USPTA Southern Division: Where Excellence is STANDARD
The USPTA Southern Division
Volume 18 Issue 4: November 2017
Wishing You The Best for the
Holidays
INSIDE:
Review of David Beren’s Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 3 Next Gen Conference Photos & Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 4-5 14 Things Successful People Have in Common. . . . . . . . pg 9 The Effect of Compound Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 10 Give Them Choices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 13
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Volume 18 Issue 4
One Good Idea! FROM THE NEXT GENERATION CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO, FL Alan Cutler Where will you be in 5 Years? Fitness makes 500-900% more than tennis in corporate clubs. When we try to negotiate, remember where the real money is. A representative from a company reported that they produce almost $2,000,000 a month in tennis, but over $70,000,000 in fitness. Agility off court is as important as on court. What are your plans if you are injured? Your brand is how others see you. What are you doing to make your brand stand out? Write your goals down and start working now. Very few jobs out west are the country club style job. Most are corporate or Home Owner Association. What drives you? Money - Power - Lifestyle - Family. This will affect the jobs that appeal to you. If family is most important, you are probably not willing to uproot your family in a move to another area. General Ann Dunwoody Leadership Lessons & a Lifetime in Tennis When you walk by a problem or mistake,
then you accept it and lower the standard. In an office or club, it lowers the standards. In the battle field, it could cost lives. Believe in yourself. Never give up. Don’t let others dissuade you from you path. There will always be obstacles. Rick Willett shares his notes on Allistair McCaw’s presentation This presentation was based on his brand new book called Champion Minded: Achieving Excellence in Sports and Life written by him and Jenny Robb. The foundation is that success starts with having a vision. The culture for work or sports must have values and standards that you uphold and follow. Expectations drive vision and purpose. A strong culture precedes positive results, has zero ego, great communication, and collaboration. A strong culture has esprit de corps, upbeat environment, and everyone has a valuable role building teamwork. McCaw goes on to say that most people leave a company because of a poor culture that begins with the boss. The book has 125 strategies to become Champion Minded. The book reads like a personal coach to athletes, insightful guide to parents, and reference point for coaches. He says we must ask our-
selves these questions. What is your vision, What matters to you, Why do you do what you do, Define what success means to you? Allistair punctuated the session reminding coaches how important it is for a child to leave a tennis lesson with good self esteem and a desire to come back. Nick Saviano on Transitioning He emphasized the importance of making adjustments when the circumstances change. A player’s game plan frequently changes if the circumstances warrant it. One of his drills had two in the back court hitting cross courts, and hitting dink cross courts every four or five exchanges to mess up opponent’s rhythm; both players in back court hitting cross courts, attack the approach and volley ball off cross court. This is to teach players to “read” the ball, anticipating when to come in. Saviano coaches Sloan Stephens and reinforced the importance of teaching transition skills at an early age. He also places priority on teaching how to hit swinging volleys. It builds one’s confidence getting to the net. Swinging volleys are valuable to take time away from your opponent and alter the rhythm.
Continue the Tradition Southern has continued to lead the way in our charity events each year with another award as Most Raised for Charity with over $2,000,000. Report your charity event, assistance, or any in kind tennis related donation you made for a charity. As always, we have prizes to raffle off for everyone that reports. Items include DVDs, tennis balls, logo wear, and more. Please take a few moments to send in the events, date, location, the cause, and the amount collected. Even a lesson or string job donated for a local event should be reported. Send to usptasouthern@gmail.com. Thanks to all of you that do so much during the year. Let’s continue to lead the way in this great cause.
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The Written Word Reviewed by Rich Neher
Break Point: 9 Life Lessons from the Tennis Court – By David Berens
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he publisher writes on the back cover of Break Point, In the tradition of Andy Andrews and Naploeon Hill, Author and USPTA Certified Elite Tennis Professional, David F. Berens takes us inside an exciting tennis match with veteran pro, Whitfield Franklin Andrews and the young phenom, Heinrick McStultz. During this epic battle, he finds lessons that translate not only to better tennis, but a better life. If you are struggling, and on the edge of your own Break Point, this book lays out 9 principles that will help get you back on track and headed to a New Beginning! I was kind of relieved because one of the books in my tennis collection, a novel with the the same title Break Point, written in 1986 by Ilie Nastase, is all about “heavy money, hard drugs, and a killer or killers unknown who are stalking the top eight players on the circuit.” Extremely cheesy! And no, David’s book is neither a novel nor is it cheesy. It’s about comparing a battle played on the tennis court with battles being played in real life. David writes on his LinkedIn page, “I’ve turned my passion for winning on the tennis court into a passion for winning at life. Coaching people not only in their tennis techniques, but also their lifestyle technique has become the major focus of what I do.” He also points out that he works with entrepreneurs to focus their game-plan and strategies to maximize their efforts at marketing and running their businesses. “Social Media Optimization, Website Design and Maintenance, and Motivating Staff are all areas of expertise I’ve shared with others.”
I look at Break Point as a booklet with 127 pages of life-tennis wisdom. It starts at a point in a tennis match where the main player, an older guy by the name of Whit, is 0-6, 0-5 down in a Challenger level match against the up and coming youngster Heinrick, somewhere in South Carolina. Rock bottom. Can’t get any worse. Nothing left to lose. And “a good place to start.” “Slow down and make a plan.” - David Berens You know what’s coming, right? Whit starts to climb back and wins point after point, game after game. The interesting take aways from this book are Whit’s reviewing of the situation before and after each game and the comparisons he does with his life. It shows that David Berens has a significant gift in gently bringing points to the surface that help Whit and the reader to understand why certain things are happening in life and on the court and what a tennis player can do to pull himself (herself) up from under great dispair. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up somewhere else.” - Yogi Berra Why did David Berens, a tennis player for over 30 years, write this book? He says, “So many of us have found ourselves defeated, broken, lost and lacking the answers to move onward and upward in our careers, our relationships and our lives. We are down to our Break Point and we aren’t sure what to do next. This book will help you get past your own Break Points and headed
toward being a Champion, and I’m not referring to the game of tennis; I’m going to help you gain a better perspective on real life!” “I’m still learning” - Michelangelo, Age 87 I enjoyed reading this book. Yes, I have also found myself down at various stages of my life and on the tennis court. I can relate. David gave me pointers to cope with situations and ideas on how to master them. Even the fact that the author didn’t share how that match ended didn’t bother me. He writes, “I am sure you noticed, I never reveal whether or not Whit wins or loses the match, because that’s not what’s really important in the grand scheme of things. What is important is how he has grown as a person and how he will live his life going forward. The book ends at 0-6, 6-6. Good. Lots of lessons learned and a good place to plan the tiebreaker and the next set. Or, a good start for a sequel? David Berens is a USPTA certified professional with 15 years teaching experience. During his career he has traveled the South working in amazing locations like the tropical Islamorada Tennis Club in the Florida Keys, Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton Georgia where he was the Assistant Tennis Coach for the University of West Georgia’s Lady Wolves and the world class Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne with tennis legend Cliff Drysdale. Today David works at the Cedar Bluff Racquet Club in Knoxville.
