USPTA Southern Standard June 2023

President’s Message

I hope everyone is having a healthy and prosperous summer. I would like to thank Ken Andriano and the whole Atlanta Country Club staff for hosng a great event. The entire ACC staff made everyone feel at home. Great job Ken and the ACC staff.

This year’s Southern Conference was a big success. I would like to thank everyone who came to the conference and the amazing speakers for making the conference a big success. I met a lot of new pros, had a bunch of laughs, and had some great conversaons. This is the reason I love going to live workshops and conferences.

By Tom Parkes

I want to congratulate all the award winners for this year. Thank you for being great stewards of USPTA Southern and for the game of tennis. Congratulaons to Todd Upchurch for being inducted into the USPTA Southern Hall of Fame. I can think of no more deserving person for this honor. Todd is a tennis industry innovator and has given more back to the game than he has ever asked for. Darryl Lewis received the “Fred Burdick” Pride of the South Award. Darryl has been a great mentor to a lot of young tennis professionals, as well as stepping up to take over as the Head Coach Developer for Pickleball for USPTA Southern. Finally, Dan Beedle for winning USPTA Southern Professional of the Year. Dan has spent a lot

Call for Application to the State and Southern Board

any new or current board member should apply to the appropriate chair person

Members of the USPTA Nominating Committees are searching for candidates who are interested in serving on the State or Southern Board for the 2-year term 2024-2025. To serve on the Southern Board you must be a member in good standing with a minimum certification level of Professional. Anyone who fits these qualifications is eligible and encouraged to apply. Contact the Nominating Chairperson listed below.

DEADLINES: The application period will run through July 25. Interview period will run through August 25th, and the selections will be published by September 10. Thanks in advance to all that are interested in serving the Southern Division.

While each committee may draft its own questions, here are some basic questions you should consider.

1. What board position are you applying for? (Circle all that apply)

President 1st VP VP Sec/ Treasurer Where Needed

of me and energy giving back to a sport he loves. Dan has presented at workshops and conferences. He has goen cerfied to be Coach Developer for Cardio Tennis, works amazingly hard at his connuing educaon, as well as being a great leader in his community.

Last, we have the USPTA naonal board elecon coming up this year. I think the slate of nominees put forward by the USPTA naonal nominang commiee is a great group to represent us for the next 2 years. Please take the me to vote when the me comes to vote.

Have a great summer!!!!

2. What strengths do you bring to the board?

3. What is your vision for moving USPTA forward?

4. In what specific area do you believe you can most positively impact the board and why?

5. What events/workshops/meetings/USPTA programs have you participated in during the last 12 months?

6. How much time are you able to offer?

Contact the nominating chair of the board you will apply for.

• Southern – Dave Neuhartdneuhart@greenislandcc.org

• Alabama - Jenny Robb - jennywrobb@gmail.com

• Arkansas - Travis Johnsontjohnson@ChenalCC.com

• Kentucky - Tom McGraw - tomgmcgraw@comcast.net

• Georgia - Allan JensenAjensen.tennis@gmail.com

• Louisiana - TBA

• Mississippi - Billy Gip Clark - bgipclark@gmail.com

• North Carolina - Adam Thomsona.thomson@forsythcc.com

• South Carolina - Mark Schminkeschminketennisathletics@gmail.com

• Tennessee - MJ Garnett - windyketennis@aol.com

Here’s how her mom helped hone her mental toughness

By Alexa Mikhail excerpted from Fortune WELL

When Anna Leigh Waters feels the pressure inching closer on the court and needs to climb out of the hole, she calls a meout and talks to herself. Taking a deep breath, analyzing her strategy, and focusing on her mindset centers her above all else, oen snapping her back into the game to make a comeback.

“When you’re in the hole, you have to stay posive because your opponent’s trying to beat you, and if you’re trying to beat yourself too, then that’s two against one,” the 16-year-old athlete tells Fortune. “Believe in your shots. Believe in your game and what you’ve done.”

Waters’ mental strength and compeve edge helped launch her to the top of her game she holds the number one tle in pickleball worldwide in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Waters turned professional in pickleball at age 12, becoming the youngest pro player in the sport. She quickly climbed up the ranks, having since racked up 10 triple crowns and six gold medals from the USA Pickleball Naonals.

