A Division of the USPTA
March 2021
Dr. Jim Loehr & Mats Wilander Headline the Southwest Virtual Conference May 14-16! All the details are on page 3!
INSIDE: President’s Message - 2 Southwest Virtual Conference - 3 Southwest Showcase - 4-5 Area News - 6-12 Best Kept Self & Testing update - 13 USTA Southwest News 14-19
President’s Message Dave Moyer - USPTA Southwest President
Hello Fellow USPTA Professionals, I hope everyone is off to a great start to 2021 as we continue to navigate through the Covid-19 pandemic. Keeping our fingers crossed that the end is near and we can finally get back to some normalcy. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, the one great thing that has come out of the pandemic is the rise of tennis across the Southwest and the country. In that regard, I hope we don’t return to pre-covid normalcy and instead continue to see the increase in participation throughout 2021. One of the fallouts of the pandemic has been the move to virtual meetings and conferences and the USPTA Southwest Division has had to adjust on that front as well. Last May we had to cancel our conference and despite high hopes for an in-person conference this year we unfortunately had to go virtual. The conference takes a lot of planning and preparation and even though there is a chance that in May things will have calmed down enough to do an in-person conference, the planning that goes into it needs to be done early in the year so the decision was made to do everything online this year.
less important though and I want to challenge everyone to make sure to take the time to nominate your fellow pros for awards. Let’s make this year’s nominating process the best ever! With all the challenges we have had the past year, we know that tennis is booming so there have to be plenty of viable candidates. Please get those filled out and sent back in so that we can recognize the best of the best in the Southwest! Looking ahead to the World Conference in Las Vegas, we are still holding out hope that we can make that an in-person conference this year. No decisions have been made yet and the outlook for vaccinations is very positive over the next few months so we shall see. Just like the division conference though, so much planning has to go into it ahead of time that decisions need to be made before it is too late. I would love nothing more than to get to see those of you who are comfortable traveling in-person come September! Keep up the great work everyone building and promoting our great sport through this tough time. This is an exciting time to be a USPTA professional with all the growth in the game. Continue doing what you do, get signed up for the virtual conference and make sure to nominate, nominate, nominate for the awards!
Having said that, Laurie Martin and Amy Badger have done an amazing job putting everything together and I think you all will be very pleased with the slate of speakers and the format. They have been rock stars throughout the process and we owe them a great deal of appreciation. On the technical side, Jack Michalko has been working hard to get everything set up and running smoothly so that we don’t have any issues come May. It has been a lot of work for him to do this and we are very lucky to have Jack as our ED. As part of our conference we usually have an awards ceremony but this year we will just announce the winners. That doesn’t mean that the awards are any
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March 2021
USPTA Southwest Virtual Conference May 14-16, 2021 AGENDA May 14th, 2021 10:30-10:45 AM Welcome/Division Update – Dave Moyer - President 11:00 AM-12:00 PM “Gender Matters-Impact on Training & Competition” – Kathy DeBoer (1 Education credit) 12:30-5:15 PM Specialty Course – “Court Warrior” - Mike Barrell (4 Education credits)
May 15th, 2021 11:00 AM-12:00 PM Managing Millennials - Chuck Provencio (1 Education credit) 12:30-1:30 PM Embracing Lefties: A guide for working with left handed players for right handed coaches - Amanda Fink (1 Education credit) 1:45-2:45 PM Leading with Character – Jim Loehr (1 Education credit) 3:00-4:00 PM Utilizing the USTA Adult Leagues Programs – Lori Therrien (1 Education credit)
May 16th, 2021 11:00 AM-12:00 PM USPTA National Board Update – Gary Trost (1 Education Credit) 12:30-1:30 PM How junior and pro tennis helped prepare me for life in the real world - Mats Wilander, Andy Zodin & Jonny Levine (1 Education credit) 1:45-2:45 PM Round Table in breakout rooms: (1.5 Education credits) * Country Clubs-Bryan Dirk, Tucson Country Club-Moderator * Public Facilities-Tracy Lawson, Scottsdale Ranch Park-Moderator * Racquet Clubs-John Waltz, Former Director of Tennis, Overland Park Racquet Club-Moderator * Resorts-Kurt Edelbrock, Quail Ridge Resort, Taos, New Mexico-Moderator * High School/College Coaches-Dr. Greg Prudhomme, Grand Canyon University-Moderator
A total of 12.5 educational credits are available for this conference!
