Area News

by Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson USPTA Southwest Northern NM District Coordinator

It has been a wild Spring with teams dodging Covid tracing and trying to keep a stable team atmosphere. My high school boys are still required to wear masks while playing and I certainly hope the governor and the NMAA eliminate this procedure soon.

We are still finishing up dual match playing with district championship slated for early June, followed by State Individual Championships for singles and doubles on June 10-12, followed by the State Team Championships (limited to 8 teams) on June 14-19.

At this time, I am still waiting to get the okay to start our summer tennis camps at my school. It has been a long 15 months since we last had any camps.

Congratulations to Amy Badger for her new post as the Director of Tennis at the Highpoint Sports and Wellness.

Stay well everyone. I hope everyone has received their shots and we can get this country going again. I thought it was interesting that tennis balls are in short supply. With the increase in new and old players manufacturers are having trouble keeping up with the demand. Our game is “rocking and rolling ” and I am excited about that.

See you soon everyone! And in person!

Dave Shambach at Rio Rancho reports:

The first time since March, 2020, Dave started teaching for the City of Rio Rancho Parks and summer program lesson series. He also volunteered helping coach the Rio Rancho High boys’ and girls’ varsity and JV teams. And he was able to keep teaching some private and semi-private lessons. Dave continued to benefit from USPTA online conferences in various parts of the country, ahead of USPTA Southwest.

John Damgaard in Santa Fe has a whopping 10 teams that he oversees with the Santa Fe Tennis Association. They are all playing in the USTA 18+ Tennis Leagues.

Joe Felice has been at Sierra V ista Tennis Center for 15 years. When Joe started at Sierra V ista in 2006, there was no full time Professionals. Sierra V ista has 4 or 5 USTA League Teams for the year. Now there are 30-35 USTA League Teams each year.

Joe will be holding his annual Sierra V ista Grand Prix NTRP Doubles Tournament the last weekend of August. This Tournament has been going for twenty five years and has become one of the most popular events in Northern New Mexico with 150-200 participants. Last year was the only year we did not have it due to the pandemic. Joe also hopes to get his Super Senior Tennis Program going again in the fall or spring.

Kurt Edelbrock in Taos sent me a varied report: Thank you Kurt! You are the best! -He has scheduled: 1. Elevated Tennis camps June 1214 2. Pickleball camps- June 12-14 3. Jr. camps start June 14-16 And: -USTA Taos Open Tennis Tournament (Doubles & Mixed Doubles only) -His “award winning” Aly’s Taos East” (will be serving scrumptious food items out on the patio). Kurt looks forward to terrific season of tennis, pickleball, and swim time! (And do not forget dining)! Plus- His is active with the Taos High School team during the season and offering extra courts for their teams.

Amy Badger:

I started April 1 as the Tennis Director for Highpoint

Sports and Wellness. A beautiful 15 court facility nestled in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque. My priority has been focused on enhancing the junior program. I have had a great time seeing old friends, meeting new and getting our socials back on track beginning with a Cinco de Mayo fun round robin. This club has some wonderful tennis history and shoes from the past to fill. It’s my privilege and honor to work towards that end by bringing all my knowledge, experience, and 45 years of tennis in this community. Wish me luck! I continue this season as head coach of the Albuquerque Academy girls’ varsity. We are halfway through our season and as the 2019 defending state team champions, the team is geared up for some great competition.

Doug MacCurdy reports:

Still grounded as we enter our fifteenth month of virtually no international travel. Professional and tournament tennis seem to be limping along making major adjustments from week to week, and country to country. Conversely, recreational tennis in the US is doing better than it has a for a long time. Interestingly — this uptick in participation does not seem to be a result of any new or revolutionary programming ideas. People are just looking for activities that they can do safely, particularly outdoors. With gyms closed or operating on a very limited basis, our tennis courts, golf courses, and hiking and bike trails are seeing unusually heavy use. The challenge, of course, will be to see if this interest by a new influx of players can be maintained when life returns to normal when people can choose whatever recreational and fitness activities they like.

I love the professional clay court season that got underway in early April. All eyes begin to focus on the big events in Europe culminating in Roland Garros in Paris. The clay is demanding. To be successful, the unforced error count must be kept to a minimum, while the ability to produce your own power is at a premium. It is very difficult to just hit “through” the court to elicit a weak shot from you opponent. Instead, the ability to create openings by changing angles and depth pays dividends. Mentally, your ability to maintain concentration is taxed to the limit. It may take you 40 minutes to build, say, a 4-0 lead. If you let you guard down, that lead can disappear in 10 minutes. Here are a few teaching questions to ask yourself. During the past six weeks, I have taken the opportunity to watch at least parts of numerous clay court pro matches. I have seen dozens of players hit thousands of forehands. When players are standing behind the baseline in backcourt rallies, (not if they have to step forward to reach a shorter ball), I have not seen one forehand where the player steps into the ball with the front foot, i.e., right-handed player stepping forward or across with the left foot to hit a forehand. One of the main reasons for this is that much more racket head speed is generated through angular momentum than linear momentum. Angular momentum is characterized by hip and shoulder rotation. Stepping forward essentially blocks the players ability to fully rotate the hips and shoulders. Linear momentum is forward movement towards the net. This becomes very important as a source of power on a shot like a volley where there is relatively little hip and shoulder rotation.