Leadership and Career Development Program
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his year, USPTA Southern launched both the Leadership Development Program to prepare individuals for future USPTA leadership roles, as well as the Career Development Program to help participants move toward their career goals. We have now combined these separate programs into one “Leadership and Career Development Program,” and will be accepting no more
than 25 participants in the program. This year we had more applicants than spots available and expect the same to be true for 2018. Participants will be admittedon a “rolling” basis, which means applying early helps. For more information and to receive an application, please contact Kevin Theos at theos@sta.usta.com. Application deadline is December 31st.
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Volume 18 Issue 4
Next Generation = Next Level of Conference The collaboration with the USTA produced a totally different conference, but it was AMAZING. Below are just a few of the highlights • The USTA National Campus - the most amazing tennis facility and we were all invited to the open house as well as on court programs all day long. While it was our only on court day, there were multiple programs every time slot. In fact, this became a norm for the entire conference to have multiple programs each slot. • USPTA National HQ - in a first, our own HQ was also open for tours from John Embree and the staff. Our proud papa was showing off everything from the state of the art interior to the parking spot for our golf cart. • Speakers, Speakers, Speakers - we had the chance to attend programs from speakers that are not our normal selections. Since the USTA ran their tract simultaneously, there was a lot of cross over. From the first female 4 Star General General to Joel Drucker to the many USTA regional and national team, it was a smorgasbord of programs for any level of professional. • Repeats - a first from a USPTA conference standpoint. Many of the USTA programs had a repeat, which allowed you to catch a program that you had missed earlier. Why didn’t we think
of that? • Full Menu of Programs - most time slots had 6 programs running at the same time, with 3 from USTA and 3 from USPTA. HOWEVER, many of these were attractive to any attendee. • Food for the Hungry - we had a buffet breakfast every morning, and some great meals at the welcome reception and Trade Show. It was hard to find drink tickets though, because none were needed!! It was open bar for the evening. • Southern Rocked the Auction/Raffle - First off, the auction raised almost $15,000 with some amazing items including a Playmate iSmash ball machine, Wilson custom racquets and RF autographed bag, Formuth/Nike shoes for a year, US Open tickets and hotel, Disney trip, Tops’l trip, and much more. All of you could have bid online for over the 18 pre auction packages. We had 6 Southern winners. Lane Evans won the ball machine (early online bid), Dave Dvorak the Disney trip, Tom Daglis (online bid) and Scott Hutchinson won the NY trips, Chris Bull won the amazing book package, Kevin Theos won a collection of many items worth over $2000, and Pat Whitworth the Athletic DNA package. WAY TO GO SOUTHERN. • Rockin’ Division Party - BB Kings Blues
Club was our host, and they put out an amazing show. We had a private upstairs area for viewing, eating, and socializing. Dinner was a southern meal, and everyone received a drink ticket. There was a small gift bag for everyone, as well as a choice of a Disney pin. The first band was an excellent blues band, which just warmed us up for the main attraction - The All Star Band featuring Kris Thomas (competed on The Voice). Too Proud to Beg, September (EWF), Proud Mary, and plenty more. This was a show to see. Check out the compilation video on our Southern FB page. As you can see, there was a lot of action during the 4 days of the conference. But WAIT - There’s MORE. President Todd Upchurch received his Master Professional rating. Southern once again led the way in Lessons for Life with over $2 million raised. Bo Gard, Bill Riddle, Istok Bombac, Paige Love, Jack Justice, Kevin Theos, and Matt Grayson presented during the conference. If you missed this event, start planning for next year as we move to New York on the weekend before the US Open begins. Attendance includes a ticket to the opening day and a special hospitality area for USPTA.
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Volume 18 Volume Issue18 4
Southern Spotlight Todd Upchurch - our newest Master Professional Park Crossing Swim & Racquet Club Charlotte, NC Give a brief description of your tennis/other career: I grew up in Archdale, NC and played high school tennis at Trinity High School. After high school, I went to UNC Greensboro and left after a couple of years to jump into my career. I started teaching summer camps for Archdale Parks and Recreation and then landed my first tennis job at Oak Hollow Tennis Center. I taught lessons and worked in the pro shop for 3 years and then took a job as the Tennis Director at Adams Farm Swim & Tennis Club in Greensboro, NC. I stayed there 5 years and then left to move to Charlotte, NC and took the job of Director of Tennis at Carmel Country Club. I worked at Carmel for almost 10 years and hosted 2 Southern Division annual conventions while I was there. I left in 2010 to start my own tennis management business and after school tennis programs at area schools. I have been running Serve It UP Tennis Academy for the past 7 years and we have grown our programs
Fit to Hit
over the Charlotte region to two swim and racquet clubs and 12 schools. When did you start playing tennis? My father took me out to the courts when I was six. What other sports did you play? I played baseball, basketball and wrestling. What moved you to teach tennis? I am the son of two school teachers, so I think teaching has always been in my blood. I enjoy helping people feel better about themselves and build confidence through tennis. What is something people will be surprised to learn about you? I am a big fan of the TV drama Scandal. What are your hobbies? I enjoy reading, running and watching my children play sports. What is your favorite movie? As an adult, Saving Private Ryan. As a kid, Flash Gordon. Are you reading anything right now? Unshakeable by Tony Robbins What is your favorite sports team? Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins Who is your favorite player of all time? Andre Agassi What person would you most like to have lunch with? Tony Robbins What would you be doing if you were not in tennis? Probably something in business or a school teacher. If you had a “do over”, what one thing would you have done differently in your teaching career? I would have focused more building my knowledge of the game a few years earlier and tried to be a better instructor.