She oen turns to her mom, an expert player herself in pickleball who le her lawyer job to coach and travel with her daughter, on the sidelines for a “tuneup session,” Waters says. “If I’m missing a couple shots, she’ll be like, ‘Anna Leigh, just be you,’” Waters says. “It really helps me a lot because I know what I can do and what I’ve done in the past, so if I remember those moments, or just remember me being me, it really helps me and gets me movated.”

‘Pressure is a privilege’

Keeping her eyes on the prize, and strengthening her confidence in a short amount of me, is no easy feat. Waters aributes her ability to crush self-doubt and stay posive in moments of high stress to her mother’s words of wisdom and the mental coach she has had on her side for the last year. The more mes Waters pracces talking kindly about herself, the more she has shown up on and off the court and been able to “tune -up” without the help of her coaches. She also reminds herself: “Pressure is a privilege.” That burning, heart racing feeling means she cares, and has already accomplished something worthwhile in the past.

Giving yourself grace is tough, Waters says, especially because the brain generates thousands of oen unhelpful and negave thoughts each day. But acvely switching gears has helped Waters succeed.

“Watching Anna Leigh compete, she’s feisty. She’s the animal. She’s an absolute beast on the court,” says Chrisan Alshon, a professional pickleballer who oen plays with Waters, in a previous Fortune video interview.

Waters, a natural athlete who grew up on the tennis court and soccer field, never expected to turn pickleball into a career. When her grandfather asked her and her mom to play pickleball aer evacuang their home in Florida due to Hurricane Irma in 2017, she gave the sport a go. Waters and her mom fell in love with the game and began playing together. “It was just something that we could do and could travel, and then all of a sudden, aer COVID, pickleball blew up,” she says. “I just kind of fell into the right spot at the right me, and I’m really grateful that I found the sport when I did.”

The duo soon aer competed in tournaments recognized for their savvy and aggressive playing style and won naonals in 2019. Waters credits her mom for giving the game a more fast -paced compeve edge, using harder-hing shots instead of soer ones. “We have this mother -daughter intuion where we know where the other one is going to be on the court,” Waters previously told Fortune.

The daily roune of the world’s number-one pickleball player

Waters typically begins her day in the morning with two hours of drill sessions with her mom or a local hing partner. Aer doing her school work, she heads back to the gym around 3 p.m. for another two hours with her trainer. She’s been traveling for tournaments every other week from Thursday to Sunday. In these instances, she will take Monday as a recovery day and return to the court by Tuesday.

The rise of the pickleballer

Waters’ dedicaon and love for the sport mirrors the slew of people trading in their tennis rackets for paddles over 36 million Americans played pickleball in

2022. Founded in 1965, pickleball combines the style of tennis, badminton, and ping pong and has become accessible across generaons and skill levels. It’s now America’s fastest-growing sport.

“As I get older, and as I grew up, I feel like the sport is doing the same thing,” she says, who has noced more people at local parks playing the game and has even observed newly installed pickleball courts replacing tennis courts overhead when she’s flying across the country. “The only good thing that came out of COVID was that people started to know what pickleball was,” Waters says. “It’s so addicng and people love it so much that they’ll go and tell all their friends about it and like try to really get them to try and they’re super inving and helpful.”

Much as pickleball serves the I-play-for-fun amateur, its place as a professional sport skyrocketed too. Pickleball professional leagues sprung up along with a pickleball dra last year CBS televised the game for the first me on a major broadcast network, which featured a match with Waters and her mom.

“Pickleball unassumingly fosters a childlike wonder in play and movement, while naturally highlighng the human need for community and fun,” says David Dutrieuille, the naonal pickleball director at Life Time. “It’s a sport that you accidently fall in love with.”

At Life Time, pickleball parcipaon has grown 300% over the last year. The fitness company hopes to have over 1,000 courts by the end of 2024, Dutrieuille says. The sport’s popularity among high-profile celebries like Bill and Melinda Gates and LeBron James has propelled the sport’s growth and goen the game to go mainstream.