The questions are:

* When and why would you introduce/teach open stances to inexperienced players on the forehand?

* When and why would you introduce/teach to step into the ball on the forehand?

* If a young tournament player, has the tendency to step into the forehand on baseline shots, would you encourage them to change to more open stances in order to play more like the pros?

* Would you teach an older intermediate player to hit an open stance forehand if they don’t do it?

* Does the surface influence whether a player may use more open stance or neutral/closed stance forehands?

There are not right or wrong answers to these questions, but I think it is important for teachers to constantly review and evaluate their teaching beliefs, not just keep doing what they have always done out of habit.

by John Perry

Hello from Southern Arizona, As summer approaches I am pleased we were able to have a wonderful USPTA Southwest Conference and look forward to the World Conference in person and spending time together again. I am also thankful to feel like things are feeling close to

normal at Reffkin Tennis Center. Our junior program continues to thrive with more than 80 players of all levels training throughout the week in the spring. Adult classes of all levels have been filled as restrictions have been eased. Reffkin has also been host to the Southern Arizona Adaptive Athletics wheelchair tennis clinics for all new players, organized with help from the USTA and wheelchair pro Jason Keatseangsilp. I have been training Jason for the past 4 years and have enjoyed watching him compete in tournaments around the world. Representing the University of Arizona, Jason recently made the finals of the USTA National Collegiate Wheelchair Championships in Orlando.

At Reffkin we have hosted and run several Slam Series entry-level orange and green ball events in conjunction with the USTA. In addition to the fun competition these events include etiquette and High school tennis completed its season in May with some nice personal highlights. My son Jared won the individual Arizona

State singles title and led his team to victory in the State Team Championship match as well. Six of my students make up the varsity team for Catalina Foothills High School and it was overly exciting to watch them clinch the team state championship!

As a follow up, I have received good reports from around town that more high school players than in years past have been signing up for summer tennis rather than stopping and not playing until the following season.

Also, at Reffkin Tennis Center, USPTA Pro Ronnie Smith has overseen the resurfacing of 20 courts at the facility, as well as the new post-tension concrete pouring and rebuild of 3 additional courts.

Ronnie has been running events of all levels, from single day junior supersets

and adult mixed doubles to multiple Level 3 National Junior Championships. Players from around the country competed in these successful 3-day events.

Amanda Fink USPTA professional at La Paloma reports, “La Paloma has been hustling and bustling this spring. We have just completed resurfacing all our hard courts as well as adding additional pickle ball courts. Some of the hard courts we have been able to change to True Bounce surfaces which adds a layer of rubber making the courts softer! Eric is getting ready for tennis camp season and Amanda is trying to adjust to consistent 95 + degree temperatures. We had a men’s mixer in addition to a Spring mixer for all levels. We have had a 3.5 as well as a 4.0 USTA team competing in addition to our regular programming.

Britt Feldhausen states that the Tucson Community Tennis Program Summer Camp will run the month of June at Pueblo High School. Britt’s Tennis Academy is wrapping up a successful spring season and is shutting down for the summer. Britt says the fall is already shaping up to be a busy schedule. His grandchildren like to carry rackets around the house and hit balls (and other things).

A special thank you to USPTA professional Sean Oseran for his help on the USPTA Southwest awards committee for 2021.

As we move into the hot summer season, it is refreshing to hear reports that summer tennis camps in Tucson appear to be filling up. It has always been a challenge in the summer in Arizona, and even more so as parents have hundreds of options for summer activities these days. This mini “tennis boom” is still in effect and it is a good sign that parents and players are braving the heat to play. Once again, I advocate that we try to bridge these players from summer camp to continued play in the fall and beyond by instilling a love of the game and turning kids who play tennis into tennis players!

by Ryan Johnson

Greetings Southwest Pros and Tennis Enthusiasts! I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. The first quarter of 2021 has witnessed a tremendous boom with tennis activity across the country. Just a few months ago, the USTA released its 2020 data, indicating a 22% increase in total participation, which translates into about 4 million more players—bringing total tennis participation for 2020 to 21.64 million players. As the article concludes, the time has never been better for the industry to capture and continue the momentum surrounding participation. I believe the key initiative will be implementing effective programming that captures and retains all levels.

Through my own observations and conversations with local pros and leaders, we are doing a fantastic job here around the Valley. Below are a few updates.

At Desert Mountain, there has been strong growth over the first quarter of 2021 compared to prior year. Tennis reservations are up 110%, pickleball reservations are up 220%, and billable program participation, which includes lessons, clinics, and events, are up 57%. We continue to provide fun programming with the goal of building and retaining recent participation levels.

Most recently, we hosted 17-time grand slam champion and 2-time gold medalist, Gigi Fernandez, for a doubles workshop. This one-day event included 24 total participants, with 3 level-based clinics, culminating with lunch and the roadmap to mental dominance presentation from Gigi.

