Learn from a Veteran with 25+ at the same facility

“Success Secrets”

By Pat Whitworth, USPTA Master Professional

Crieg Matthieson

Creig has been serving as Director of Tennis at St Ives Country Club since 1993. Before joining St Ives Country Club, Creig served as Director of Tennis at Las Colinas Country Club, a premier club in Irving, Texas. Creig also served as Director of Tennis at the University Club of Dallas. He has worked with the former ATP Pro, Bill Scanlon, and Tom Cain, former ATP Tour, and SMU collegiate player. Creig and the St Ives Tennis Staff have coached numerous ALTA and USTA champions for both adults and juniors resulting in 158 representations at city finals.

Creig has been a certified member of the USPTA with an Elite Professional rating for the past 40 years. He has also held board positions for tennis organizations, served as CoTournament Director for the USPTA national championships, and served as Co-Convention Chairman for the TPTA.

Creig, I understand that you still work more than 40 hours a week. Why do you

put in so many hours? Currently, we have a very active club with 30-40 teams each season, special events, and plenty of member play. The club is closed on Monday’s, but we run a busy on court day while golf and the club are closed. Add all the off-court with a very successful tennis/lifestyle shop which I own, a healthy stringing business, and the day-to-day administration, and it leads to very full week. In fact, I have been working over 70 hours a week since 1980.

What are you looking for when hiring a

professional? Fortunately, I have been blessed to have staff with me for 6-16 years. All staff are encouraged to be certified and show that they are serious. In order to move up to a director, they should be certified. I look for people that are fun, that are not too serious. Good, positive energy is also a must. They do not have to be a great player to be a good communicator and instructor. They also have to be able to handle the hours. A strong candidate turned down a job offer when they learned they would have to work into the night, and weekends. As the director, we look to have a well-rounded staff and fill positions with the right people. This might mean a younger, more energetic person to be with the young junior tennis players.

What threats do you see that are facing

our industry? My big concern is there is not really an incentive to become a director of tennis. When I was in my twenties, the director I worked for made all tennis commissions, all of the pro shop, income from tournaments and events, and more. This was a business. As a career, these options are rapidly changing. Managers do not want to offer 100% of all lessons or the pro shop. At St Ives, I own the pro shop, all teaching equipment, the ball machines, and all the balls. This is my business within the club. I hope to get involved with the CMAA once I retire and help to offer education on the tennis side of the club. Many hires are expected to do the maintenance of the tennis courts and facility. When I took my current job, the GM wanted me to cover maintenance. My response was that I will do this IF you offer me the same salary as the director of golf, and require him and his golf assistant staff. to maintain the golf course. Courts are part of the grounds, and I was not hired as a maintenance person. However, I or the tennis staff will assist with maintenance as needed. When something needs to be done, and be done now, any of us are ready to get the tennis facility ready for member play.

What business skills do younger pros need

to be working on? In my opinion, programming is so important. The many events, holiday mixers, etc. Learn from a current director how to build the P&L for events and various programs (all staff play in the mixers at St. Ives. It adds a neat touch). I produce an event calendar that is mailed out to all members each January. The Tennis Information Calendar has pictures of staff with bios, tennis rules, and more info (visit usptasouthern.com for a digital version). Learning how to read the club budget, P&L, income and expenses, for both the tennis department and the entire club. It is also important to just walk around and be seen while people are playing. I will walk the area with my racket to offer tips, maybe hit a few, and just be active with the members.

Do you see other racquet sports like pickleball, paddle tennis, as contenders or just

a fad? Well, pickleball is here to stay. We will be building 4 pickleball courts in the very near future. It is easy to learn and play. To be competitive, it is important to offer courts and a program.

Will you hire a pickleball pro or train your

current staff? I would not hire but will train. Two staff play in the pro-level pickleball tournaments, so they have the skills.

What is your niche in this industry? Interestingly, I was at a social about 10 years ago, and a member asked how I have been so successful at St Ives, a tough place. At first, I did not have an answer, and another member jumped in and said “Creig, I know exactly how you have done it. It was never about you; it was always about all the members. You have been service to others”.

Are you still involved in playing tennis?

YES. I still play league play. We have the most winning ALTA team with our AA1 Senior team (highest level 45s). We are going for 17 consecutive years as city champions. I also play in some 60s tournaments. I have been able to hold high rankings in 60s age groups and father/son, and I still love to play.