Waters, who now has brand deals with Fila and Paddletek among others and earns a six-figure salary from winnings and endorsements, sees the sport’s benefits beyond her success on the court. She wants more people to see how pickleball can be for everyone with the bonus that it’s strengthened her ability to stay mentally tough amid stress. “Just get out there and try it once. I promise you’ll love it,” Waters says, whose goal is to play pickleball in the Olympics.

Congratulations to our recent award winners and Hall of Fame Inductee

Not pictured:

Industry Excellence: Mark McMahon

Teaching Professional: Mike Pollard

Mentor: Brandon Black

College Coach: Jim Turley

Hall of Fame: Todd Upchurch Fred Burdick Pride of Allan Henry Pro of the High Performance Coach The South: Darryl Lewis Year: Dan Beedle Walker Sahag

Assistant Pro: Pete Pastor Manager: Mahew Collins

It Was A Conference Worth the Time by Pat Whitworth Master Professional

We were blessed to return to the beauful Atlanta Country Club. Host professional Ken Andriano and his staff Jen Sinclair, Joy Bitaraes, and Maddie Andriano, were amazing hosts. They had everything set for us, and were always ready to make our day great. THANKS to your team Ken We owe a big thank you also to Walker and Ray Sahag, who were able to fill in when Mickael Pernfors had to drop, and then fill in even more when Feisal Hassan had to drop out the week prior. They are so knowledgeable, and they make learning easy.

Some of our local pros stepped up with fantasc presentaons. Marcus Rutsche kicked off the conference with a doubles presentaon, and Tim Smith took us to the welcome party with a neat pickleball presentaon. Allan Jensen

showed us some solid singles drills and ideas, and even in the rain, Ma Grayson was amazing. He shared how his club has altered their coaching for doubles, and the success it has brought to their ladies doubles programs.

Special congratulaons to our award winners including Darryl Lewis as the Pride of the South and Dan Beedle as the Pro of the year. I am very proud that Todd Upchurch was selected to the Hall of Fame. He has served USPTA Southern for almost half of his life. THANKS Todd for all your efforts. We were also fortunate to have one of our own Naonal Board Member Kevin Theos. He has a new seminar on Athlec Development that was very well received. He came so prepared that he has the material for 2 hours. WOW.

First Conference - and I’ll

Be BACK

What a great weekend of tennis at the USPTA Southern Conference. It was hosted at the beauful Atlanta Country Club in Mariea GA. I thoroughly enjoyed learning on court and off court from some of the best.

Walker Sahag taught high performance strategies, drilling, and pro technique. She also showed us some of her coaching tools. Others brought drills, rotaons and advice to make programs and coaching top notch. There was something for everyone.

The cardio tennis was a great demonstraon and fresh look using orange balls and the new website led by Bill Riddle and Dan Beedle. One of my most favorite events was the faith and fellowship meeng Saturday morning. We had

by Olivia Pedro USPTA Professional great

dialogue about eternity and fellowship.

Delaine Mast did a great job reminding us that we are doing much more than teaching tennis. We all have the ability to change lives on and off court. She urged us to think of ways to impact the community.

I highly recommend joining the next conference. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and posive. The fellowship, networking and friendship made the event extra special.

I thank the club, Pat Whitworth and all the staff and USPTA leaders for making the conference an event to remember. I am looking forward to our next one.

5 Effective Storytelling Tips That Will Help You Become a Better Leader

by Jeff Miller Coaching

When we talk about important leadership skills, one of the first things that comes to mind is usually storytelling. In areas like business and politics, being a great storyteller as a leader seems to be the prerequisite for achieving great deeds. As the late Steve Jobs once said, “The storyteller can set the values, vision, and agenda of an entire generation.”

But why is storytelling so effective? Well, it all comes down to a process called “neural coupling.” When we listen to a compelling story, the mirror neurons in our brains activate, and we start imagining ourselves in the storyteller’s shoes. Doing so allows us to create an emotional attachment to the story and connect it to our own situation at a human level. Of course, being a great storyteller isn’t that simple. If you’re looking to improve this leadership skill, start by taking note of the following five storytelling tips.