Senior Fit to Hit - How and What Motivates the Senior Athlete
By Lane Evans-USPTA Elite Professional, ISSA Certified Senior Fitness Specialist
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n this month’s Fit to Hit column I dug down into one of my International Sports Sciences Senior Fitness certification test questions that spoke about motivation and especially with seniors. What and how is this athlete driven. As a Senior Fitness Professional, I deal with this daily. I have found that a term I will call “Life Conditioning” contributes to everyone’s motivation whether it be in the form of athletic or just day to day functionality. Different athletes are motivated in different ways. Sometimes there are no real reasons or clear understandings to why and how. Here are some thoughts on what I found with one of my athletes. I have highlighted a few words and phrases along the way to help you understand the important points better. Question: Interview an older person that engages in regular physical activity (Mine happened to be a tennis player). What motivates this person? Is the motivator an internal or external motivator? Does the person live on his/ her own or in a retirement community? How do you think that affects their attitude? How does their motivation effect their athletic ability? Answer: I interviewed a long-time client for this essay question. He is a male, 90 years old, in very good health and exercises regularly in tennis, golf and fitness training 5-6 days a week. He recently lost his wife to Alzheimer’s Disease after a battle that lasted over 20 years. It took an enor-
mous toll on him both physically and mentally. In all the time I have known him, he never left her side.He provided 24/7 care for her right up to the day she passed away. This has motivated him, both internally and externally to stay as sharp as possible. I’m sure his wife’s health condition had a lot to do with that. She was very active until she was no longer able to function effectively without help. He now has a real passion for life. He wants to live as a 30-year old. He lives on his own and aside from well-wishing neighbors who drop by with dinner plates and good conversation, he manages his day to day living as well as anyone 30-40 years younger, probably better. His attitude is very good. I rarely see him down. He still manages most of his own stock portfolio. This is extremely important. He is an active woodworker as well and that keeps him quite busy. This keeps his mind sharp. Conversationally, he recounts stories to me often about his working days well over 60 years ago. He manages to include substantial detail, which again is very important.Does he sometimes tell me the same story twice? Of course, we all do that. I think the exercise is of great help to him. It keeps him on his toes. As far as his ten-
nis and golf performance go, he is still able to learn and digest the learning experience which enables him to improve even at 90. He competes with players half his age. Aside from his physical fitness successes, he maintains a very charitable life. He has shared his wealth with many organizations. He recently took on a mentor, a struggling single mother, who he is putting through school and maintaining many of the expenses that go along with it. He donates his time and talent in woodworking to many organizations in the form of building needed shelves, sleeping quarters and simple home improvement projects such as furniture needs. He is also motivated by the golfers and tennis players he competes with daily. He is competitive and wants to always play at the highest level he can. Staying socially active is also a very key component to his longevity. He still enjoys being around people. As his trainer and tennis professional, I keep motivated as well. I keep setting his bars higher and higher and that is having a direct and positive impact on his life. Hopefully he will be around for many years to come.
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“Success Secrets” Davor Dekaris
By Lane Evans-USPTA Elite Professional
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avor Dekaris, a relative new name to our USPTA Southern family has come on like gangbusters in the last few years. He has established himself with an on-line presence to beat all. His instructional videos and posts through his creation, The Tennis Haus website, is viewed by over 11,000 tennis professionals from around the world. I caught up with Davor just prior to the launching of his first professional workshop. He was gracious enough, though very busy to tell us a little more about himself and how he has achieved his success but first a little biographical information. Davor is a certified USPTA Elite Professional and before he came to the United States in 2010 he was a DTB (German Tennis Federation) tennis instructor in Berlin, Germany, where he taught for 10 years. He is currently the Director of Tennis at the Stone Creek Club and Spa in Covington, La. Davor was also quite a player as he played on the ITF & Future’s Tour & played in one of the highest divisions of the German Team Tennis Leagues. He trained and traveled with players that played on the ITF Pro Circuit. Davor started playing tennis at the age of 4 and played throughout all stages of German junior team tennis in his early years where he won several championships in Berlin. He spent some time at the Niki Pilic Tennis Academy in Munich, where Novak Djokovic and Ernest Gulbis trained at the same time. He has 17 years of teaching experience and a Master’s Degree in Sports Science and Span-
ish. He speaks French, German, and Croatian. Davor won the USPTA Alan Henry Southern Professional of the Year award for 2017. Davor is the son of Vinko and Jasna Dekaris, who came to Germany in the early 70’s from former Yugoslavia for work opportunities. His father was a nationally ranked player in European handball. He also has a brother who has a phD in Chemistry and works at Elsevier in Boston, MA. As stated earlier, Davor is hosting the first Tennis Haus Conference at Stone Creek Club and Spa in Covington LA November 3-5. He brought nine world class speakers together to present to around 70 coaches from around the country. Future projects are in progress like his own Tennis Haus app which is coming soon On Success, Davor looks back at Tennis Haus as a source of much of his own personal success. Tennis Haus came into being out of a simple idea, which is that tennis professionals help each other and work together instead of going their own way and not being open minded. Continuing on the topic of success, Davor explains, “someone told me success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.”“You must have a 100% work ethic day in and day out no matter what your recipe for success might be.” “I try to live by this each day to the fullest and go the extra mile when I can. I have a mentor here who supports me with all my ideas and
believes in me, besides my wife. This person allows me to fulfill my dreams and build my career, he became more than a mentor to me, he’s like a father figure to me, Scott G. I think everyone should have someone in their lives like this.” Devor is currently working on an “app” which will revolutionize the workings between tennis players, coaches and parents. He explains, “Before I came to the U.S. I had an easy life because my parents took a lot of pressure off my shoulders financially and took care of me. However, being far away from home now without my parents and brother to help me mature, I had to figure out on my own what I really wanted to do and what my goals were.” “Tennis Haus fulfills my desire to improve as a coach and helps me learn on a daily base from others. It also allows me to connect with tennis professionals from all over the world! We have 11,700 followers from all over the world participating on Tennis Haus. We work together in a friendly and easy environment which allows coaches to show their teaching skills and help others to become better coaches and human beings and that is what it is all about.” We would like to thank Devor for his story and his frank discussion on the things that he cherishes and have made him the success he has become and continues to become each day. We are proud to have him in the USPTA Southern Division.