Just $39.95 for all 3 days!
All seminars will be recorded & available to you for 30 days after the conference!
CLICK TO REGISTER online
March 2021
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Southwest Showcase by Jack Michalko, Executive Director, USPTA Southwest
D’Wayne Begay - A man with many talents!
I
t’s not often you run into someone who excels in more than one career but D’Wayne Begay is the exception to that rule.
D’Wayne, a full blooded Native American (Navajo) was born in Albuquerque, NM. He became a Southwest Division USPTA Pro in 1996. He began his career at Tanonan Country Club in the early 1980’s. He left Albuquerque in 2012 for a position at Midtown Athletic Club in Palatine, IL. From there D’Wayne moved to California in 2014 which is his current residence and is a member of the San Diego Division of the USPTA. D’Wayne has served on many national and division USPTA committees over the years and was a supporting presenter at the Tennis Teacher’s Conference in New York City along with Luke Jensen and Tom Gullikenson. Begay also was USPTA International Championship – Sportsmanship Award winner in 2010 and received the ‘Spirit of Albuquerque Award in 2009 from the city of Albuquerque Mayor’s Office, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and Albuquerque Journal for his nationally recognized wheelchair program. D’Wayne has also won many USTA Southwest awards over the years. But what makes D’Wayne so unique is while he was heavily involved in a tennis teaching career he found time to become and actor and was in 9 movies, one of which was a foreign film and 2 were made for TV. Begay had a part in the 1994 film “Wyatt Earp” starring Kevin Costner as Wyatt Earp and included such household names as Gene Hackman, Dennis Quaid, and Mark Harmon. D’Wayne was a limo driver in John Carpenter’s “Vampires”, a 1998 film starring James Woods and Maximilian Schell. D’Wayne also had parts in “Santa Fe”, “Dream Keeper”, a Canadian film, and “Medicine Wind”. He was also in the 2000 film “All the Pretty Horses”, which starred Matt Damon and Bruce Dern and was directed by none other than Billy Bob Thorton! D’Wayne with Billy Bob Thorton
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D’Wayne with Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses!
D’Wayne & the late Jack Palance in Buffalo Girl
March 2021
Begay also did 2 movies made for television having parts in the 1995 movie “Buffalo Girls” where D’Wayne played a Navajo Chief who kills Custer in the movie starring Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffin and the late Jack Palance. He was also in “The Lazarus Man” starring Robert Urich and Ann Gunn, who is better known as Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) wife Skyler, in “Breaking Bad”. It was also filmed in Albuquerque. Not too shabby for a tennis pro huh? And if that’s not enough D’Wayne is also an experienced model. As you might expect, D’Wayne is also an experienced horseback rider, which certainly was an advantage in his western movies. His hobbies include skiing, golf, fishing, snorkeling motorcycling, archery and guitar. D’Wayne also found time to give back to those in need. He is currently working Rosie Casals (Love & Love Foundation), USPTA pros Sharon Walsh and Tory Fretz introducing Coachella Valley children to tennis with free clinics and 2 Bounce Tennis Inc. Billy Jean King donated funds for tennis equipment for 17 elementary schools. The equipment was for the Coachella Valley United School District. With Billy Jean’s support D’Wayne was able to get tennis introduced into that school district! D’Wayne also helped raise money for Children with Cancer, at Sangre Cristo Racquet Club in Santa Fe, NM along with fellow USPTA pro, Rocky Royer, which included meet and greet with tennis legends Rod Laver and Roy Emerson. Begay also introduced tennis to over 60 juniors at Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital from a statewide program for those confined to wheelchairs from 2006-2011. D’Wayne introduced tennis to children with vision and/or hearing impairments at the New Mexico State School for Deaf and Blind in Albuquerque from 2008Rosie Casals, D’Wayne & Billy Jean King 2010. Needless to say, we in the Southwest are proud to call D’Wayne a true professional in every sense of the word!
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Northern New Mexico by Dick Johnson
Dick JohnsonIt has been a “crazy” month! We have started tennis practice but the state of New Mexico and the Albuquerque Public Schools have not “uncoupled hybrid and at home virtual school so kids are not allowed to play high school sports!
I attended a well-attended rally in front of the APS Office on Sunday, February All worn out after 21st. All the local TV stations the rally! were there. I was interviewed and the basic theme was “Let Our Kids Play”. Hopefully this rally had some impact.
