SEPTEMBER 2019
LINE CALLS USPTA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
President's Message Mike Van Zutphen
Tracy Austin, featured speaker
And just like that, the kids are back in school and while the weather is definitely not cool and crisp, we are swinging into the fall season. Here in southern California that means busy days on the courts with league play, junior clinics, adult socials and for many of us, lots of tournaments. This is a great time to refresh your ideas, programming and teaching strategies. What better way to do that than to attend your division conference? October 19-20 is approaching quicker than we think so get registered today! The speaker line-up is complete and registration is open. This year we will welcome USPTA CEO, John Embree and USTA-U Managing Director, Scott Schultz for a Town Hall Meeting. During this time on Sunday, John and Scott will explain the new accreditation process beginning in 2020. They will be able to address any concerns and answer all of your questions. Registration is all done on-line and the details can be found by clicking on the registration link at the top of the page. The World Conference is yet another great warm up for the busy season ahead. Fun and education in Vegas begin on September 22 and continue thru September 26. Everything will be held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. This year we will host the southern California division party on Tuesday, September 24 at Top Golf Las Vegas from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Please join your fellow professionals for food, drink, golf and FUN at one of Vegas' most exciting attractions! All of the details, including registration, for the World Conference can be found on the poker chip at the bottom of the page. Looking forward to seeing you in Vegas and again here in Huntington Beach.
DISTRICT NEWS
District 1: Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties District President: Karl Akkerman 805-302-7523 ka10s@verizon. net
District 1 Happenings KARL AKKERMAN
District 1 will host an event for members on October 28 where John Austin, our very own So Cal USPTA Member in Los Angeles at the Mulholland Tennis Club where he is the Director of Tennis. He is going to share Programing Ideas for Clubs and thoughts about how to be an effective Director of Tennis. These ideas and thoughts that may help you in your club or perhaps help you get that top position at your club for proposing this ideas if your club is not doing so. You will also get to score some educational points as well.
We are going to start the day with a small warm up hitting some golf balls followed by a short 9 holes of golf at Los Robles Greens in Thousand Oaks (right off the 101). It will be a fun format, so if you have never hit a ball before, you can still contribute on each hole. John Austin will give us his years of wisdom while we eat lunch in their conference room. District 1 will pick up the tab for the rental clubs if you do not have a set. USPTA will pay for the round of golf and lunch. Laughs are no extra charge and the networking is priceless. Hope you can all make it. You have to reserve in advance to let the starter know how many foursomes to hold for us that morning. Send a quick email to ka10s@verizon.net to reserve your spot. Hope to see you at either the National World conference in Las Vegas, our So Cal conference, or my golf and educational day with John Austin. Lots to do the end of this year to get those educational points. If you are not an elite Pro, please seriously consider upgrading before 2020 so you don’t have to log in 1500 hours to keep your certification. Call me if you need additional information on this topic.
DISTRICT NEWS
District 2: San Fernando Valley & Kern County
District President: Desi McBride 661-904-6236 desi@thepaseo club.com
District 2 Happenings As summer winds down, we get a chance to recover from our peak season. I hope you all did well financially and I hope you take a moment to realize how many lives you have made such a positive impact on. I hear pros all the time bragging about their star juniors and I love hearing how invested the pros are with these juniors. This is just the tip of the iceberg!
Think of your adults and juniors that simply play for fun. I would guess that your lessons are the highlight of their week. Most of their week, they are concerned and working for others. This is their chance to do something just for themselves! Then there are the juniors who still may not have found out what it’s like to have a passion for something. Your patience and guidance are so needed and critical to their growth as people. They may never say anything but they value your lessons and relationships more than you could even imagine! We are so lucky to have jobs we can make a good living at and be in such healthy, positive, enjoyable environments! Upcoming Events October 19, 20 - USPTA So Cal Convention November 11 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Pros Get Together at The Malibu Racquet Club
DISTRICT NEWS
District 3: Los Angeles & Immediate Suburbs , Beach Cities (Malibu to Marina del Rey)
District President: Julio Rivera 949-874-4513 julriv658@gma il.com
District 3 Happenings Hey folks get ready because November 2nd & 3rd at the infamous Venice Beach Paddle courts are the US Open Pop Tennis national tournament. Doesn’t matter if you call it paddle, pop or pop paddle. All divisions are welcome. There is cash prize money for doubles open and mixed open. So if you’re a beginner or a season pro there will be a category for you. Also TBD, we are working on dates this fall to have our very own USPTA pop paddle mixer on the very same courts. Check out @poptennis on Instagram for more information. See you all in Vegas and back here in October for the southern California conference.
