USPTA Texas Winter/Conference Edition by RSPA

The Official Publication of the USPTA Texas Division Winter/Conference 2023/24

Here We Go! USPTA TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 8 – 11, 2024 OMNI LAS COLINAS HOTEL | IRVING, TEXAS

2024 ANNUAL Inside... CONFERENCE INFO.

SPEAKERS

SCHEDULE

2023 HIGHLIGHTS

A Message from President, Matt Watson First and foremost…I want to wish all of you and your families TM

an incredibly Happy, Safe and Blessed holiday season. As 2023 comes to a close we are now preparing for an exciting 2024 and our upcoming February conference which will include welcoming our new board leadership who will no doubt continue to lead USPTA Texas toward great accomplishments. In case you missed it, USPTA Texas once again won USPTA

PRESIDENT Matt Watson 8407 Crooked Trail Tyler, Texas 75703 matt@hollytreecc.com REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Craig Bell 5201 Westgrove Drive Dallas, Texas 75248 972-931-4950 cbell1360@aol.com 1st VICE PRESIDENT Mel McRee 3400 Mesa Road Lubbock, Texas 79403 806-786-2660 Mel@lubbockcc.org 2nd VICE PRESIDENT Kelly Marshall 2510 Onion Creek Parkway Austin, Texas 78747 kmarshall@onioncreekclub.com 3rd VICE PRESIDENT Adrien Chabria 5712 Palo Pinto Ave. Dallas, TX 75206 214-232-5237 ajchabria@me.com SECRETARY Michelle Stallard 3500 Woodhaven Drive Midland, Texas 79707 512-924-7097 michellestallardhome@gmail.com TREASURER Ernie Abraham 13765 Southern Oaks Dr. Burleson, Texas 76028 817-980-9374 abrahamernie@yahoo.com PAST PRESIDENT Jenny Gray 901 Sonterra Blvd San Antonio. Texas 78258 512-930-3783 jgray@clubatsonterra.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tosha Smith 8003 Greenslope Dr. Austin, TX 78759 512-848-0598 tosha.smith@uspta.org

Large Division of the Year in 2023. Our Executive Director, Tosha Smith, deserves huge applause for organizing and submitting our 200+ page application which included all of the many events, activities, workshops, newsletters etc. USPTA Texas executes throughout the year. Tosha continues to be an incredible representative for us, and we are thrilled to have her on our team. Kelly Marshall continues to do an outstanding job as our Head Pickleball Professional Testing Certifier and is leading the nation in USPTA pickleball certifications in 2023. This is an integral part in growing our membership in Texas and she is doing an amazing job. Sarah Flood and Tom Ingram have been training, learning, and preparing as our new USPTA Texas Coach Developers and will be testing our new tennis professional applicants. We are confident having our own division testers will help expedite the process and assist in getting our applicants through the pipeline and into the organization in a timelier manner. Membership growth and retention continues to be a top priority for the board. The USPTA Texas Adult Team Championships are right around the corner January 19-21 in Houston. Jenny Gray continues to do an amazing job organizing this massive event held at multiple facilities throughout Houston and we look forward to a fun weekend of competition. Thank you to all our volunteers who will be helping run this very important event for our organization. AJ Chabria, our USPTA Education Chair, has been remarkably busy lining up our speakers for our 2024 USPTA Texas Conference at the Omni Las Colinas February 9-11. Be sure to register for this informative and fun weekend with fellow professionals from around the state. Conferences are also an excellent way to network – a very important piece of being successful you cannot truly achieve on the computer. We will once again be providing a wide range of topics to cover all aspects of our industry. As a reminder, the Dallas Open will be Feb. 5-11 and encourage our pros to support and attend this great event featuring some of the best tennis players in the world. As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, my term as presidency is coming to an end and I want to reiterate my gratitude that you have allowed me to serve you these past four years. It has been extremely fulfilling to try and give back to something that has given me so much. I am looking forward to the next chapter and will certainly stay very involved with our great organization!