I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, and continuing to have a productive year. Can’t wait to see you at the Virtual Southwest USPTA conference in May.
Amy Badger I am excited for the high school tennis preseason to begin while still under strict governor orders of mask wearing, pod size, etc. The high school tennis showcase series has been approved by the city under the condition each event is a skill building practice play as the state is still under a “no competition” order. We hope that we’ll be updated soon. For our first event, the singles showcase, we had a full house and the kids were so happy to see each other and willing to work hard in their pods. Included was a fun raffle and each player received a goodie bag thanks to the support from local businesses. High school coaches and top adult tennis players came out to help and that was incredible. The city just approved the doubles event and with only 72 hours until the event registration will be filled. Our kid want to play so desperately. I am thankful to the city for approving. As a member of the national local play and competition committee we have not stopped towards advancing our goals and mission as stated by USTA national. It is a very active group and I’m looking forward to the time ahead as we work together to help grow the game. The members of The Club of Las Campanas are amazing. We have been working together outside in sub 40 temperature and they inspire me every day!
Doug MacCurdy
I have helped Amy Badger with a singles clinic recently and you can see it in the player’s eyes. They want to compete badly and my heart goes out to them. Especially, my seniors who lost 90% of last year’s season and now face the elimination of another one.
Hello I’m writing this message from Taos, New Mexico where I am getting a chance to get in some great skiing. The mountain and conditions are great, as opposed to my standard of skiing. But, it leads to a few thoughts on the value of using a variety of sports and complex exercises in our pursuit of producing good tennis players.
It was exciting to be asked to be USPTA’s Past-President committee. The committee is gathering information now to present for a very special World Conference hopefully in September in Las Vegas, Nevada. So glad that my good friend, Kurt Edelbrock is recovering from his recent surgery. Kurt was leaving the hospital at the same time I was receiving my COVID Vaccination.
In general terms the number one physical skill needed for tennis is coordination. The greatest rate of development an improvement in coordination occurs between the ages of four and 12 for girls and about 13 for boys. of course, one can improve coordination with various games before the age of 4, and any player can certainly
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continue to make strides improving their level of coordination as teenagers and beyond. But, the rate of improvement is slower at other times than it is during this 4 to 13 window. What this means for tennis coaches is that for very young children (around 4-7), P we should incorporate a variety of sports experiences an coordination training into our classes and encourage the players and parents to participate in other sports as well as tennis. In the next step, dedicated players from around 8-10 years old can begin to play very good tennis, but try not be tempted to abandon cross training and a wide of variety of activities that challenge coordination, agility and speed. By 11, some players literally look like professional players on the court and parents and coaches often become too excited about the players prospects because of results of age group tournaments. Resist 100% specialization and keep giving the players a wellrounded I thought it background. Remember, the window for improvement is open wide set up to 13 and it becomes more difficult to compensate later on if this basic work had not been given proper attention at the right time.
Dave Shambach of Rio Rancho, NM has been teaching privately and semi-privately. He and fellow USPTA Pro Dick Johnson took part as coaches in the New Mexico High School Showcase Combine led by fellow USPTA Pro Amy Badger; all 3 were coaching panelists as part of the USTA Southwest Online Coaches’ Conference series. Currently he is working to restart the instruction program for the City of Rio Rancho after a year of COVID interruption. He is also working as a volunteer for the Rio Rancho High School teams and continuing to learn through various online courses and lessons.
Kurt Edelbrock Happy New Year to all members, and friends of Taos Tennis! WOW!!! Great snow and TAOS SKI VALLEY is only 25 minutes away from dry and open tennis and pickleball courts. The ski area is open with a recent super storm. Thanks to all the ski area staff for making the season happen.
March 2021
While no one knows what 2021 will bring, a few things are for sure. Taos Tennis and the Quail Ridge Resort will continue to be run by Kurt Edelbrock. The fundamental design of all instructional and league programs (tennis, pickleball, swimming, and junior programs) will continue to be ruled by state COVID guidelines, whatever they may be. Our December 2020 newsletter emphasized many positive aspects of last summer and fall programs. I am hopping to achieve similar successes this year and expand on them. All of last year’s staff members have responded enthusiastically to returning for another season and I hope to include a few special guests. Our Taos Open Tennis Tournament is already o the USTA sanctioning schedule (July 9-11). This year’s tournament will have a slightly different NTRP format with double and mixed double only; senior events will be included. Our local events will be planned as soon as safety decrees it. It is my hope that all of you are doing well and staying covidly safe. We look forward to the upcoming season and seeing all of you soon. I will continue to try to keep two tennis and two pickleball courts available, depending on the weather.