USPTA Foundation and Amazon Let your holiday shopping fund our programs You can help by using our Amazon Smiles. It is so easy and a portion of your purchases will be donated to the Foundation. It does not cost you a penny, and it will continue to help the Foundation. Our mission is to teach tennis to economically disadvantaged people. Groups we have helped reach out to include inner city kids, wheel chair and veterans of war. • Support the USPTA Foundation by using smile.amazon.com • Search for us with the full name United States Professional Tennis should be enough to find the Foundation. • If you already have a charity, you can change to the Foundation in YOUR ACCOUNT, YOUR AMAZON SMILE. • Buy lots of stuff - but make sure to use smiles.amazon when you are on Amazon. Just amazon.com will not direct funds to the Foundation
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s w e N e t a t S Alabama
We had a great time at the USPTA/USTA World Conference in Lake Nona! It was fantastic to spend time at the USTA National Campus and visit the new USPTA headquarters - both are beautiful! The lineup of presenters was truly world class. The opportunities to learn, network, and share were also plentiful. If you’ve never attended the world conference - you should go! We are looking forward to our upcoming workshop and awards ceremony in Birmingham! Looking forward to a fabulous 2018!
Arkansas
Attending the Next Generation USTA & USPTA workshop was an inspiration of where the tennis industry is headed. So many great insights from other professionals. Many classes taught by the coaches doing the training at the USTA National Campus, and the opportunity to see how neat this Campus really is. It was also great to several other Arkansas USPTA Professionals at next Generation as well. Jimbo Hobson, Chris Stuart, Pat Hennessey, and myself were in attendance. If the opportunity arises, ask us about the Campus. SAVE THE DATE! USPTA Arkansas and USTA Arkansas are working to bring you a great workshop January 12th and 13th. at the same time as the ATA Annual Awards banquet and training meetings. Karl Davies from the USTA National Campus is coming as our keynote speaker on High Performance and Player Development. It will be a great opportunity to improve yourself and gain some USPTA education credit. Please keep your eyes and ears on the lookout for more information. Keep up the good work. Tennis Benefits life.
Georgia
The Georgia chapter is extremely excited to announce two world-renowned speakers, Emma Doyle and Allistair McCaw, at this years December 1st workshop at AAC. Allistair McCaw is a talented Sports Performance Consultant, Mindset Coach and Team Culture Builder. He has more than two decades of experience, having worked with numerous Olympians, Grand Slam winners and World Champion athletes. ‘The McCaw Method’, has set the standard for providing world class athletes and coaches with cutting-edge training techniques, products and knowledge. Allistair also consults to coaches, leaders, athletes, teams and college programs around the world. McCaw won’t only motivate and inspire you to review and upgrade your coaching methods, but your lifestyle habits as well! Emma Doyle has been in performance tennis coaching for over 30 years, specializing in knowledge, skills and behavior improvement, both with coaches and players around the world. She had coached on the junior and senior tours, been the junior Fed Cup Captain and has been an Australian National Selector. This Tennis Australia High Performance coach is passionate about language and how the communication between the player and coach is the key ingredient to successful performances. In addition to her impactful on and off court workshops, she specializes in mind set conditioning programs, using NLP (Neuro-linguistic programing) methodologies to maximize performance for beginning players through to WTA tour players and coaches. Emma’s mission is to empower more female players and coaches in our industry, and to inspire, improve and impact the communication, coordination and confidence of people around the world.
Kentucky
First we would like to thank Michelle Jones for her hard work promoting the USPTA and tennis in Kentucky. Michelle and her family have moved to North Carolina and are already getting plugged in to the tennis community. We have a joint workshop with the Kentucky High School Tennis Coaches Association planned for February 3rd at the new Top Seed Tennis Club in Lexington. This is just the first of several events in the works for 2018 including some certification opportunities for Kentucky teaching professionals. Kentucky had several attendees at the USTA/USPTA conference in Orlando. The conference was great with some of the top experts in the field sharing their knowledge. Finally congratulations to USPTA pro Jan Barrett for being awarded the USTA/KY Pro of the Year!
Volume 18 Issue 4
Louisiana
It is with great excitement I report Joey Kuchler of Metairie Country Club won our first snap, post and tag Facebook contest. Joey was awarded a FREE registration to the Tennis Haus convention which was held at Stone Creek Club and Spa from 11/3-11/5. I give monster props to USPTA Southern Pro of the Year, Davor Dekaris for scheduling a great convention. Be in the know and like our USPTA-LA Facebook page as we plan on offering future giveaways. Send me your input regarding management challenges that affect you as a tennis pro/manager. In the last newsletter I asked for feedback on the topic and received very few responses. Even if you are not a Louisiana member please shoot me an email and tell me your most troubling areas with regards to management as our next state workshop will cover this subject. Our awards period deadline of 11/17 is quickly approaching. Please send our awards chair, Chris Dazet an email at cdazet@cox.net with your nominations for: • Pro of the Year • U30 Pro of the Year • Manager of the Year • We will also give an Educational Merit Award to the individual with the most educational credits
Mississippi
We have had a great fall so far despite the storm we had to deal with a couple of weeks ago, especially here on the Gulf Coast. There was lots of debris to clean, but we had no major issues. We are preparing for our USPTA Annual MS Workshop. It is set for January 12th at the Country Club of Jackson. Times: 9:00am-5:30 pm. We have a great line up of speakers this year, like never seen before and it will be announced in the next couple of days. Our meeting will be held at the same time with the USTA State meeting. Our MTA Board is willing to offer a free room and mileage again for those who attend both, the USPTA and the MTA meeting. Since, as of right now, we only have one workshop per year, it is very affordable to attend and MTA is picking up some expenses, please make an effort to attend. I know work comes first but education is important as well and we hope to see all of you in Jackson. This invitation is extended to all of our fellow pros from the neighboring states as well. See y’all on the courts!.