1. Get Personal

Studies show that people forget over 40% of the information they received by the next day. Want your story to

have an impact? Try humanizing it by adding a personal anecdote. On top of lightening the mood, a good anecdote can help illustrate your perspective. For best results, find an interesting way to connect the anecdote to the business situation your story is about.

2. Provide Context

Presented by McMahon Careers

possible. Ideally, you’d keep each bit of the story within a time frame of 45 seconds while using clever hooks to keep the audience engaged. Remember: a punchy story with a clear message will make a bigger impact than a lengthy, rambling one.

4. Stay Humble

Another way to make the audience more interested in your story is to keep providing context throughout it. Aim to reinforce what your business is work-

Many leaders dread the idea of bearing their failures in front of their employees and colleagues. However, it’s just that humility that can build trust in your story. If you show the capacity for learning and the willingness to adjust the course, you’re more likely to create a tight connection with your audience. Nobody has all the answers, so there’s no reason to pretend you do.

ing towards, how they plan to get there, and what changes you’re looking to make as a leader. The more you contextualize your story, the easier it will be for your employees to realize why the changes need to happen.

3. Be Brief

As people’s attention spans get shorter, leaders should focus on making their stories as brief and concise as

5. Seek Feedback

When you’re done telling your story, find out how the audience reacted to it by seeking their feedback. See what they remember most about your story and allow them to ask questions about it. Taking notes of the audience’s takeawa ys is the m ost reliable way to figure out what works and what doesn’t with your storytelling approach.

The USPTA Southern Conference was phenomenal! I highly recommend you aend next year. The informaon and knowledge were incredible, but simply geng to know all of the fantasc people involved with the USPTA alone was worth it!

USPTA Georgia has extended a special invitaon to their workshop in mid-July. Jorge Capestany will be one of many fantasc speakers presenng that day. The cost of the workshop also includes an aernoon pass to the Atlanta Open! We’ll be sure to email all the details to you once they are finalized. Our complimentary workshop has been set for Saturday, December 2nd. Oliver Reynolds, the head coach for the Samford University Men’ s Tennis Team, has been generous enough to let us use their indoor facility for our workshop. Thank you, Coach Reynolds! We plan to have a full slate of speakers with lunch and happy hour provided and at least one pickleball presentaon. More details later this year.

USPTA Arkansas chapter recently hosted its 2023 annual workshop at Rebsamen Tennis Center in Lile Rock. 28 pros and assistants aended Ken DeHart and his uniquely successful coaching presentaon. All presenters were fantasc. Big thanks to Chris Stuart, Jared Compton and the rest of the team at USTA Southern and USTA Arkansas for their connued support of our chapter .

The newly formed Arkansas High School tennis coaches associaon has been endorsed by the Arkansas Acvies Associaon as well as USTA Arkansas. Teaching professionals from around the state will be called upon to mentor some of our high school coaches. Regional workshops are happening now.

A big thank you to Atlanta Country Club for hosng all of us for the USPTA Southern Annual Meeng in Atlanta, GA. There were lots of great speakers that provided us with some very helpful and useful informaon on and off court. They presenters came from South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and even as far as Philadelphia. Also, a big shout out to all of our vendors that where there show us the latest products in the industry. Finally, congrats to all the award winners and Todd Upchurch for his inducon into the USPTA Southern Hall of Fame. In July, we will have Jorge Capestany to fill our heads and our notebooks with great drills for all situaons, as well as entertain us with how best to grow our programs through instrucon and events. There will also be other great speakers that morning to help us grow before we all head to the Atlanta Open pro tennis matches. More details will be coming out soon about this fantasc opportunity. This will be a terrific event for all professionals and coaches.

Lafayee hosted the extremely knowledgeable Dr Mark Kovacs June 16t h at Oakbourne Country Club. It was a great showing with 40 registered guests, 11 of whom were non-USPTA members. This event was the second USPTA/USTA joint pros workshops that have been held over the past two years with the goal of engaging local pros/coaches with each other and their respecve CTA's. Great discussions were had in the classroom regarding the USPTA Cerficaon pathway, and Mark Kovacs shared his wealth of knowledge on serve and groundstroke mechanics. Thank you to all those who took the me to aend and priorize connuing educaon!