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Southeastern Arizona by John Perry
Greetings from Tucson! Tennis is going strong around Southern Arizona, with players and pros taking advantage of the perfect weather. New players of all ages continue to sign up for lessons and classes throughout the city as the courts remain busy through the pandemic. Reffkin Tennis Center with Director Ronnie Smith has had busy junior and adult classes of all levels. The
facility is in the process of getting all courts resurfaced and other facility improvements are in the works. Tournaments have resumed at Reffkin after events were put on hold for short period of time. The Valentine’s Day themed Cupid Classic was the first tournament and crowned singles champions in 7 ratings based divisions. I have been busy at Reffkin as well with the Smith-Perry Tennis Academy with 80+ players, including 20 in the High Performance Tournament
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Training Group. I have been traveling to National level events around Arizona with students as high-level events have also returned to the schedule. Most of the events have had extremely limited or no spectators at all, but these top players are grateful for the return to competitive play. Britt Feldhausen reports, “The Tucson Community Tennis Program continues to plan tennis programs for children, schools, volunteers, and resuming post pandemic. Britt’s Tennis Academy is still operating with pods of children in after-school classes and with a number of adults many of whom have decided tennis is something fun to do in a socially distanced world.” Britt is starting them younger and younger, as evidenced by his twin grandchildren! Bryan Dirk from Tucson Country Club says, “TCC Tennis is running strong! With the increase in play during the pandemic we have added to our programming and hired more coaches for our Junior Clinics. Besides our usual morning clinics and lessons, night activity is picking up also, especially Monday and Wednesday evenings. Monday has been fun with our Yoga/Tennis/ Wine night as well as our Wednesday Night Doubles. We are fortunate for our ability to provide an outlet for our members and hope to keep them active on the courts. Amanda Fink of La Paloma Country Club states that “Tennis is growing and thriving at La Paloma! We have added a teen class to
March 2021
our junior programming, run 3 cardio tennis classes (green dot and orange ball), started some ladies clinics and we just had a Valentine’s Day mixer with 28 participants. We are excited for the great things we have on the horizon including a ladies’ invitational event! Among the hundreds of events cancelled in 2020 was the USTA National Father-Son Championships in La
Jolla, CA. USPTA pros Britt Feldhausen, Sean Oseran, and John Perry (all having played the La Jolla event with their sons in the past) staged their own Father-Son tournament at the Tucson Country Club. Team Perry defeated Team Feldhausen in the finals of a fun family event. Once again, I implore our fellow coaches to be at our absolute best at welcoming and developing the love of tennis to these new players that are trying tennis for the first time. Our job is not just getting them to enjoy a session of tennis but to help many of them become lifelong players! Enjoy the busy courts and hope to see many of you in person at some point later in the year.
March 2021
SOUTHWEST OFFICERS President Dave Moyer 480-342-7240 dmoyer@ccdranch.com Regional VP Laurie Martin 480-213-2083 lmartin@ppiarizona.com Vice President Amy Badger 505-379-6728 badgers3@me.com Secretary Suk Ong 602-881-0467 suk_ong@tempe.gov Treasurer Greg Prudhomme 602-301-1394 gmprudhomme@yahoo.com Past President Jonathan Davis 520-360-0182 jdavisuspta@gmail.com Pro Emeritus Britt Feldhausen 520-886-1885 brittfeldhausen@mac.comesident Executive Director Jack Michalko 602-740-0126 usptasw@cox.com
SOUTHWEST COORDINATORS Northern New Mexico Dick Johnson 505-507-6795 richarddjtennis@aol.com Phoenix Ryan Johnson 480-267-0725 rjohnson@dmbclubs.com Southeastern Arizona John Perry 520-403-8290 jptennis25@yahoo.com Northern Arizona Andrea Meyer 928-300-4352 andreajmeyer@yahoo.com Southern New Mexico & l Paso TBD Head Tester Greg Prudhomme 602-301-1394 gmprudhomme@yahoo.com
The Southwest Magazine is the official Publication of the USPTA Southwest Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association.