Regards, Matt S. Watson, USPTA Elite Professional

DATES that

RATE

JANUARY 19 -21

USPTA Texas Adult League Championships Various Indoor Facilities (Houston)

FEBRUARY 8 - 10

USPTA Level 2 Tennis Certification Workshop Las Colinas Country Club (Irving)

8 - 11

USPTA Texas Annual Convention Omni Las Colinas (Irving)

USPTA Pickleball Certification Workshop Las Colinas Country Club (Irving)

USPTA TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY 8 – 11, 2024 OMNI LAS COLINAS HOTEL | IRVING, TEXAS The Omni Las Colinas Hotel is a great property in Irving, Texas. It is conveniently located to numerous restaurants and sporting venues.

Make your room reservations by Tuesday, January 16, 2024, to receive a discounted rate of $205 per night by using the following reservation link: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/dallas-las-colinas/meetings/usta-uspta-texas-annual-meeting--02072024

2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INFORMATION

When: February 8th- 11th, 2024 Where: Omni Las Colinas Hotel 221 East Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, Texas 75039 Click on the link below to reserve your room at a rate of $205 a night HotelLink: https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/dallas-las-colinas/meetings/usta-uspta-texas-annual-meeting--02072024

USPTA Member Pre-registration: Includes all social functions, seminars, and the USPTA specialty course. • Register before January 28th - $165 • Register before February 4th - $175 • Register after February 4th- $190 NEW USPTA member (Since March 2023) • FREE- Includes all social functions, seminars, and the USPTA specialty course Non-USPTA Teaching Pros: Includes social functions, seminars, and the USPTA specialty course (doesn’t include Friday Luncheon) • Register before January 28th- $215 • Register after January 28th- $245 Spouse & guest registration (does not include Friday Business Lunch) • $85 Name of spouse/guest USPTA Pickleball Certification on Sunday from 8am- 12pm- additional registration and fee required Pickleball Certification Registration: Display event - Pickleball Certification https://www.uspta.com/uspta/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=PKL0211TX be sure to login first Contact Tosha Smith with questions at 512-848-0598 or tosha.smith@uspta.org

Click link to register for the conference: TM

https://www.uspta.com/uspta/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=DCONFTX24A

be sure to login first

2024 USPTA TEXAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE

OMNI LAS COLINAS HOTEL | IRVING, TEXAS

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE Thursday FEBRUARY 8TH 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

USPTA Texas Division Conference Registration

2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

USPTA Specialty Course – Doubles: The Most Important Positions, Movement, and Tactics for All Levels- Gregory Prudhomme

6:00p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

USPTA Texas Division Board of Directors Meeting

Friday FEBRUARY 9TH 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

USPTA Texas Division Conference Registration

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Communicate in Ways Which Resonate- Craig Bell & Adrien Chabria

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Mental Toughness: How & What to Coach- Gregory Prudhomme

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Are you a Millionaire? Why Not? Principals to Increase & Accelerate your Financial Success - Patrick Fontana

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

USPTA Texas General Membership Meeting Luncheon Hosted by Mel McRee, USPTA Texas President, USPTA National Update- Jenny Gray, Vice President USPTA National Board of Directors. Sponsored by the Fort Worth Professional Tennis Association

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Keeping your Events Fresh & Relevant- Matt Bacon

2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Some Keys to a Successful Tennis Program- Michelle Stallard

3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Pickleball Programming & Event Ideas- Kelly Marshall

6:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m.