North Carolina
I’m excited to be asked to join the North Carolina board and to fill the shoes left vacant by Frank Morrison moving, and I look forward to representing the USPTA. Currently we are working feverishly to finalize an outstanding learning opportunity at Duke University on December 16. More details can be found on Setteo and the USPTA NC Facebook page. Goals for 2018 include increasing member communication and involvement, opportunities for U30 development, and multiple dates for sharing and development. If you have questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to reach out. usptanc@gmail.com or 678.595.2650. Darryl Lewis.
Tennessee
Tennis in Tennessee continues to show signs of strong growth! USTA participation numbers for adult and junior play are at a 4 year high, which is great news for USPTA certified professionals for more players means more business. Visit ustatn.com for more information on how to host USTA tournaments or leagues, which is a great way to boost your clientele. Tennis professionals, it is also important to register yourself as a USTA Net Generation Provider so that Net Gen users will see you on this new USTA platform. This new platform is seeing thousands of registrants each week and will serve as an excellent way to increase your business and recognition in the tennis community. For a limited time, USTA is offering free tablets to early tennis professional registrants to the Net Gen program. Congratulations to USPTA tennis professional Meg Bandy on winning the USTA Mother-Daughter Clay Court Championships. #togetherwetennis
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OUTSIDE the LINES 1. They know when to stay and when to leave. Successful people know exactly when they should change employers, start a company or fold their company. They have good intuition and aren’t afraid to make hard choices, despite opposing forces. 2. They do more than what’s asked of them. They view their job descriptions as just the beginning of what they can do with their job. After they’ve completed their mandatory tasks, they will always ask to take on more projects that challenge them. They are even willing to take on the tedious work that no one else wants to do in order to be a team player. 3. They are willing to fail in order to eventually succeed. All successful people know that it doesn’t come easy and they are bound to fail more than they will succeed at anything. They are willing to learn from each failure, as it will help them make better decisions that lead to success later. While many people give up after failing at something, a successful person will persevere. 4. They know that they make their own luck. Luck is derived from hard work over time and positioning yourself for success. You won’t randomly get lucky and successful people know that. They will do at least one thing every single day to put themselves in a better position to get lucky and then use that luck to grow. 5. They set real goals that they can accomplish. Successful people wake up and they’ve already planned their day, while unsuccessful people are scrambling to figure out what they need to do next. Their goals are very focused, big yet obtainable and are aligned to their
14 Things Every Successful Person Has in Common Excerpted from Forbes
strengths. They know what they are capable of and will invest all of their efforts in it, avoiding their weaknesses. 6. They take accountability for themselves and their actions. They aren’t relying on other people in order to get the job done. Instead, they are looking inwards and are trying to find the solutions, while leveraging their current assets. If they make a mistake, they own up to it and immediately think of ways that they can improve next time, not making the same mistake twice. 7. They make change instead of being affected by it. Successful people aren’t waiting around to be affected by economic trends. They are the ones who are creating the trends and making things happen. 8. They are able to adjust to changes in the marketplace. Successful people are willing to reinvent themselves to stay relevant in the business world. They understand that if you stay stagnant and ignore trends, that you will be left behind. They are constantly coming up with new ideas, searching for the next big thing and getting new skills. 9. They can communicate their story effectively. If you walk up to a successful person and ask them what they do, they will able to tell you everything in a concise manner. They know who they are, what they do and can make you believe in them. They have strong posture and are very persuasive and confident. 10. They ask the right questions to the people who can deliver the right answers. Successful people know they need to solve problems by tapping their networks. They
aren’t afraid of emailing or calling the best person who can answer their questions. They are always prepared with the right questions and are always willing to help the other person out in return. 11. They are life-long learners who push themselves out of their comfort zones. While most people think that when they graduate college, they are finished being a student, successful people remain students. They are constantly learning new things and have new experiences. They aren’t afraid to try new activities and to fail at them. 12. They know who they are and their place in the world. Successful people are confident and can lead themselves, as well as others. They have their own vision and mission and seek to bring it to life on a daily basis. They also know who they aren’t and don’t waste time on things that they aren’t good at or they aren’t satisfied with. 13. They are more excited about the journey than the pay out. Successful people ignore get rich quick schemes. They are more focused on building sustainable careers through hard work, risk taking and creativity. They enjoy the journey, despite the obstacles, because they are doing something that has meaning in their lives. 14. They create instead of just consume. While most people are busy reading emails, watching TV or listening to a podcast, successful people are creating new tools, presentations and coming up with ideas. They are the ones who are making things that other people need instead of being on the other end of the spectrum, consuming them.
Tech Corner First Touch Team App By Kevin Jackson
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he First Touch Team app is the ultimate tool for team communications and management for teams or groups participating in youth sports or extracurricular activities in clubs, schools and colleges. First Touch Team allows the members of a team to access all the team’s information (such as game schedule, calendar, announcements and game results) and to have instant communications (text, voice and video chats) between one another on their mobile devices. This all-in-one tool will simplify and enrich the lives of everyone involved - coaches, parents, and players. Coaches can make announcements or changes
on the go, and can send instant messages to players and parents. Parents can feel secure knowing that they haven’t missed a schedule change and can coordinate with the coach and other parents through group messaging. The app protects your privacy because only coaches, players and family members have login access. Specific functions include: For the staff (coaches and club/league officials). Broadcast instant text and voice alerts to players and families. Make and announce schedule changes within the app. Check attendance and announce game results (such as score and MVP) instantly. Access training materials on the field.