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Phoenix, Arizona by Ryan Johnson
Greetings Southwest Pros! I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season. It has been encouraging to see so many clubs booming with activity and tournaments starting to come back. As the vaccine rolls out and positive cases decline, it truly feels like the end is in sight. Please enjoy a few updates around the valley below. As always, if you would like to have your information published, please email me at m.ryanjohnson@gmail.com or call 704-281-1713. Phoenix Tennis Center will begin offering wheelchair tennis at the beginning of March. Their goal is to help the community understand wheelchair tennis etiquette, but more importantly, to make wheelchair tennis athletes feel welcome at PTC. Kaitlyn Verfuerth will be the teaching pro overseeKaitlyn Verfuerth ing the program. Kaitlyn is a three-time Paralympian, reaching the quarterfinals in doubles and round of 16 in singles. Other career highlights include a bronze medal at 2014 Copa Americas Cup and gold medals in both singles and doubles at the Rio 2007 Parapan American Games. Congrats Kaitlyn and we are excited to see wheelchair tennis starting at PTC! At Desert Mountain, we have been fortunate to offer several themed mixers for our members. In January, we offered a Winter at Wimbledon tennis mixer, which featured all-white attire and wooden racquets. The mixer concluded with a grass court exhibition and Wimbledon themed food
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and drinks. For February, we offered a Valentine’s themed Mixed Troubles tennis and mixer and pickleball mixer. We have a Ladies’ and Men’s tennis exchange with Paradise Valley scheduled for February 27th. Aside from social events, we are rolling out a new program called RacquetFit. As some of you may know, RacquetFit, made by the creators of TPI, helps identify the most efficient technique based on what your body can do. I am thrilled to have Dr. Sean Drake now in town, who is one of the founding board members for RacquetFit and has played an integral role with introducing the program to USPTA professionals around the country. I would strongly encourage you to take this certification course if you have not done so already. Greetings from USPTA Elite Professional Brett Hall in Mesa! Brett is entering his third year as the Tennis Professional at Venture Out 55+ Resort Community in Mesa and at Freestone Park in Gilbert. They have a very active program at Venture Out in a normal year without Covid! They have 8 tennis courts and 230 members with many who participate in the excellent East Valley Tennis Leagues (14 clubs) with levels from 1.5-4.5 NTRP. The active tennis board runs an excellent variety of programs from drop-in doubles play and free group lessons to our fun tennis, pickleball, and bocce ball event. Many of the members provide free coaching to our groups by ability level. Brett volunteers his coaching expertise with free monthly coaching clinics. He also offers clinics, drop in stroke of the week, along with private and group instruction. At Freestone Park, Brett works with mostly beginning juniors on 4 courts. They run small groups of 6 students from ages 6 to 14. They ran a successful spring camp last year with over 60 kids! He also provides private and group instruction for adults. Paradise Valley County Club has two new professionals. Cory Rockow started on February 1st and Audrey Brown is scheduled to start in March. Congrats and welcome to Cory and Audrey! Wishing you all a safe and prosperous start to 2021. See you on the courts!
Cory Rockow
March 2021
March 2021
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Northern Arizona by Andrea Meyer
Police in court? Sure, sometimes. Police ON court? Yes, if you’re an officer in the Clarkdale, AZ Police Department. USPTA Pro Andrea Meyer, with the help of Elite pros Claudette Laliberte and Jake Worseldine, conducted a cardio tennis workout on Feb. 5 for all 10 members of the Clarkdale force. Chief Randy Taylor and his officers, none of whom had tennis experience, traded in their uniform blues, belts, body cams, and radios for shorts and tees and took over Mingus Union High School’s courts to vie for prizes and bragging rights. The cardio session began with the officers, divided into two warm-up circles (The Dirt Bags vs The Serve & Protect), hitting
Sergeant Joe Candelaria ignores an offer of afist bump from officer Randall Fricke
playground balls just to get the feel of a tennis stroke. After warm-up, The Dirt Bags moved to one side of the court and The Serve The Serve & Protect team (red) and Protect to their enjoys a look at their winning team side for a game of tally over the Dirt Bags(black)! Roll Out: Multiple hits allowed (like volleyball), and any kind of hit allowed off court and fences, just so the ball never rolls (goes dead) on your side. “I’ve coached plenty of beginners in my career, said Andrea, but for sheer invention and inspiration, the Clarkdale PD beats all. I’ve never seen strokes like that before. Gael Monfils has got nothing on them.” Before the afternoon was over, they would ask to play both Roll Out and another favorite of the pros, Touch the Fence, a second time.