USPTA Texas & USTA Texas Happy Hour Reception

7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

USPTA Texas & USTA Texas Dinner

Saturday FEBRUARY 10TH 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

USPTA Texas Division Conference Registration

8:15 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Details & Updates for the Win- Beverly Bowes

9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Intentional Culture- Jack Newman

10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Identifying Positive & Negative Patterns, and How to Capitalize or Break Them- Matt Bacon

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

USPTA Texas & USTA Texas Awards Luncheon

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Doubles Drills from A- Z- Otis Sadler

3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Teaching Pickleball for Tennis Pros- Mel McRee

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

USPTA Social Event

Sunday

FEBRUARY 11TH

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

USPTA Pickleball Certification – Kelly Marshall (separate registration required for this)

USPTA Texas

Annual Conference 2024 Featured Speakers JACK NEWMAN Coach Jack Newman is known as one of the finest and longest-tenured junior development coaches in the nation. He founded programs at Fretz Tennis Center in Dallas, at St. Stephen’s School in Austin, and finally, the Austin Tennis Academy. Coach Newman serves as ATA’s CEO as well as one of the lead coaches. He has assembled an amazing coaching team at the Austin Tennis Academy. Coach Newman is a USPTA Master Professional and was one of the first US coaches to be certified as a HighPerformance coach by the USTA. Coach Newman is a primary coach to Academy players, but also takes on the larger role of leading practice, developing curriculum, planning the optimum tournament schedules, and organizing the Academy logistics both at the Academy and on the road. His time is also spent optimizing the training and competition schedules for Academy players. These plans help players accomplish their goals and often lead to leveraging players’ college choice.

BEVERLY BOWES Beverly is currently the Director of Racquet Sports and Fitness at Cimarron Hills in Georgetown, Texas. She was previously the Director of Tennis at River Place Country Club in Austin for 14 years. Beverly was a top junior in the country and traveled the world (all the grand slams) before the age of 17 with the best coaches at the USTA. Beverly played for the University of Texas at Austin and then went on to coach at her alma mater when they were a national finalist team in the NCAA. She traveled on the WTA tour with Chris Evert (her idol) and was ranked in the top 50 in the world in both singles and doubles. Her highest world ranking was 38. Beverly also previously worked for the USTA in their High-Performance Junior Program where she took some of the best players in the United States to grand slam tournaments. She recently became certified in pickleball and enjoys playing and teaching. She has 2 great kids- Addie and Harrison. They have both played different sports but are now playing some tennis.

KELLY MARSHALL Kelly is the Director of Tennis and Fitness at Onion Creek Country Club in Austin. She has over three decades of playing and coaching experience on multiple levels, Kelly brings a high level of skill and expertise. Her extensive knowledge provides an atmosphere that is positive and enables athletes to work through their struggles and on to success. Kelly’s played for a division 1 University and held a national ranking of #3 in doubles and # 10 in singles. She was named a Sun Belt All- Conference Player and led her team as Captain for all four years. Kelly is a USPTA Master Pro and serves as a Vice President on the USPTA Texas Division Board. Kelly is the USPTA Texas Division Coach Developer and is a USPTA Certified Pickleball Professional.

PATRICK FONTANA Patrick Fontana is a USPTA Elite Professional since 1997 and was formerly the Head Pro at the Four Seasons in Dallas and coached with the Men’s Team at Baylor University. He founded a financial planning firm in 2020 after a stellar 20-year career at Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch. He is a Certified Financial Planner with master’s in education and a life-long learner! He has managed the USPTA Texas Investments for over 20 years and he is honored as a 2023 Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisor.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE FEATURED SPEAKERS

CRAIG BELL Craig Bell is a USPTA Master Professional and currently is Director of Racquet Sports at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas since 1997. Craig started playing tennis and working at Woodlake Racquet Club in Oklahoma City at age fourteen in 1974. Craig has played high school, college and professional tennis and along his tennis journey has won and competed in various state, conference, regional and national events. Craig started teaching tennis in 1984 and has worked with numerous state, regional and nationally ranked players throughout his 40-year teaching career. Craig has actively been involved in the various tennis communities where he has lived and worked. He has served as President of the San Antonio Tennis Professional Association, President of Dallas Professional Tennis Association and President of the USPTA Texas Division. For his years of service to the Dallas tennis community he was awarded the “Pro Volunteer of the Year Award in 2007 and in 2017 was inducted into the Tut Bartzen Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized in 2009 and in 2014 as the USPTA Texas Division’s “Professional of the Year” recipient.