Organize folders for document sharing. For players and family: Receive real time updates of alerts, schedule changes, game results and other announcements. Access all team information in one place. Instant messaging with teammates, parents and coaches. Store, organize and share pictures and videos. Note that use of this app requires the team or organization to be registered for First Touch. Best of all the free version of this app is more than enough to use for your junior tennis players. firsttouchteam.com
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Volume 18 Issue 4
USPTA Invited Guest
Get Massive Results With Compound Effect Of Small Efforts By Suzanna McGee - from Tennis Club Business
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ompound effect what? When we decide we want something, we often want it really fast. Pretty much NOW would be the best. We want to be super fit, super lean, run marathon, become 5.0 tennis player, do a 1-minute handstand, write a book, get our health back, learn a new language, have a successful business, find the perfect for us life partner. It is nothing new if I tell you that all this takes time. And effort. And sometimes we feel like we don’t have that extra time or energy to put into this pursuit, because we are already completely full and busy with life as it is right now. But how about if I told you that even small efforts, done daily, can get you there? Each day, we make a multitude of what seem to be “tiny and insignificant” decisions. However, these decisions compounded over months, years and even decades define the quality and the direction of your life. It’s a process. Small actions. Small daily actions, that will compound into massive results over time. You can take 10 extra serves on the tennis court, or you can do 10 push-ups every morning upon awakening. You can skip the donut on the way home from work. Or add two vegetables onto your dinner plate. This is completely achievable, and believe me, it will change you! Sometimes we feel like the action is so little so it doesn’t really matter. It cannot make a difference. You feel hopeless maybe lose the drive to make the change. The following story will illustrate how even a little action, when compounded, can completely change your life. You may relate personally, or maybe it happened to some of your friends. Three Friends’ Compound Effect We have three friends, Stan (stagnant), Paul (progress), Reggie (regress). They grew up together, live in the same neighborhood, they all have work, wife, and kids, average health and body weight, and living a comfortable life. Stan just keeps living his life. He thinks he is happy, but occasionally complains that nothing ever changes. Paul starts making some small, seemingly insignificant positive changes. He begins reading 10 pages of a good book per day and listening to 30 minutes something educational or inspirational while communing to work. He also wants to feel healthier so he cuts 125 calories a day. This is really not a big deal, it is taking away one soda and drinking water instead. Or trading mayo on his sandwich for mustard. He also started to walk extra few thousands steps a day, less than a mile. This is nothing spectacular, anybody can do this. He is deter-
mined to stick with these changes. Reggie, makes a few poor choices. He recently bought a new big-screen TV to watch his favorite programs. He started to make a few new dessert recipes that he saw on the Food Channel. And he added one beer to his diet per week. Nothing crazy. He just want to have more fun in life. At the end of 5 months, there is no perceivable difference among the three friends. At the end of 10 months, we still cannot see any noticeable difference. It’s first toward the end of 18 months, 1.5 year later, we can see a slight difference in their appearances. 2.5 years later, the differences are HUGE. Reggie is fat. Paul is slim. (125 calories a day in 2.5 years is about 115,000 calories in 2.5 years, which is almost 35 lbs of fat, very roughly counted and of course, there are many other aspects playing a role, but for the simplicity, let’s assume this number). Paul has lost 35 lbs, while Reggie has gained 35 lbs and now it is 70 lbs difference between them!! Paul has also invested almost 1,000 hours of educational and self-improvement reading and listening. He put his knew knowledge into practice and got a promotion and more money at his work. And because he feels happy and healthy, his marriage is thriving too. Stan is exactly in the same place where he was 2.5 years ago, maybe just a little bit more bitter about his stagnant life. And Reggie? He has gained 35 lbs and he feels sluggish. He cannot sleep well at night. He is grouchy the next day and the sleep deprivation starts impacting his work performance. He is less productive and his boss is not happy with him. He feels dissatisfied with his performance and even the traffic on the way home is more irritating. He comes home and reaches immediately for comfort foods and a drink. He doesn’t want to take the regular walks with his wife how he used to. He starts withdrawing and not doing any activities with his wife. He lacks the endorphin release and feels unhappy. He start blaming everybody around him. He feels flabby, less self-confident, less attractive and becomes less romantic. He starts watching more TV and distance himself from his wife. She feels the distance and becomes needy. Of course, this doesn’t work. She feels lonely, so she protects herself emotionally and starts putting more energy into her work and going out with her friends. Eventually their marriage falls apart, he gets depressed, constantly underperforming at his work, and gets fired. He still blames everybody else around him, and doesn’t see that the choices he’s made has created a ripple effect that caused all the havoc in his life. As Darren Hardy says: “In essence, you make your choices, and then your choices make you.”
This is the beauty of the compound effect in its simplicity. First the results are intangible. The behavior is all the same through the days. months, and years. But the compound effect eventually kicks in to bring a massive difference. How YOU can use the compound effect Sometimes people tell me that I am too extreme in my diet, training, and life. And that they need more balance-they need to have a few beers, and eat a few bad meals, and sometimes skip their fitness training. Balance is important, they say. But I always think about the compound effect each time I am trying to make a choice what to eat, what to do, what to say… and thinking about the three friends, I often choose the thing that may seem uncomfortable in that moment, but in long term leads to progress and positive changes in my life. How you can apply the power of the compound effect in your life? 1. wake up 15 minutes earlier every day and read an inspiring or self-improvement book or start writing a few pages of that book that you have always wished to write 2. workout 30 minutes daily, even if you split in a few shorter session 3. go out to the tennis court (or a wall, grass, yard…) and serve 10-20 extra serves 4. give up sodas and drink water instead 5. skip the dessert and eat fruits instead 6. take a cold shower first thing in the morning (I have now done 615 days in a row and it’s awesome!) 7. put 10% of your paycheck into savings, or investing account 8. skip the useless reality TV program and read a good book instead 9. give your wife/husband/partner extra 5 minutes to listen to them how they feel and what they want 10. add a few stretches for your hips and shoulders into your daily program, you will feel like a new person 11. anything you want in your life, do just a little bit of it EVERY day Most of all… if you have the moment-and it will for sure come-that you don’t feel like doing this insignificant action, think about the story of the three friends and where it can lead you if you choose to do it or choose not do it. Remember, you never stand still. Every action you take, is leading you either forward or backward. What are you going to choose? Suzanna, an expert athletic trainer out of Venice Beach, California, is a regular contributor to TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS
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Volume 18 Issue 4
Try It Out
By Mark Schminke
The BATT Court Towel
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his issue’s product review is geared more towards court puddle management. With a particularly rainy summer, it was important for me to dry the courts as quickly as possible in order to continue teaching. While the squeegee has been my usual “go-to” tool in the past, I’ve come across a much more effective device that has made mopping up puddles a simple and quick task. The BATT, big absorbent tennis towel, is by far the most effective court drying tool that I have used to date. I know the squeegee’s main purpose is to disperse puddles, in hopes that it will dry faster, but anyone who’s used a squeegee is hoping that it will soak up the water like a sponge. If you’re really in a jam and need a particular puddle soaked up quickly, we have all used towels to get the job done (since there isn’t a 3’ x 5’ sponge option available at the store). The BATT works by spreading and absorbing water on a hard court after a rain when the court is beginning to dry. The high density, foam
squeegee pushes and spreads the water and the microfiber panels absorbs the water and pulls it across the court drying the surface very quickly. Connected to a pvc pipe with wheels on the end, the BATT easily rolls around the court, and can even be attached to a golf cart for easier use. Ever since using the BATT, I’ve been able to dry up the puddles on my court in almost half the time it would take the squeegee. I never have to worry about it drying out and cracking, the squeegee coming off of the pole, or not being able to use it when it’s already wet. The BATT is fully functional even when soaked.