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More difficult was a contest to see which team could hit the most groundstrokes at a run along the baseline. A miss meant that the officer had to sprint to the net, tag it, and get in line again. “I heard a lot of smack- talk and comments meant to distract my Dirt Bags while I was feeding the drill,” Andrea noted. “Chief Taylor’s Claudette Laliberte gives her comments on the Serve & Protect team a few tips loveliness of Officer during their warm-up. Candelaria’s shorts dropped our point total by at least 25 percent, I’d say. Terrible cheats. Just awful.” Serve and Protect won the day with 154 pts and Andrea gave a prize of a free lesson to Officer Sean Guth, the winner and last man standing, in the final game of Touch the Fence. “The day not only helped with getting staff motivated to keep working out but your whole team helped build teamwork for all of us,” the Chief commented. Clarkdale PD may throw down the gauntlet in front of Cottonwood PD or Verde Valley Fire next. In other Verde Valley news, both the Mingus Union and Prescott High Schools courts have served league players as Yavapai College courts have been closed during almost all Sergeant Troy Smith (black) of the pandemic. Pro and calls for backup from officer Randall Fricke. Prescott High School coach Sterling Fetty engineered an agreement with Prescott High School administration to keep the high school courts open while charging a small fee that will go toward badly needed reconstruction of the 6 courts. Yavapai College courts, Prescott’s newest and largest tennis venue, may open again in March, says YC Tennis Mgr. and USPTA Elite Pro Chris Howard. Until then, Chris and other Prescott pros, Zach Hackerott and Dave Hibbs will continue to teach at the few private courts in town and at Prescott High School. Zach also travels down the backside of the mountain to teach at Wickenburg Ranch and continues to devote
March 2021
much of his time to maintaining the NAZ and Prescott Area Tennis websites. Junior tennis has been generating lots of participation and growth in Northern Arizona. Sterling, working with the USTA, Sedona Red Rock High School coach, Phil Kovac and pros Jake Worseldine and Andrea Meyer, have put together Team Challenges the first Saturday of each month, rotating the events among Cottonwood, Prescott, Sedona, and Flagstaff. The red, orange, green, and yellow ball Team Challenges are drawing 20-35 kids for each event. Flagstaff’s Forest Highlands Racquet Sports will be opening April 28. Elite Pro Nicole Chambers will be returning for her 10th season with the new title of Director of Racquet Sports. Forest Highlands will be expanding their pro shop to include a members’ lounge and an outdoor covered social area over court 1. Permanent pickleball courts are planned for fall in another location. Prior to opening day, Forest Highlands will host several clinics, mixers, and flex leagues. Nicole says, “We will be hosting a high school camp the first part of spring break and look forward to starting our spring Elite Junior Program once school matches have concluded.”
Best Kept Self by Greg Prudhomme- PhD
T
here are two very significant truths to know about growth. First, growth is the fuel behind the progress of humanity, whether it be an individual or a collective society. Second, growth is a key ingredient for motivation, which fuels the spirt and perpetuates the motivation/growth cycle! Stagnation, the opposite of growth, is fatal. A flat line in personal growth is just as deadly as flat lines on EKG or EEG reports. It is also important to know that some of the greatest distractions from growth include fighting with others, pointing out flaws in others, and intensely defending our own beliefs. These actions do not lead to growth; they create incivility, lead to an unhealthy well-being, and cause growth to become stagnant. Be aware of these distractions and instead of draining your spirit to no avail, use your effort and energy to grow. You will love the positive consequences!
March 2021
USPTA Southwest Tester Update By Southwest Head Tester, Dr. Gregory Prudhomme Hello Southwest USPTA Pros! I hope you all are doing well and that you are able to enjoy the rise in tennis participation that the country has been experiencing. Below is a reminder of the final USPTA exam date in the southwest using the previous pathway to certification. This date is only for applicants who signed up before October 21, 2020. Also, any applicant who already completed the in-person portion of the exam must complete the online portion before March 31, 2021. All new applicants from this point forward will follow the new USPTA certification pathway, which includes six to nine months of hands-on work experience under the guidance of a USPTA-approved mentor, 300 hours of online and/or in-person education, and the completion of USTA Safe Play training with a background check. This new pathway will increase the credibility of our USPTA certification as well as fully prepare future applicants to be successful in the tennis industry. As always, let me know if you have any questions. You can reach me at 602-301-1394 or at gmprudhomme@yahoo.com.