DR. GREGORY PRUDHOMME Dr. Gregory Prudhomme is the Director of Tennis at the Camelback Village Health and Racquet Club, which is a 15-court private club in Phoenix. He is also a Mental Performance Coach for athletes and career professionals as well as a university sport psychology doctoral instructor. Prudhomme earned his PhD in Psychology with an Emphasis in Performance Psychology, he is an Elite-certified USPTA Professional, and he is the USPTA Coach Developer for the USPTA Southwest Division. During his time as a college coach his teams earned eleven NCAA Division I conference championships, they qualified for the nationals multiple times, and he has earned over 20 ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. He has also been named ‘National College Coach of the Year’ from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and the United States Professional Tennis Association. Dr. Prudhomme is often a guest speaker in the areas of tennis and mental performance. He has spoken nationally and regionally at organizations including the USPTA, USTA, Xendurance, the International Sport Sciences Association, Tignum, and more. As a player, he earned a Division I scholarship, he held a world ranking for 3 years, he was ranked as high as #11 in the US and was ranked #1 in the Southwest Section in singles, doubles, and mixed. Prudhomme’s wife, Mandy, and two daughters, Tatum & Autum, are also certified USPTA Professionals while their youngest child, Liam, is also a competitive tennis player following in the family’s footsteps.

ADRIEN CHABRIA AJ Chabria has played, covered and coached at tennis events all around the globe. He has enjoyed a 26-year career as Tennis/Racquet Sports Director at two historic clubs in California and Texas. AJ is a contributing editor at TennisPlayer.net -- the top tennis instructional site in the world, according to Forbes. Along with Craig Bell, AJ co-hosts the At The Net Podcast, coaches elite players, their parents, and also club players. He customizes frames for college and tour players, and serves as teacher and tester for the USRSA’s Master Racquet Technician program. AJ has been fortunate enough to conduct events with some of the foremost names in tennis, including Venus Williams, Mats Wilander, and John McEnroe. His wife and family are all tennis players and fans. In 2001, the couple honeymooned in Paris (it just happened to be during Roland Garros). AJ is a board member of the award-winning Texas division of the USPTA, he serves as one of the Vice Presidents. He has served as President of the Dallas Professional Tennis Association, and currently serves as a Board member for the Dallas Tennis Association. AJ is also on the board of directors for Team Connor, a national foundation which has raised over $5M in research funding to eradicate pediatric cancer.

OTIS SADLER USPTA Elite Professional Otis Sadler is the director of tennis at Lakeside Country Club in Houston. Before joining Lakeside, he was the director of junior tennis at Houston Racquet Club for eight years. Otis moved to Houston in 2000 and was the program director for the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Academy. He also worked for the USTA Texas Section for five years, including as the director of junior recreation. He has been on the Tennis Channel on several occasions doing instructional videos for the USPTA. Otis played his junior tennis in Texas and was a member of The University of Texas Men’s Tennis team from 1988-1993. He is a USTA Texas Section national coach and has worked with numerous nationally and world-ranked juniors. Otis works with both adult and junior players and has a wealth of knowledge to help his clients improve their game. In 2021 and 2022, Otis served on the African American Engagement project team for USTA Texas.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE FEATURED SPEAKERS

MATTHEW BACON Matthew Bacon is a USPTA Elite professional. He also holds certifications as a USTA High Performance and as an IPTPA Level 1 pickleball professional. Matthew is a Coach Developer for the USPTA in the state of Florida. He was part of the inaugural class of CRSE Certified professionals in the country. Matthew currently sits on the USPTA Florida Board as a vice president. Matthew also sits on several USTA Florida Task Forces and Committees. Matthew is the CEO and co-owner of First Coast Pickle. He has coached and developed many players who have gone on to play Division 1 and 2 collegiate tennis. With his work and guidance, he has coached USTA teams to state and regional championships, along with several ladies’ team championships in the North Florida area. Matthew has presented at different conferences and workshops all over the country. Matthew was awarded the USPTA Florida District President of the Year award in 2019. Matt was formerly the Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at the Division 1 Appalachian State University in North Carolina (2007 – 2014) He has over 23 years in this industry as a Head Pro and a Director of Racquets, his career has taken him from coaching collegiate tennis to being the DORS at some of the most prestigious clubs in the country.