PRO PLANS

Lessons Plan for Ladies Teams

By Ken Andriano, USPTA Elite Professional

Lesson was used for a 3.0 level team. Round 1 can be live hitting after the first volley warmup with higher level players. This was a 3 pro rotation where each pro had 15 minutes in Round 2. It can also be used in a single pro lesson.

ROUND #1 25 MINUTES • Quick volley to volley for 5 • Two line feeding drill (deuce and add side).

Feed a neutral, deep, and shorter ball. Deuce side should start closer to middle and add side wider to have better access to forehands.

Third shot on the deuce should go down the line hard and add side should be short cross court • Feeding drill #2. Approach cross court, volley deep middle or short, and overhead down the line with focus on footwork and getting body in position.

Pick up and switch courts ROUND #2 45 MINUTES • Court 1 Working on the I formation (serving to the add side) with a focus on movement and communication. Make your opponent uncomfortable! Start round with pro feeding and finish with the players serving a few points. • ourt 2 Deuce court 1 up and 1 back both sides. Feed the back player either a neutral ball with a focus on hitting deep cross court to set up partners poach, or a high cross court that must be taken in the air either down the line, or cross court as an approach. Net players receive a low soft ball or lob. Work on

switching and communication if they cannot get the overhead. • Court 3 Ad court 1 up and 1 back both sides.

If the back player gets a neutral ball they want to try and get their first shot as a forehand (to hold the net player) and hit to opponents’ backhand. Net player gets low soft ball or lobs to either hit an overhead or communicate the switch. Feeding side attacks as soon as the lob gets over the net players head.

Pick up and switch courts ROUND #3 20 MINUTES Target serving Point play using I formation at least once. Also work on poaching for fake poaching on traditional formations.

ATA South’s High School Tennis HBCU Combine

The event was created to showcase talented high school tennis players from the south and beyond. This event was a great success and it hosted players from Houston, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Chicago, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Georgia! Our girl’s winner was Virginia’s rising high school senior, Sierra Sandy (7UTR) and our boy’s winner was North Carolina’s rising high school junior, Ethan Boswell (9UTR). Thank you to Tennis Coaches from Benedict College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spring Hill College and Tuskegee University for taking the time to support the players and make connections for the future. A special thanks to our sponsors: USPTA and USTA Southern. For more information on the ATA South and how to support and partner for future events visit www.atasouth.org

The Written Word

The Confident Athlete – 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence by Tami Metheny

Review by Pat Whitworth, USPTA Master Professional

This book fills the perfect niche to help our athletes become more confident and ultimately play better and achieve better results. Tami has put together a fun read with plenty of stories to compliment the concepts to become more confident. Less than 70 pages, this is a quick read and good to review often. Tami has a tennis and basketball background, so the stories are from sports but this can be used for any sport.

The book begins with common mistakes which include thinking you have to be born with confidence, thinking you do not need to work on it if you are confident right now, waiting to do something after you lose, blaming a bad performance, or blaming someone else for taking your confidence away.

The 4 main ‘building blocks’ are Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk, See It to Be It, and Be Prepared. Each section has stories to emphasize how a person or team builds confidence from the section building block. Each area covered also has exercises to build the skill. In the Walk the Walk section, becoming more aware and intentional are Walk Faster, Good Posture, Ideal Body Language, Control Your Face, and the Walk the Walk Ritual. Each contains an explanation and an exercise.

From the Walk Faster “Think about what a confident person looks like and while they are walking. Generally, they are the ones a step ahead of everyone else. One of the surest ways to tell how a person feels about herself is to examine her walk. Is it slow? tired? painful? Or is it energetic and purposeful? People with confidence tend to walk quicker and more upright”. The See It to Be It sections works on visualizing both good and bad. Seeing the bad things that can happen helps us prepare for the issues that do happen during play. What if a string breaks on our favorite racquet? Tami presented the story of Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics in the 200m butterfly. He dove into the water, and his goggles started to fill with water. As he touched for the final turn, he could not see. Instead of panicking, he relied on the numerous times he had mentally practiced, and of course, he won gold. The Be Prepared section covers an area that many of our juniors need help. How often do we see them at a practice or a match on a hot, super sunny day? Check the bag, and there is no hat, no water, no tower, etc. The prepared player will anticipate the issues from the weather, and their routine will include a bag check before arriving at the courts. This really is a fun read and very helpful for both junior and adult players. We all deal with players that have lost or are losing confidence. Help them turn back the slide and pick a section to work through. It really is easy and the work is simple. The trick is to be consistent in confidence training just like a player is when training their strokes.