Come to the Wild Dunes Resort for the SC workshop 11/17-18. Wild Dunes (near Charleston) has twelve clay courts and five pickleball courts. In conjuncon with the USTA SC annual meeng there will be plenty of opportunity to earn educaonal credits, as well as enjoy social acvies. The aernoon of the 17th we plan to support the round robin play of the USTA SC volunteers. Shortly aer the round robin you are invited to the USTA SC social. The morning of the 18th we host a Cardio Tennis opportunity, led by our very own Bill Riddle. Our featured speaker on Saturday is Jorge Andrew. He is a master professional in both the USPTA and PTR. A pickleball cerficaon will be offered on November 18. Registraon is available at USPTA.com.

Our NC State Workshop will be held during the Winston-Salem Open on Sunday, August 20th from 9am unl 1pm. Speakers include the legendary tennis personalies of Mike Barrell and Bill Riddle. More informaon will be sent soon by email.

Our USPTA state workshop will be Saturday December 2nd in Knoxville. Last year we had over 30 pros/coaches show and we would love to improve on that number. We have a great lineup planned including three USPTA Master Pros! We are also planning a pickleball cerficaon workshop for the Sunday aer the state workshop. More details to follow.

The new Lewhich Tennis Center in Memphis connues to move toward compleon. No doubt it will be a wonderful facility for the Memphis community.

If you are looking to get some new apparel and footwear dont forget about the Tennis Warehouse discount you receive as a USPTA member!

Todd Upchurch, Hall of Fame 2023, Serve It Up Tennis Academy, Charloe NC

Give a brief descripon of your tennis/other career: I decided to leave college when I was 19 to follow my dream of teaching with a passion for tennis. Started coaching at a large public tennis center and worked in the pro shop. While there, I also coached high school boys and girls teams. Moved to a swim & racquet club, then tried to buy my own club in Georgia. I moved to Charloe, NC to become the Tennis Director at Carmel Country Club for 10 years. I le to start Serve It UP Tennis Academy in 2010 and have

Dan Beedle, 2023 Pro of the Year, Fort Sanders Health & Fitness, Knoxville, TN

Give a brief descripon of your tennis/other career: I started playing tennis Freshman year of high school, played 2 years at DIII Manchester College in Indiana then transferred to Ferris State University for their PTM program.

When did you start playing tennis? Freshman year of high school

What other sports did you play? Baseball, Swimming, Golf

What moved you to teach tennis? My high school coach made every tennis pracce fun. Once I found out about the Professional Tennis Management program at Ferris State I thought if your going to do something to earn a living for 40-50 years it might as well be

been running it ever since.

When did you start playing tennis? Age 6

What other sports did you play? Baseball, basketball, wrestling

What moved you to teach tennis? Aer college, I had worked a few jobs but nothing ever interested me like tennis. When I found out you could make a living teaching tennis to others, I went all in and never looked back.

What is something people will be surprised to learn about you? I am a homebody and enjoy me by myself to recharge.

What are your hobbies? I like to mountain and road bike, listen to music and watch my kids play sports.

What is your favorite movie? Saving Private Ryan

Are you reading anything right now? Never

something you enjoy.

What is something people will be surprised to learn about you? I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan (books and movies) and have been to one of the film locaons in New Zealand.

What are your hobbies? Aending conferences, traveling with my wife and playing with our pup Melbourne.

What is your favorite movie? The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Are you reading anything right now? Legacy –James Kerr

What is your favorite sports team? NFLPisburgh Steelers, NHL - Pisburgh Penguins, College Basketball - Butler Bulldogs

Who is your favorite player of all me? Rafa

Finished by David Goggins

What is your favorite sports team? Atlanta Braves

Who is your favorite player of all me? Andre Agassi

What person would you most like to have lunch with? Warren Buffe

What would you be doing if you were not in tennis? Coaching another sport or something in music.

If you had a "do over", what one thing would you have done differently in your teaching career? I believe everything has a reason for why it happened at the me it happened. If I changed anything I probably would have stayed at the country club longer. Owning your own business has had its ups and downs but it made me the pro I am today.