MEL MCREE Mel McRee is currently the Director of Racquet Sports at The Lubbock Country Club in Lubbock TX. After graduating high school in Marble Falls Tx and playing tennis at Temple College under USPTA Master Professional, Dick King, Mel pursued a degree in Business Administration at Texas Tech University. Mel began his career teaching tennis at LCC in early 2002 and became the Director in 2005. Mel has been a member of the USPTA since 2002 and is an elite professional and has his certification in pickleball. Having served on the USPTA TX Board of Directors for 10 years and is just beginning his tenure as president. In the middle of 2023 Mel began to participate in pickleball tournaments as a way to educate himself on the growing demand of the sport he was seeing explode in popularity at his club. Mel placed 2nd in singles at the Kansas City Open and 4th at Nationals in Dallas at the 4.0 level and won doubles and mixed at the Hertz Gold Cup in Daytona at the 4.0 and 4.5 level respectively. When not in a court Mel loves spending time with his family, his wife Kristen, and his daughters Victoria, Lucy and Lily. He enjoys various hobbies like hiking, woodworking, photography, cycling, and reading.

MICHELLE STALLARD Michelle Stallard is the Director of Tennis & Athletics at Bush Tennis Center. She has been there for two years. Before working at Bush Tennis Center, she was the Director of Tennis at Horseshoe Bay Resort for sixteen years. During her time at Horseshoe Bay Resort, she developed the program into one of the top ten resort destinations in the world (USA Today) and one of the top fifty tennis resort destinations in the world (tennis resorts online). While there, she coached Faith Academy to twelve state championships in fifteen years, making her the all-time winningest high school tennis coach in TAPPS history. Michelle has achieved excellence in all levels o her tennis career. As a junior player from Memphis, she was ranked #1 in the USTA Southern Section and top 15 in the U.S. Following her junior career, she earned a full tennis scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin. As a longhorn, Michelle won the Southwest Conference “Triple Crown” with Singles, Doubles, Team Titles, and NCAA Division 1 Academic All American Honors. She is also a certified pickleball instructor. Michelle graduated from UT with aa BS in exercise physiology and corporate fitness. She currently serves on the USPTA Texas Board of Directors and is a USPTA Elite Certified Tennis Professional.

CRAIG’S CORNER Ho Ho Ho to all my fellow USPTA Texas tennis teaching professionals in and around the Great Game! Well, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer and old man winter is officially upon us (almost that is), which this columnist isn’t a real fan of, by the way. I’m way more of a summer person – warm weather, beach, not getting dark until after 9pm -- that’s me for sure! As I’m putting pen to paper, well fingers to keyboard, I wanted to say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus (for all you Seinfeld fans), Happy Kwanzaa or Happy “However You Celebrate” the season, to all of you reading this column. Most all of us enjoy making our living in or around the Great Game and what a real privilege and honor it is to do so, making our avocation our vocations – nothing better, is there! Anywho, with that being said (which ain’t a whole lot I might add), here are my latest thoughts, mental musings and other such mindbending nuggets to digest for you, the faithful of the Great Game and Craig’s Corner. On the Lone Star front, as I’m writing this Craig’s Corner, I wanted to give a very sincere “shout out” to our very own 2023 USPTA Texas Board and Committee members for all the hard work they are doing promoting the Great Game of Tennis in the Lone Star State. Leadership always starts at the top of the mountain and how could we not say “Thanks” to our Executive Director, Tosha Smith. What an outstanding job she does keeping