Social Media Contest - Win a Theragun

Ways to Earn Points/Entries

• Complete your profile on USPTA - 5 entries • Become an affiliate with Theragun - 10 entries • Post an IG photo to USPTASouthern - 3 entries • Post an IG video to USPTASouthern - 5 entries • Post a FB photo to USPTASouthern - 3 entries • Post a FB Video to USPTASouthern - 5 entries • Write an article for state newsletter - 5 entries • Write an article for southern newsletter - 5 entries • Follow IG Page - 2 entries • Liked Facebook Page - 2 entries Virtual Entries will be awarded for Completion of USPTA Profile, Social Media Tennis Posts, Articles, Likes, and Hashtags Please use #USPTASouthern and Tag us on Facebook @OfficialUSPTASouthernDivision

Send all entry info to Jasonh@noltc.com Deadline for August 1st and Winner announced on August 10th

GRAND PRIZE!!! Theragun valued at $399 Elite Model

Southern Officers

The “Standard” is the official newsletter for the Southern Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association.

President Kevin Theos theos@sta.usta.com 205-790-7256 1st Vice President Tom Parkes pvcctennis@gmail.com 910-233-4755 2nd Vice President Kaitlin Flaherty-Bisplinghoff kflaherty07@gmail.com 832-656-4472 Secretary/Treasurer Ken Andriano kandriano@theriverclub-ga.com 336-541-5876 Past President/Regional VP Todd Upchurch tupchurch1@gmail

Directors at Large Bill Riddle tennisun@aol.com 615-243-6698 Jason Hazley usptala@gmail.com 225-247-3028 Executive Director Pat Whitworth pat.whitworth@uspta.org 800-438-7782 (phone/fax) Head Tester Ron Gwyn rgwyn@haigpoint.com 843-341-8114 ALABAMA John Beaube jbeaube@green2grocer.com ARKANSAS patmalone67@gmail.com GEORGIA Bill Anderson banderson@capitalcityclub.org KENTUCKY Tim McCollum mccollum@sta.usta.com 502-709-0021 LOUISIANA Bill Bryan billb1481@gmail.com MISSISSIPPI Emilia Viljoen stayplaytennis@gmail.com NORTH CAROLINA Fred Pfuhl usptanc1@gmail.com SOUTH CAROLINA Dean Mays deano959@bellsouth.net TENNESSEE Meg Bandy mbandy@mccallie.org

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength

— Sigmund Freud

Every problem is a gift — without problems we would not grow

— Anthony Robbins

Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you are climbing it.

— Andy Rooney

USPTA Welcomes Our New Members

Philip DeRitis.............. Chattanooga TN Roland Markwalter ........... Huntsville AL Ron Rice .................... Savannah, RN

FAST FACTS

Tennis Hall of Fame Tournament

The Hall of Fame Open has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in

Newport, Rhode Island, the original location of the U.S.

National Championships.

The event, which was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit from 1976 to 1989, features a 32-player singles draw and a doubles tournament. Each year that the tournament has been held there is an induction ceremony for the Hall of

Fame. The tournament is held on outdoor grass courts, and is the last grass court tournament of the season on the

ATP tour and the only grass court tournament played outside Europe, as well as the only one played after Wimbledon. Up until 2011, when

John Isner won the tournament, the top seed had never triumphed at Newport, a trait that has led to the moniker

«the Casino Curse», due to the location of the Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino.

Florida’s Men’s NCAA National

Champion coach Bryan Shelton won the event twice.

John Isner has won the event 4 times and most recently in 2019.

The four most famous champions are former World No. 1

Lleyton Hewitt, former World

No. 4 Greg Rusedski, former two-time Grand Slam runnerup Mark Philippoussis, and two-time Australian Open winner Johan Kriek.

Jordan Kerr from Australia has the most doubles titles, winning the event 5 times.

The Bryan brothers have won the event twice.

USPTA SOUTHERN DIVISION NEWSLETTER

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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.

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