DISTRICT NEWS
District 4: South Bay to North Orange County (Including Fullerton & Huntington Beach District President: John Carrizosa 310-375-1222 johncarrizosa @yahoo.com
District 4 Happenings Greetings to all Pro’s in District 4! Summer is gone and everyone is back from vacation, ready to start their regular schedule. High school tennis for some, regular lesson or workout times for others, and also USTA teams are firing up. I’ve got 3 tennis tips that should help every one of us as professional coaches.
#1. If you can get away and get to the USPTA World Conference September 22-26 in Las Vegas ...DO IT! Some of the biggest names in coaching will be there: Andre Agassi, Jorge Capestany, Jeff Salzenstein, and Sarah Stone to name a few. Not only will you earn 10 continuing education credits, you’re going to IMPROVE your coaching! #2. If you can’t make the World Conference in Las Vegas, our Southern California Conference is coming up October 19-20th at the SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington Beach. Tracy Austin will be there discussing her tennis-playing family and doing an on-court presentation. Mark Bey will be presenting; Mark has worked with the Bryan brothers. If you want to learn how to teach the serve more effectively, John Craig will help you... Guaranteed! Do you want to build a better and bigger tennis program at your school, club or park? David Smith has done it for decades! He will show you how! Let’s get better and more professional and set the standard of high level coaching in Southern California . #3. Watch The Ball! Ever heard that one? Of course... here’s another way to look at it... when your opponent strikes the ball of course you want to watch the ball , but Really Focus on it as the ball bounces ...because everything happens as the ball bounces . After the hit, The ball almost becomes irrelevant . Watch your opponent as they are about to hit the ball, are they balanced ?lined up ready to crush it? Then you better split-step and be ready to run and go get it. Or are they off-balance? Are they reaching? Are they stretching? Are they jammed? Then be ready to move forward and attack. Watch the ball, but watch your opponent also!
DISTRICT NEWS
District 4: East LA County & North Orange County, San Bernadino & Riverside Counties District President: Evan Parry 951-694-2408 evanmparry@g mail.com
District 5 Happenings The USPTA World Conference is less than a month away! Please register and participate in some amazing seminars, networking, and more, with one of the best speaker lineups yet! Our division conference is also right around the corner on October 19th and 20th at SeaCliff Country Club. Registration is live now so register today! The link is on the next page.
Multiple teaching pros in District 5 have partnered with Recycle Balls, a non profit company that aims to recycle and reuse every tennis ball in the United States. iTennis Riverside has recycled nearly 1500 tennis balls so far! Check out their website to see how your club or tennis program can partner with them (www.recycleballs.org). Congrats to teaching pro, Scott Dickey, Director of Tennis at Murrieta Tennis Club! His Men’s 4.5 team won the Socal Sectionals last month- well done guys! They will compete soon at nationals later in the year. iPickle Director and USPTA Pro, George Avery, will be hosting a Pickleball Open House at Andulka Park Tennis Center in October. Contact evan@andulkatennis.com for more details in the weeks to come. *Please submit any updates from your area by the 10th of each month to Evan Parry at evan@andulkatennis.com so they can be included in the monthly newsletter*
DISTRICT NEWS
District 6: South Orange County (from Anaheim & Newport Beach) District President: John Craig 949-278-7704 jsctennis@gm ail.com
District 6 Happenings Professional Dominates Orange County Summer Tennis Scene! Hard to believe we are looking back at the Summer of 2019‌it went quick, but not without a lot of great tennis played here in Orange County! World Team Tennis The Orange County Breakers of World Team Tennis provided a summer season of tennis entertainment at the Palisades Tennis Club. Lead by Coach Rick Leach with team members including Eugenie Bouchard, Victoria Azarenka and Steve Johnson, the breakers finished up their season with a 6 - 8 record. The Breakers will return for their 17th season in Newport Beach in 2020.