everyone on point – and that’s not an easy thing to do with this group! “Muchas Gracias” to Mr. President, Matt Watson who steers the ship in the right direction and keeps us on course – once again, not an easy task, mind you. Matt and Tosha oversee the following group of talented “volunteer” individuals: Craig Bell, Regional VP (Jr Development & Regional Directors); Mel McRee, 1st VP (Awards Chairman); Kelly Marshall; 2nd VP (Division Conference & Pickleball Testing\Certification); AJ Chabria, 3rd VP (Education Chairman & Jr Development); Michelle Stallard, Secretary; Ernie Abraham, Treasurer (Finance & Buying Show); Jenny Gray, Past President and current USPTA National Board Member (Long Range Planning & USPTA Adult Leagues); Tommy Connell, Ethics\ Legal; Dennis Reblin, Lessons for Life; Tom Ingram, Membership; Jim Sciarro, USPTA National Convention; Bob Haugen, Sports Science; Eli Sepulveda, Elevate and Fred Viancos, USTA Liaison. Thanks All – Job Well Done in 2023!!

to be in the coming years as I know he’s held various executive positions in the tennis industry and outside our industry since he started his work career in the late 90’s. Side note on Brian and myself – we were teammates on a very interesting Dallas Professional Tennis Association softball team in the mid 90’s. I don’t know if we won many games but we had the best-looking uniforms amongst our competitors. We wore Wilson grey pullovers with DPTA embossed letters on the front with our numbers on the back – kinda looked like the old Cincinnati Reds uniforms during that time. Let’s just say that our uniforms were much better than our play on the field. Thanks, Brian, for accepting the role of USPTA CEO – we are all looking forward to hearing from you very soon!

Nationally speaking, I wanted to say Congrats to John Embree on his retirement from the daily workforce as of December, 2023 and Many Thanks for your efforts on behalf of all the USPTA Professionals across the land. If you’ve been living in a cave for the past few months and don’t know but our fearless leader is officially retiring from the USPTA CEO position, I believe he’s held for eleven years. Throughout his illustrious career, John has been a Great Game leader in various capacities throughout his journey in the industry and we were lucky to have him for over a little over a decade. He navigated USPTA through some rough waters but did the job with elegance and style. John, you definitely made an impact on our association and left the place better than you found it! I am excited for you and to see what your next chapter brings – hopefully some Grapefruit League games are on the horizon. Side note, John and I share a passing interest in the game of baseball. He loves the Cubs and I the Rangers. Throughout the season we would text each other at various times talking about the Cubs and Rangers and what was taking place. JRE – job well done my friend and each of us look forward to when our paths may cross again!

So, my question to you today, the faithful readers of Craig’s Corner, “How do you determine who the greatest player is\ was in the Great Game?” Is Novak the greatest player of all time in the men’s game? What about Jimmy Connors with 110 singles titles to his name or the great Rod Laver with 11 Grand Slam titles and winning 2 Calendar Slams in the same years of 1962 and 1969 – bookends. The interesting side note about Laver is, he was banned from The Slams as he was considered a “professional” and the Slams during this timeframe were “amateur only” tournaments. By my Oklahoma math The Rocket did not get a chance to play in 24 slams during 1963-1968. Would he have won all those 24 slam titles? Hard to say, but we know that he had bookend calendar slams in ’62 and ’69, so if he were just to win 3 out of 4 slams during his exiled years, that’s 18 more slam titles and if you add that to his 11 Slams that adds up to 29 Grand Slam singles titles.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say Welcome Aboard to our new incoming USPTA CEO, Brian Dillman with his roots being from right here in North Texas. I am very excited for Brian and what he sees our vision

On the world stage, did you catch the recent 60 Minutes interview with Novak Djokovic? If not, it’s available on the various social media platforms out there. It’s well worth the short time in watching the Joker and Jon Wertheim pontificate on a number of topics in and around The Great Game.