If you’re looking for less hassle, more production, and an all around better value for your dollar, you should switch to the BATT for all of your court drying needs. The BATT is available for purchase online at www.Battowel.com.
The Social List By Tom Parkes
Junior Olympics - No Tennis Needed
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y two favorite people/(social directors) I reach out to when I start to feel like my social list is getting stale are Tom Cascarano and Bill Riddle. They both are very eager to help, but more importantly, they give me different kinds of ideas, which helps me get my brain rolling. I will not lie, the best form of flattery is stealing a good idea, and adding your twist to it. So, this Junior Social idea is a shout out to Tom Cascarano! I’m sure everyone has done a Junior Olympics idea before, and so have I, but this great idea has No Tennis involved! So, what games do you want to use? Some game ideas are cornhole, Jarts (a.k.a. Lawn darts), frisbee
golf (with trash cans or hula hoops), target tennis (with trash cans or hula hoops), ping pong, pop-a-shot (if your club has one), and any other game you can think of. This is about giving nontennis playing club members a reason to come to you. My club does this event with 6 – 14-yearold’s: We break our students up into teams based on our total number. For example, with a total of 30 kids, divide into 3 teams of 10. You would need to make sure the age groups are spread out equally, all the way through each team. Our Pro staff, as team captains, are there to help with the flow of events and to make sure everyone participates in each
event. Sometimes, the older kids get fixated on winning, rather than having fun. After each round we add up scores, keeping the team hyped up. Food, Beverages, & Prizes. Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! It’s a kid’s best friend, and a must! Other food ideas are popcorn and smoothies, and depending on the time of year, frozen pops. Parents generally want water or fruit juices for drinks, but I cheat and have soda available. For prizes, Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are a must. If there are more than 3 teams, there can be other prizes. For a bigger program, teams should be broken into age-group blocks.
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Ladies Vantage By Jenny Robb
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ust ahead of this year’s U.S. Open Championships, I had the opportunity to attend both the Girls Tennis Network workshop and the Women’s Tennis Coaching Association Conference in New York. While both shared a focus on females in tennis; they were different, while both being important and relevant. Mike Barrell’s Girls Tennis Network focuses on keeping young girls in sport through innovative and thoughtful coaching methods. The six GTN principles are: Security - creating a safe environment for girls: what it means and how to develop it. Connection - girls are social beings, by encouraging stable friendships, we ensure that they perform at their best. Individuality - A girl likes to be respected for who she is, even when she wants to fit in. Learning & Development - girls need to feel that they are improving in their game, no matter what the final outcome is. As coaches, we need to focus more on the learning process, rather than the expected outcome. Understanding and showing a girl that you appreciate incremental steps that she has made in improving her game, will be motivating enough to allow her to stay longer in the game. Creativity & Variety - although basic tennis skills remain the same, encouraging every girl to understand and adapt her personality and style
Serving Up Sagacity
helps to sustain her interest and commitment and builds her game. Helping & Collaborating - girls have a strong sense of empathy, and often wish to assist others who are not as secure as they are. Encouraging this spirit provides a good sense of community, and is an important part of what GTN is all about. Attendees received an on-court guide containing: 3 Principles of Great Practice, Player Profiling, 10 Things to Say, How I Play, Measurable Tasks, Task Based Scoring, Choosing Challenge, My Court My World, Switching Roles, Competition Time, Rewarding Behavior, Special Consideration for Girls, and a Summary. This inclusive program instructs both male and female coaches alike about how to better approach keeping girls playing tennis. The WTCA Conference boasted a world-class list of presenters championing “The Art of Coaching Female Players.” Grand Slam champions Mary Pierce, Gigi Fernandez, and Lindsay Davenport joined medical advisors and internationally heralded tennis experts such as Judy Murray, Emma Doyle, Sarah Stone, and Dr. Michelle Cleere. It was truly an unforgettable celebration of women in tennis!