Michael Chang Tennis Classic and Exhibition: In addition to being a husband and father of 3, and the coach of Kei Nishikori, Michael Chang finds tie to give back to tennis! The annual Michael Chang Tennis Classic remains one of the most popular Adult and Junior Tournaments here in Southern California. The event raises money for the Chang Foundation (CFF), which was established with the support of the Chang Family in 1999. CFF is a natural extension of the Chang Family’s core values and an affirmation of their commitment to community service. This year’s tournament boasted over 1,000 Adult and Junior Tennis players competing at multiple venues throughout Orange County. The event also featured the annual exhibition featuring Kei Nishikori, Mardy Fish, James Blake and Orange County’s very own Steve Johnson! The Michael Chang Tennis Classic and Exhibition is a terrific event! Mark your calendars for the Summer of 2020!
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Leadership Profile-Dennis Claus: Here in Orange County, we have vibrant tennis community featuring charity tournaments, special events, fundraisers and much more. More often than not, you will find Dennis Claus as the key person leading the way! No one has done more for tennis in Orange County (and for so long) as Dennis! High School Coach: Dennis began his high school coaching career began in the fall of 1991 at Foothill High School. From the fall of 1991 to the fall of 1995 he coached both girls and boys varsity tennis at Foothill High School in North Tustin. He was named High School “Coach of the Year”, by the Orange County Register for the 1994-1995 season. The 2019-2020 school year will mark his 26th tennis season at Foothill High School! Tournament Director: In 1989, Dennis began what has become an enduring contribution to tennis with meaningful fundraisers and charity events. Dennis became the assistant tournament director for the Vic Braden Children’s Hospital Padrinos Charity Tennis Classic, and became the Tournament Director in 1993. In 1994 and in 1995 he was the tournament chairman working closely with Vic Braden. The tournament became the largest charity tennis event in California with over 1500 participants. He was also the tournament director from 1996 to 2003. In 1995, he was also the tournament chairman of a 2nd CHOC charity tennis event, CHOC “Lite”. In 1990, Dennis helped establish the Orange County Grand Prix Championship Tennis Tour. The ten tournament series is the largest adult tournament series in California. The Gran Prix runs Southern California Tennis Events, the largest charity tennis tournament in California, and for 15 years have run a tour event in Mexico. In 1996, Dennis Co-Founded the Orange County Community Tennis Association. The OCCTA was founded to help grow the game of tennis, assist with inner-city tennis programs, become a clearing house and forum for tennis ideas throughout Orange County, and help create a strong after school tennis program. Now an advisory board member, Dennis is committed to creating opportunities grow tennis. Since 1990, Dennis has been affiliated with the Adoption Guild Charity Tournament, the Pie-in-the-Sky Charity Tennis Tournament, the Top Gun Tournament, and the Aliah Sweet Fragile Hearts Foundation celebrity pro am tennis event. He has assisted with consulting, ratings, seeding and draws for these events and was also a Consultant, draw and seeding committee member for the Mammoth Open Tennis Tournament in Mammoth Lakes, California. He also founded the Big Bear Open in Big Bear, California and for the past 15 years have been the Tournament Director/Chairman of the Grand Prix Tennis series tour event in Mexico. In 2004, Dennis founded the Queen of Hearts Charity Tennis Tournament which is now the largest charity tennis event in California. This tournament has raised nearly one million dollars for Ovarian Cancer Research at University of California, Irvine.
The Player: As a player, Dennis has won the 5.5 Mixed Doubles in the Children’s Hospital and Top Gun Tournaments, twice the Century Mixed Doubles Champion in the Queen of Hearts Charity Tournament, and has won numerous other events. In 1992 he was ranked number one in Southern California Open Grand Prix. Dennis was also fortunate to be on a 5.0 men’s USTA sectional championship team. In addition to all of these outstanding contributions, Dennis is simply an all-around “great guy”. He has grown tennis through his vision, energy, and love of the sport! Thank you, Dennis!
Tip of the Month: Develop great touch at the net: In this lesson, USPTA Elite Professional John Craig works with Elite Pro and former top 100 player Jeff Salzenstein, to develop his touch and feel at the net