On the women’s side of the Great Game, who is the greatest female to have ever chased a ball around the court? Speaking of courts, is it Margaret Court who won an astonishing 66 Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed). Martina Navratilova who won 59 Grand Slam titles. Serena Williams who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Possibly Steffi Graf with 22 Grand Slam titles in singles including a “Golden Slam” in 1988 – winning all 4 slams plus the Olympic Games which was held in Seoul, Korea.

Craig’s Corner Continued... It’s a very interesting, intriguing and complex question – “Who is the greatest tennis player of all time.” For my two cents – spend it wisely I might add, I’m going with “The Rocket,” one Rodney George Laver as he was withheld from playing the four Grand Slams that we consider today to be the measuring stick\bench mark for today’s players. The Rocket wasn’t allowed to compete in these events and it’s as plain as the nose on your face, that he would’ve won so many more Grand Slam titles in the six years he was held out due to his not being of “amateur” status. Nothing against all players mentioned on the men’s side but for this author it’s The Rocket as the Greatest of All Time aka The GOAT. On the women’s side of the ledger, I’m going with Margaret Court. I know she is and has been somewhat controversial by some for her off court views on life plus you can say that she gathered most of her Slams before the Open Era began, but I can’t hold that against her for being born when she was in 1942. She played the competition available to her and she completely dominated the women’s tour over her 17-year career starting in 1960 and ending in 1977. Side note, not only did Court win 24 Grand Slam singles titles she won an astonishing 192 career titles. She also holds various other Great Game records as well, which will probably never be broken in my lifetime. So, my vote goes for Margaret Court. Who are your choices for greatest players to have played the Great Game and how did you determine your choices? Such an interesting, intriguing and complex question for better minds to decide than this humble wordsmith! Well kids, it’s time to circle the wagons, put out the fire and call in the dogs -- until next time whenever that may or will be, Happy Holidays, Keep Your Eye on the Ball and Don’t Forget the Sunscreen...

CB cbell1360@aol.com craigbell@benttreecc.org 214-762-8600 (cell\text)

SINGLES COURT DOUBLES WITH ADDED CHALLENGES

by Matt Watson Most of us have used this drill at some point – 2 up vs 2 back using singles court only (alleys are out). Making sure our students understand the why and how is key to increasing effectiveness of this drill. I am also including ideas on how you can increase the challenges of this drill. The main purpose of this drill is to teach players to play with margin and to avoid costly errors by playing balls too close to the sidelines and essentially shortening the court on themselves. It is also imperative to help baseliners understand just how small the passing lanes are and focus should be on keeping the ball down more so than hitting the ball through the net players. To illustrate, I have the net players stand in a ready position and ask baseliners to look at the passing lanes (outside and middle). I then have both net players turn one direction with their racquet out and ask the baseliners again how big the lane looks – which then becomes obvious how small the lanes become when they see the players not only reach with their racquet but also take a step. What once looked like a sizeable opening now becomes very small. Play games to however many points you wish and stress crisp, deep volleys from the net team to either create easy finishes (in singles court) or errors from the baseliners. Emphasize to baseliners the important of keeping the ball down to minimize aggression from the volleyers, as well as to open up the lob (the BEST passing shot in club level play – due to inability for club players to recognize lob quick enough and/or inability to effectively move back for lob, as well as tendency for many club level players to struggle with timing on overheads) as net players try to close too tight due to numerous low balls. Emphasizing balls more toward the middle will also minimize the angle options for volleyers. Getting volleyers to understand volleys to the middle if facing two back will then open up easy angles versus tough angles when baseliners are already wide in the court. One other benefit of this drill is now the tendency for points to extend and players having to execute more shots because the court becomes visually smaller to them. How can you add challenges to this drill: 1.