Final Southwest Certification Date for 2021: March 13; Cottonwood, AZ @ Mingus Union High School
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USTA SOUTHWEST NEWS 2020 was a severely trying year in the tennis community due to Covid-19, with many events at all levels being completely shuttered, and many clubs and facilities experiencing severe hardships due to lengthy shutdowns. There was one silver lining: When clubs and facilities were allowed to open back up, many people came back to, or, found tennis as their go-to hobby to get a healthy and safe dose of exercise during the pandemic. Many free public tennis courts like high schools saw unprecedented use in the early days of the pandemic and sporting goods retailers like Dick’s ran low or out of starter-level tennis equipment altogether, as players clamored for a truly socially distanced activity. Tennis became back en vogue almost immediately, and tennis centers and clubs that have reopened across the country have experienced large upticks in play, especially among new players, not just returning players. This is a great time to be a tennis instructor, with a lot of pent-up demand and enthusiasm for the game, with a large influx of new players. Let’s take this opportunity to help grow the game and keep these new players excited about learning and staying in the game.
USTA Tournament Structure Changes in 2021 A new, simplified USTA Junior Tournaments structure took effect in January 2021 for both juniors and adults. After extensive research, including feedback from our players, we developed these standardized systems to provide greater consistency and more opportunities for our players, parents, coaches, tournament directors and officials. Here is everything you need to know about this new system.
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JUNIOR CHANGES * USTA Junior Tournaments are no longer based in TennisLink, rather a platform called Serve Tennis (located at playtennis.usta.com). * The new structure utilizes seven levels of events, ranging from Level 7 (Intermediate) to Level 1 (National Championships) and a universal ranking system that distributes points consistently across the country. * This nationwide system provides consistent tournament levels and standardized tournament operations for all events—regardless of location—replacing a system that was greatly dependent upon the region. * The new system allows players to more easily compete across sections, as the levels are now standardized with an increased number of open events, providing even more playing opportunities for junior players. * In addition, there are on-ranking events, such as USTA Junior Circuit events. For more info on the USTA Junior changes, visit https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/youth-tennis/ programs.html#/Tournaments For a 2021 USTA Southwest Junior Events Calendar, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BHeOfES_8kUX_SvQtSjFnSx0j76gyss_lnGnWULBUP8/edit#gid=0 For more resources on USTA Southwest Junior Tennis, visit 2021 Junior Player Resource Folder
Jr. Play Tracker Attention: Coaches of 10 and under players! There’s a new system for 10 and Under players to move through the pathway from red to orange to green to yellow ball. The Net Generation PlayTracker is replacing Youth Progression. This new system gives players, parents, and coaches more flexibility in moving from one ball to the next and unifies all sections for consistency across the country. Players will earn both “play” and “win” points for USTA Team Challenges, JTT, and Junior Circuit tournaments. Players and parents will easily be able to access their profiles on their USTA.com account to track their progress. USPTA certified coaches are able to assess orange ball players younger than 9 to play green ball using the Net Generation app. For questions, please contact Ellen Pfister at pfister@southwest.usta.com
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The Net Generation Mobile App Take your resources on the go! •With Safe Play approval, you get free access to the Net Generation Mobile App •Access curriculum, on-court assessment tools and videos •Take advantage of pre-built lesson plans or create your own •Connect with your players. Plus, send them practice activities and skill badges *Some features only accessible by Certified Teaching Professionals Download – APPLE VERSION Download – ANDROID VERSION
ADULT TOURNAMENT CHANGES 1. ONE nationwide structure of tournaments. The 17 sectional structures and one national structure has been replaced with ONE nationwide structure of adult tournaments. The structure will consist of seven levels of ranking tournaments, with the lowest level of tournament ranking points classified as a Level 7 and USTA National Championships classified as Level 1. 2. ONE nationwide points-per-round ranking system. The 17 sectional ranking systems and one national ranking system will be replaced with ONE nationwide ranking system for the Level 1-7 ranking tournaments. One set of nationwide ranking tables will also be used to determine the points earned in all ranked tournaments. 3. ONE standings list. At least monthly, the USTA will continue to publish National Standings Lists (NSLs), using the same best of six (6) singles and best-of-six doubles results system. These lists will be filtered by section or district when they are used for selection into closed tournaments and team competitions. 4. EVERYTHING counts. While sections will hold two Closed Level 4s and two Closed Level 5s, all other tournaments sanctioned by the sections will be open to all players and all results will count in the ranking system. This also permits sections to hold Open Level 4s. This means that, for example, if you are vacationing out of section and play a tournament, it will count. It also allows players who live near section borders to play across section lines and have their results count.5. NEW ranking events. For the first time, the ranking system will be able to count results for NTRP tournaments. This will allow players that are currently playing NTRP tournaments to have a ranking based on their points earned at NTRP tournaments with ranked divisions. page 16