Our Southern Master Pros Share
Give Them Choices
By Mark Reardon, Master Professional
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believe making personal decisions about how we conduct our lives and choosing this or that is one of the most empowering things we do. As all parents know we cannot let our kids make very many of those choices that have long term consequences. As they mature, we slowly begin to give them more and more responsibility about making choices that don’t have such dire consequences when they choose badly. In so doing, sometimes we let experience end up being a better teacher than we would be. One of the strategies I have incorporated into my teaching is something I learned from my parents. When there was a task or something that had to be done my folks would turn it into what felt like a cooperative decision. If I had to wash the car or mow the grass, they gave me a time frame in which it had to be done. That time frame was also tied to when I received my allowance. I felt like we came to the decision together. Back then I never recognized the part about not having a choice as to whether I was going to mow the grass or wash the car. They smoothed me over and it just felt like part of life where I got to participate in the process. Now when I teach young players I try to use the same concept. For the ones I teach weekly, parents want me to teach their children based on what experience has taught me is the best plan for that child. For a very young one, I will tell them what we are working on that day. Let’s say it is the forehand and the beginning of a slice backhand. I will offer up a choice, “Ben, which do you want to do first?” He will choose and appreciate that I gave him an option. If he offered some resistance to the two skills we were working on then I may also offer some type of reward to get him to the bargaining table. As the kids become older and are much smarter, one must become more savvy with this whole idea of offering choices. Again, if we assume I am talking about a long term student we will begin each season (either 4 or 6 months) and talk about where we need to go from a big picture point of view. If they have been playing for a few years they likely know what needs
work in order to keep moving forward. What they don’t know is exactly how to get there. That is where I come in again, with a choice. I have found that isolating on two skills and being very systematic throughout the period is the best way to enjoy legitimate growth in that area. I will almost always start the conversation with, “We are going to work on two things for the next 4 months. One of them has to be a weakness and the other has to be a strength. We are going to take the weakness and make it respectable and we are going to take the strength and turn it into an absolute weapon.” What I will do is allow them to choose one of them and I will choose the other. Because they know perfectly well where their strengths and weaknesses lie we end up working on what needs work. This whole dance I mentioned in the previous paragraph is what magicians call a forced choice or magician’s choice. When they ask you to “pick a card, any card” or to “choose one of the three cups on the table” they have complete control of everything that is about to happen after that. Regardless of your choice, you will be doing exactly what they want you to do because they have played out this scenario many, many times. Now, I know this all sounds very manipulative and maybe it is. But it is manipulative with an altruistic motive, to keep the learning process moving forward and to make sure the student is part of the process rather than just being dictated to by the instructor. So, by the time our young student has matured into a seasoned tournament player we are genuinely collaborating about where they are in the process. When there is an important tournament looming they can tell me what sort of work will give them the most confidence going into the event. The process begins in the early days by doing what it takes to make the student compliant, albeit with a bit of well intended manipulation. But years later it ends with student and teacher working together to achieve the best result possible. Mark my words, it has worked well for me, especially in terms of maintaining a good working relationship with the student.
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Southern Officers The “Standard” is the official newsletter for the Southern Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association.
President Lane Evans Levans290@gmail 707-396-6206 1st Vice President Kevin Theos theos@sta.usta.com 205-790-7256 2nd Vice President Kaitlin Flaherty kflaherty07@gmail.com 832-656-4472 Secretary/Treasurer Tom Parkes pvcctennis@gmail.com 910-233-4755 Past President/Regional VP Todd Upchurch tupchurch1@gmail.com 704-258-7220 Directors at Large Ken Andriano kandriano@theriverclub-ga.com 336-541-5876
Bill Riddle tennisun@aol.com 615-243-6698 Executive Director Pat Whitworth usptasouthern@gmail.com 800-438-7782 (phone/fax) Head Tester Tom Daglis tdaglis@rometenniscenter.com 706-506-0417 State Presidents ALABAMA Jenny Robb jennywrobb@gmail.com 205-902-1188 ARKANSAS Bob Wagstaff bwagstaff@hsvpoa.org 501-922-5054 GEORGIA Billy Uelze buelze@me.com
FAST FACTS Wilson History and Facts
KENTUCKY David White d.white@topspeedtennis.net LOUISIANA Jason Hazley usptala@gmail.com 225-247-3028 MISSISSIPPI Bo Gard bogdangard@yahoo.com 228-243-3110 NORTH CAROLINA Darryl Lewis usptanc@gmail.com 828-964-8490 SOUTH CAROLINA Kevin Jackson camdencctennis@gmail.com 803-432-6711 TENNESSEE Michael Chamberlain chamberlaintennis@gmail.com 901-765-4414
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The courts in Singapore hosting the WTA finals are significantly slower than usual
Do what is right, not what is easy or popular.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame has named Michael Chang as a Global Ambassador for the organization
Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.
Interesting look at what some of the “all time” men greats have earned in their careers All-time earnings: 1. Novak Djokovic
$109,805,403
2. Roger Federer
$109,387,410
3. Rafael Nadal
$91,199,322
4. Andy Murray
$60,807,644
5. Pete Sampras
$43,280,489
6. Andre Agassi
$31,152,975
7. David Ferrer
$30,760,436
8. Stan Wawrinka
$30,623,544
9. Tomas Berdych
$28,220,153
10. Boris Becker
$25,080,956
Acts of Kindness: A random act of kindness no matter how small can make a tremendous impact on someone else’s life. All by Roy Bennett
USPTA Certification Tests & Upgrades Nov 11 Park Crossing Charlotte, NC Nov 18-19 Rome Tennis Center Rome, GA Dec 02 Camden Country Club Camden, SC Dec 03 Williamson County Parks & Recreation Brentwood, TN Dec 9-10 Medlock Bridge Tennis Club Atlanta, GA Dec. 10 Haigh Point Club Hilton Head, SC
USPTA Welcomes Our New Members Allport, David Alston, Jeremy Appelt, Alex Black, Marcia-Lynn Bradshaw, David Burke, Veronica Cash, Troy Daniel, Eric Daniel, Russell Duric, Zorica Fintak, Jonathan Garcia, Eduardo Garcia Pino, Lucia Golopencza, Zsofia Gottenberg, Ben Gupta, Anish Harrold, Jeffrey Hiles, Joseph Himes, Allison Holloway, Jackson McAllister, Jacob Menzel, Siegfried Moore, Jennifer Orellana, Gus Pierce, Roy Proffitt, Brian Steinbauer, Matthew Tomlin, Charles Varner, Sarah Wiggs, Kevin
Dayton TN Raleigh NC Arden NC Clarkesville GA Charleston SC Durham NC Johnson City TN Canton GA Canton GA Hickory NC Fayetteville NC New Orleans LA Charlotte NC Guyton GA Marietta GA Germantown TN Fripp Island SC Dunwoody GA Fayetteville NC Moultrie GA Tuscaloosa AL Central SC Durham NC Abbeville LA Rockvale TN Calhoun GA Marietta GA Fayetteville GA Oxford MS Selma NC
USPTA SOUTHERN DIVISION
NEWSLETTER 337 Rhodes House Court SUWANEE, GA 30024
The Standard is published every 60 days by the Southern Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association. The opinions expressed in The Standard are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Standard, the USPTA or Southern Division. CopyrightŠ The Standard/United States Professional Tennis Association, Inc. 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of the newsletter is not permitted without the written permission from the USPTA Southern Division. Advertising information: All ads must be camera ready and in color, if possible. Prices are per issue. Full Page......... $400 Half Page........ $275 1/4 Page......... $140