All volleys must clear the service line

Set up rubber court stripes 2/3 of the way back in service box and volleyers must stay behind the stripes. This will force them to work more on low volleys and half volleys and can allow your baseliners to focus more on dipping the ball vs using the lob too often

Baseliners must stay on the baseline or inside baseline to work on taking balls early. If both feet go behind baseline, they lose the point. This will also force them to practice lob volleys and swing volleys from inside baseline area. It will also help them have a head start on short volleys, which is always a threat when playing back.

You can institute a “No winner rule” in which the only way to win points is to get the other team to miss by forcing errors. If a winner is hit, you simply replay the point. This will again reinforce making balls to win points through better execution versus trying to force winners which typically just leads to more errors. Make your students understand the significance of their mindset and confidence that they can consistently hit one more ball than their opponent. The ability to do so will then typically force your opponent into forcing shots knowing they can’t out rally you.

A Look Back at 2023 BY JENNY GRAY

As 2023 comes to an end, we thought it would be nice to take a moment and look back at some of the great things USPTA Texas and our professionals have accomplished across the state. Thank you for all you have done to contribute to USPTA Texas in 2023! 2023 saw Sarah Flood and Tom Ingram become the lead USPTA Texas tennis coach developers and Kelly Marshall as the USPTA Texas pickleball coach developer. Kelly has hit the ground running with certifications. She leads all 17 USPTA divisions with the most pickleball certifications in 2023 in one division. To date, Marshall has certified over 80 pickleball professionals in Texas. The first USPTA Texas event of the year, the State Team Championships was held in Houston January 20th-22nd. Over 440 players and 30 USPTA professionals met up for this fun team event utilizing indoors courts across the Houston metroplex. Congratulations to the Fort Worth Men and the Abilene women for winning the 2023 tournament. The 2024 tournament has been set for January 19th-21st with 10 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams. This is truly a unique division sponsored event that has become a Texas favorite for our tennis professionals and their players. February brought us the USPTA Texas annual conference in partnership with USTA Texas. The conference was held February 9th-12th at the Las Colinas Omni in Irving. This year’s conference saw 85 attendees, an increase over the 2022 conference. The conference schedule was packed with a diverse group of tennis and pickleball speakers offering 24 credit hours in a span of 2.5 days. Join us for the 2024 conference back at the Las Colinas Omni February 8th – 11th, 2024. In June USPTA Texas hosted the 3rd annual USPTA Texas Golf tournament on June 23rd at Prairie Lakes Golf Club in Grand Prairie. Over 30 teams played in this unique USPTA Texas event raising funds for USPTA programs. “Thanks to all of our players and sponsors we were able to generate funding to help support USPTA tennis programs across the state of Texas for our juniors and our adults,” said USPTA Texas President Matt Watson. Matt is currently working on the details of the 4th annual event to be held in the Dallas area in June 2024. August saw the USPTA Summer Retreat and pickleball certification was held at the Club At Sonterra in San Antonio. This year we saw an increase over the 2022 retreat. In September, USPTA Texas made quite the impression at the USPTA World Conference in Orlando being named the Division of the Year with President Matt Watson accepting the honors. Texas was also well represented by Kelly Marshall being presented the 2023 USPTA Industry Excellence Award as well as earning her USPTA Master Professional certification. “I am honored to receive the highest level of certification from the USPTA. There are just 150 Master Professionals in the world and only 15 are women. I aim to change that stat and help other women achieve this status,” said Kelly. The World Conference also saw 3 of our younger professionals attend the conference for the 1st time with the help of a scholarship created anonymously by one of our amazing USPTA Texas professionals. The opportunities afforded to these USPTA Texas Professionals was 100% generated by the generous donation with the opportunity of a lifetime for our own professionals. As we look back on 2023, we would be remise not to mention the loss of some of our industry friends. Sadly, we lost Billy Freer, Matt Brown and David Snyder. Each of these men made an impact on Texas tennis that will never be forgotten. Thank you for all you do daily to make Texas tennis and USPTA Texas tennis what it is. As we move into 2024, it will be exciting to see what is in store for each of us within our own facilities and clubs, as well as a division. Cheers to 2024!

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