladies teams that play in the NSWTL With over 300 hundred families the junior program is also very active

About The Position - The Head Racquets Professional is a year-round position assisting and leading in tennis, platform tennis and pickleball programs, lessons and events The position will have administrative responsibilities and will report directly to the Director of Racquet Sports

Responsbilities will include but are not limited to: managing part-time staff, directing programs in tennis, platform tennis and pickleball, assisting in member communications, coordinating club events, private lessons and instruction.

A successful candidate will be career oriented, charismatic personality, playing ability at least a 5 0 or nationally ranked level and teaching experience in racquet sports U S P T A and P T R certifications for tennis, platform tennis and pickleball are preferred but not mandatory.

The position includes a competitive compensation package that includes a base salary and lesson revenue

Interested candidates should contact Jason Love (Director of Racquet Sports) by March 31st with a resume, cover letter and letters of recommendation.

Jason Love

Jason love@lakeforestclub com

Director of Racquet Sports Lake Forest Club

Position Title: Tennis Professional

Location: Mercy HealthPlex Anderson

Type: Part time

Summary: Our facility is managed by Power Wellness Management, a company that specializes in managing state-of-the-art medically integrated health and fitness centers Power Wellness is a medical fitness industry pioneer who improves the lives of clients with a unique and customized approach to medical fitness center development and management The part time Tennis Professional would be asked to teach group lessons, private lessons, and assisting with special events

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 1 Provide beginning through advanced instruction (private and group) for all levels of players 2 Design and implement tennis lesson plans 3 Properly evaluate students for placement in lesson groups or leagues 4 Organize and run competitive tennis events and tournaments 5 Assist members with ball machine use and other tennis equipment needs 6 Attend all scheduled and required meetings 7. Assist with sale of pro shop items 8. Program Development: a. Assist in developing and coordinating member retention activities. b. Maintain accurate records for classes 9. Assist with tennis court cleanliness and general maintenance 10 Enforce club policies and rules and assist with promotional activities and events 11 Participate in Company's HIPAA and related training 12 Other duties as assigned

Qualifications: • Minimum 4.0 player ability and/or collegiate player required • PTR or USPTA certification or minimum 3 years of experience preferred • Ability to string rackets preferred • Knowledgeable of various types of local league play, especially USTA • Ability to walk or stand for a minimum of one hour without sitting • Ability to lift or carry objects weighing up to 45 pounds • Ability to demonstrate tennis stroke production and technique • CPR/AED certification required within 90 days of hire (provided by Power Wellness) • Must possess excellent inter-personal and communication skills, and the ability to work with members in a positive, service based manner.

~Highlights: Our facility has 6 indoor courts; 2 racquetball courts; 2 basketball courts; spinning studio; Barre studio; yoga studio; 6 lap lane pool – 25metre; warm water therapy pool; full service men ’ s and women ’ s locker room with whirlpool, sauna and steam rooms; Massage therapy; Child sitting services.

Upon hire employee will receive full complimentary membership. Employees will also receive 20% off select services provided

~Part time position can lead to full time position if candidate is interested in becoming Full Time at a later date

~Teaching Professionals can vary from $15 -$35 per hour based on teaching experience, certification and playing background. ~Off court bonus pay can be applied to projects as assigned by Tennis Manager on an as needed basis Rate is currently $10 per hour (off court)

For more information contact: Linda Stafford, Lvbstafford@MercyHealthplex com