Arizona Country Club recently held its Pickleball Doubles Club Championships, and the member response was phenomenal! Over 120 entries in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles at various levels played in a unique weeklong format. The tournament ran for an entire week culminating in a Finals Night on April 16. Basically, each division played a double elimination draw throughout the week, stopping without playing the final match. All the final matches were held on “Finals Night” in conjunction with a huge viewing party that included a “stadium court” set up.’ A crowd of 150+ showed up to watch the final matches and enjoyed a taco dinner and full bar. The event was a resounding success, both on and off the court.

Brett Hall had a very successful tennis season at Venture Out 55+ Community in Mesa and Gilbert Parks and Recreation from January through April. He offered a weekly schedule of private and group clinics and volunteered time to run a Mixed Doubles Play Day averaging 24 players. The junior program in Gilbert exploded, introducing 60 new players to the game from ages 6-14. The city of Gilbert gave a 50% discount to residents to help them

financially from Covid. Head Penn Racquet Sports provided sunglasses and posters for prizes at the end of each session. Brett also ran a successful weeklong tennis camp in March with 30 players. Since many of the kids wanted to continue playing, Brett referred them to USPTA professional Mike Lowdermilk at Val V ista Lakes in Gilbert. Brett is now back in Oregon spending time playing guitar and bicycling around the state. He looks forward

to returning in January and hopes things will be back to normal.

A huge congrats to GCU Head Coach, Greg Prudhomme, and the rest of the team for a truly historical year. Greg led both programs to Conference Regular Season T itles, WAC Conference Tournament T itles, qualifying for the NCAAs, Player of the Year Awards, and Coach of the Year Awards. The men’s team earned Freshman of the Year, and Greg’s daughter, Autum, a new UPSTA Pro, earned WAC First Team AllConference and WAC All-Tournament Team honors.

Another big congrats to the Arizona State Men’s Program and Head Coach Matt Hill on a remarkable season. The Sun Devils reached the finals of the Pac12 Conference Tournament with wins over UCLA and Stanford before falling to USC. The team reached a high ranking of 17 and finished by advancing to the second round of NCAAs. Scottsdale native, Nathan Ponwith, who is ranked 84 in the nation, also qualified for the singles portion of the NCAA Tennis Championship.

President Dave Moyer 480-342-7240 dmoyer@ccdranch.com Regional VP Laurie Martin 480-213-2083 lmartin@ppiarizona.com V ice 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.

by Andrea Meyer

Taking advantage of yearlong Covid court closings at Yavapai College, USPTA Elite Pro Chris Howard set off April 1 to “Bike and Tennis Across America, “ as he called his 2,500- mile bike ride from coast to coast. Chris, tennis manager at Yavapai College’s courts, pulled into St. Augustine, FL on May 3, stopping in towns along the way to play tennis and promote the idea of rejuvenating public park courts across the country. Chris’ idea is to build low-cost tennis sheds at small public venues and hire pros at fair wages to teach, design programming, and maintain public courts.

“As I rode through all the big and small towns, it was evident that many of our expensively built tennis complexes, big and especially small, public, and private, are not taken care of very well. And in a matter of years are unplayable, do not have anyone running programs on them, let alone any structured play. It is sad and will be the demise of our sport,” Chris notes.”

Chris feels that his trip gave him the platform to have a great adventure while promoting the idea of growing tennis by taking care of the facilities we already have instead of inventing new ever- changing programs. Prescott Pro and Southwest USPTA Star Award winner Zach Hackerott is looking forward to more social tennis matches he is organizing between Wickenburg Ranch players and Prescott players. Zach also helped to run Prescott Area Tennis Association’s Memorial Day Tournament May 29-31 at Yavapai College.

Congratulations to Prescott Pro and PHS High School coach Sterling Fetty for dominating not only NAZ high school tennis but having several PHS players chosen by the Arizona High School Tennis Coaches Association for All-State honors. Ava Andrews and Ava Strasser both received second team honors. Sterling also heads up the USTA efforts to bring Team Challenges to NAZ towns. Flagstaff Area Tennis Association members hosted a successful Team Challenge in March with over 20 juniors participating and even more participants in an April 10 TC at PHS.

In the Verde Valley USPTA Elite Pro Jake Worseldine and USPTA Pro Andrea Meyer put together a FamilyPlayer Tournament to end Mingus Union High’s tennis season. Each player teamed with a family member to play a round-robin with goofy prizes given for ball hogging, partner abuse, and getting tangled in the net. “A family tournament is more friendly than a stuffy awards banquet and helps parents experience and appreciate how challenging it is to play a point well,” said Andrea.

Jake (@ remotetennis.com) and Andrea will be teaching summer camp sessions in June and July at Mingus Union High School. September 24-26 will see the return of the Oxendale Auto Group Tournament to the Verde Valley. Organized by Master Professional Larry Lineberry three years ago, the L6 tournament includes junior and adult NTRP and age - group divisions.

Sedona USPTA Elite Pro, Claudette Laliberte has had to curtail lessons recently. While mountain biking in the hills around Cornville, she suffered a broken left wrist. On her second cast now, Claudette is healing and looking forward to some time in Mexico and getting back on the court in Sedona.