USPTA LOUISIANA
USPTA-LA PRESIDENTS MESSAGE:
WHY BECOME USPTA CERTIFIED?
Why become USPTA Certified? You've no doubt asked yourself this question and perhaps even questioned maintaining your certification.
USPTA certified pros have access to: networking, continuing education, healthcare discounts, liability insurance, Tennis Warehouse discounts, car rental discounts, the list goes on.
But let's approach this from a different perspective: your clients For starters, in any other skilled industry, whether or not to have or maintain a certification is not even a question. When you become certified (and maintain your certification) you are setting the standard for your clients that you not only possess the required skills to teach tactics and technique, but you can demonstrate those skills. Having an active certification communicates you are dedicated to your craft, continuously upskilling through your required continuing education, and you are staying knowledgeable on modern tennis. If you are charging $50-100+ for a private lesson and expecting your players to put in the work - you should be as well. Our players deserve pros who are dedicated to their craft Does having USPTA Certification benefit us? Yes, absolutely. But let's not forget the big picture -- we're here to raise the standard of teaching professionals so we can provide the best possible experience for our players.
CONTACT US
LyndseyMixon(President)
JohnWahlborg(1stVP)
HassanAbbas(2ndVP)
AnnaMonhartova(Sec/Trea)
usptala@gmailcom
NEWSLETTER
MAY 2023
John Wahlborg and Steve Garmin hosted a Special Olympics tournament at Cross Gates Family Fitness in Slidell in March with about 16 Special Olympics players with unified partners. Participants had a blast!
USPTA-LA PROS IN ACTION
DEVELOPING PLAYERS, CHANGING LIVES
Coach Alvin (AJ) Varnado has been teaching for almost three decades He is a Co-Director and Tennis Director of A’s & Aces, a New Orleans based NJTL founded in 2008 that has been recognized nationally (2013 USTA National NJTL Chapter of the Year) Coach AJ is a highperformance, USPTA Elite Pro, and PTR Professional, who has worked with players of all levels and ages. It is not the titles that make him an exceptional teacher. Coach AJ is more than a coach – he is a dedicated educator, a mentor to players and his fellow co-workers, and a wellrounded tennis industry specialist He is currently working on A’s & Aces’ capacity to expand its programming and reach more children, recruit and train more young coaches, and reach more public schools. This year Coach AJ also joined the LTA’s Board of Directors; his goals include developing opportunities statewide for those who have historically lacked access to the game of tennis, as well as increasing the number of coaches from underrepresented groups.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT: SLIDELL SPECIAL
OLYMPICS
USPTA-LA PROS IN ACTION
USTA tournament opportunities are steadily increasing thanks to many of our USPTA certified pros running tournaments. Meyer Schwartzberg had a huge success running a Level 7 with approximately 70 players. Ronnie Walters ran a Level 6 with over 130 players.
Hosting USTA tournaments creates great exposure for a facility's programming, while creating play opportunities for junior players and additional coaching opportunities for new and experienced Pro's.
USPTA Professionals who are also USTA Tournament Directors:
Anna Monhartova, Chris Dudley, Davor Dekaris, Hassan Abbas, Hossam Meligy, Hunter Cobb, Jill Zimmer, Johnny Wahlborg, Kyli Lasalle, Lee Macalester, Marius Frosa, Martina Kemp, Meyer Schwartzberg, Patrick Lewis, Ronnie Walters, Willie Paz
DATES TO KNOW
MAY 18-20: USPTA SOUTHERN CONVENTION, ATLANTA COUNTRY CLUB
MAY 27-29: LOUISIANA STATE CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIP (LEVEL 5)LAFAYETTE
JUNE 16: USPTA LA/USTA PROS WORKSHOP, LAFAYETTE
SEPT 24-29: USPTA 2023 WORLD CONFERENCE, ORLANDO