Nadal

What person would you most like to have lunch with? Jim Carrey

What would you be doing if you were not in tennis? I would probably be a Golf Instructor If you had a do over, what one thing would you have done differently in your teaching career? At the beginning of my career, I probably over focused on technique without discussing the taccal component. I was teaching the players how to hit the ball but not how to play the game.

Doubles Clinic for Junior Tennis Players (90 minutes)

By Jason Hazley - USPTA Master Professional

-Live ball pre-match style warmup (15 mins)

Mini tennis with gradual progression to baseline

Back court rally

Volleys, Lobs and overheads

-Player fed live ball drill (20 mins)

Half court drill w/ both players starng in No Man’s Land.

Off the feed, both players move forward and close the net aacking the opponent. Points of focus: a mely split step, keeping the ball low and aacking the high volley. Up the river down the river w/ rotaons every 6 mins.

-Serve return pracce half court (25 minutes). Focus of high consistency rate of first serves and returns in

play. Majority of serves are targeted up the center line.

-Doubles (30 minutes) Areas of focus and possible adjustment

-High % of first serves either at the body or up the service “T”.

-High volleys aack the opposing net person. Low volleys are deep to the baseliner or angled for a drop volley off the court.

-If a return team is struggling to make returns or play a second ball, starng with both players back can take stress off the returner and increases the chances of geng into the point.

One Good Idea!

From the USPTA Southern Conference notes from Rick Wille

Dan Beedle-Using the orange ball for Cardio tennis allows you to equal the playing level allowing more variety of athletes to play together. This helps you train for tennis by playing tennis. Without equalizing the levels, many pros resort to feeding balls for an hour without the athletes playing the sport. Having lower pressure balls is key to safety and leveling Cardio.

Tim Smith- New pickleball players start off hing hard and play “tennis” on the pickleball court. It can work against some players, yet it’s a part of everyone’s game. The No Volley Zone, aka the Kitchen, was put into the game to make it a unique sport. Players need to use it to their advantage. Hit drop shots into the Kitchen to advance to the line and dink unl you get a high ball to aack to win the point. Make the transion from banger to dinker.

Walker Sahag did a dynamic presentaon combining her experse with video. She explained the significance starng forward on the serve, shiing weight back, loading, and finishing the serve with weight forward and staggered

Southern Channel

While you are not able to earn credit on the videos posted, there is a huge variety on our channel. The videos from the recent conference are being edited and posted weekly.

There are over 175 videos from conferences and workshops during the last 10 years. Just search on Youtube for usptasouthern (no spaces) and the first item is our channel.

footwork going into the shot. This creates a more explosive serve pung the returner on defense. She went on to discuss how important footwork between shots is taking a minimum of 8-14 steps. Deep power serves provide a serving advantage for the plus 1 return. The potency of the serve sets up the control to win the point. She noted several mes how the beginning of the point raises the percentages taking the offense to win the point. A major percentage of points are 0-3 shots max in singles. This translates to 30 second points. In summary, the serve is a combinaon of beginning weight on front foot, shiing weight to back foot, loading serve, and exploding with staggered footwork on front foot to take control.

Ma Grayson discussed keeping league season pracces focused on 1 or 2 concepts for the enre season vs. having new strategies and drills every week, which can createe confusion and lowers probability of improvement. His teams saw a big improvement in taccal decision-making in match play pung them in these situaons repeatedly in pracce. This was his priority all season. This helped them understand what shots were available to them based on what the opponents do. Once the team players realized that every shot they pracced wasn’t available during the match, they could focus on aacking and decide what shot would work best.

Todd Upchurch- “You don’t the difference unl you know the difference”, from his Hall of Fame speech.

Southern Page

Of course there is a Facebook page that is frequently updated with current happenings. Just search for USPTA southern and you will be directed to our page.

Southern

While this is our newest page, you will also find it by searching for USPTA Southern.

Microso Word Tips to Make Your Life Easier

By Edward Mendelson

Motivation Is What Gets You Started. Habit Is What Keeps You Going.”

Jim Rohn

“Setting Goals Is The First Step In Turning The Invisible Into The Visible.”

Tony Robbins

“Expect The Best, Prepare For The Worst, Capitalize On What Comes.”

Zig Ziglar