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6. UNIFIED residency requirements. Sections will all have the same residency requirements, and residency will determine eligibility to play in closed tournaments and represent a section or district in team competition. A player may be a resident of only one section, and if applicable, one district. Residency will be based on where a player resides, except that a player may change their residency one time per calendar year so long as it is based on the address of the player’s legal guardian. 7. EVERY section is slightly different in size, geography, population, climate—and the new regulations allow for sections to make decisions that best meet the needs of their adult players. Examples of what sections will be deciding include: • Draw sizes of their tournaments; • Numbers of tournaments at each level; • When the tournaments take place on the calendar; and • The draw and match formats. 8. These changes have taken effect as of January 2021. In the coming months, be on the lookout for webinars and other educational materials that will take a deeper dive into the details of the new structure. For more info, visit https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/adult-tennis.html
2021 PAC REPORT
USTA Player Development Podcast
2021 USTA Southwest Grass Court Championship – Enter Here
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USTA Southwest Section League Tennis Championship Dates – 2021 ADULT 40 & OVER June 18-20, 2021 Reffkin Tennis Center - Tucson, AZ ADULT 18 & OVER August 13-15, 2021 Albuquerque, NM (Various sites) ADULT 55 & OVER September 10-12, 2021 El Paso, Texas MIXED 18 & OVER/MIXED 40 & OVER September 24-26, 2021 Surprise, AZ (Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex) ADULT 65 & OVER December 3-5, 2021 Tucson, AZ (El Conquistador Tennis Center)
Tennis 101 Seen an increase in demand for tennis this past year? You’re not alone! 4 million more Americans played tennis at least once in 2020! With this increase in participation, now is the time to start your Tennis 101 program to help your business expand. Tennis 101 is designed to introduce tennis to both youth and adults. The program is currently in the pilot phase. If you’re interested in running a Tennis 101 class (and getting a free equipment pack!) please contact Kelsey Lawson at:lawson@southwest.usta.com
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Community Tennis Grants USTA Southwest has several grant opportunities available to you. All grant applications have a rolling deadline, which means you can apply at any time! Click HERE for the grant application or copy and paste this link into your browser: https:// form.jotform.com/USTASouthwest/GrantApp
Innovative Program Grant $1000 Applicants are those who are starting a brand new tennis program and willing to commit to a detailed proposal for funding, including a complete program description and budget.
Start Up/ Expansion Grant $250 Applicants are those who need immediate assistance to start or expand their program within 6 weeks. A matching partner is encouraged (Outside donation, fundraising efforts, the organization itself, etc.)
Equipment Grant $300 A basic package for organizations who need new or replacement equipment for their program. Equipment can be customized to the applicant, up to $300.
Adult Education and Development Scholarship up to $600 This is for Certified USPTA or PTR Teaching Pros, NJTL Directors, Wheelchair Tennis Instructors, PE Teachers, and Net Generation Community Providers who are seeking assistance to attend a tennis industry workshop or training either in person or virtual. For more information, please contact Ashley Portwood at portwood@southwest.usta.com
USTA MEMBERSHIP With Covid affecting the ability of adult players of all ages to participate in tournaments and leagues in 2020, the USTA extended its half off renewal membership discount through May 31, 2021. Adult players should use the Source Code GOPLAY50 when renewing. USTA Junior Membership is now FREE to all 18 and under players. For more information, visit usta.com/membership
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A Publication of the USPTA Southwest Division Jack Michalko / editor 77 East Missouri Avenue, Suite 62, Phoenix, AZ 85012 602-740-0126 / e-mail: jack.michalko@uspta.org The Southwest Magazine is published quarterly by the Southwest Division of the United States Professional Tennis Association. The opinions expressed in the Southwest Magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Southwest Magazine or the USPTA Southwest Division. Copyright© Southwest Division/United States Professional Tennis Association, Inc. 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this newsletter is not permitted without written permission from the USPTA Southwest Division. Advertising information: All ads must be camera ready and in color if possible. Prices are per issue.
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