a division of the uspta march 2012 2012 southwest board of officers
TRANSCRIPT
A Division of the USPTA March 2012
2012 Southwest Board of Officers
Vicki FosterPresident
Dayna Maltby GuizzettiVice President
Glenn GerbinoSecretary
Sara StableinPast President
Lalo VicencioTreasurer
Chris BrewerRegional Vice President
Britt FeldhausenPro Emeritus
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President’s Message
It is a pleasure to serve as the newpresident of the SWPTA for 2012. Myreasons for venturing through thisopen door are the continued opportu-nities for personal growth and achance to work hard for an organiza-tion I have benefited so much from.
On behalf of this year’s board ofdirectors, I would first like to extend a big thank you tooutgoing president Sara Stablein for her past two yearsof leadership.
My hope for our division this year is for more and morepros to explore and utilize all that USPTA offers us tohelp grow our business and professional status. Divi-sional conferences, local pro meetings and divisionalcommittee participation all provide us with excellentnetworking and shared idea opportunities. National’spublic relations assistance with free personal websitesand how-to kits for running events like Tennis AcrossAmerica add a high level of prestige and professionallook to our efforts. And what client or employerwouldn’t be impressed with an Accredited ProfessionalCoach (APC) designation behind our name? Take amoment to learn how you can receive this new, distin-guished classification and be publically acknowledgedfor your continuing education efforts.
There are several divisional objectives which are apriority for the SWPTA in 2012:
To grow our Southwest conference in attendance,value and quality so more pros enhance their lessons andprograms by receiving the latest teaching, business andprogramming ideas.
To encourage SWPTA members to raise theircommunity profile and introduce more players to thegame and their facility by hosting a Tennis AcrossAmerica or Lessons for Life event.
To actively recruit pros to share their creativityand knowledge and heighten their professional profile byvolunteering on a SWPTA committee.
Would you like to get involved? Please let me know. Wehave fifteen committees as well as regional districtcoordinator positions, all with opportunity to worktowards potential board of director involvement. Wewould love your help for as little or as much time as youhave to give (on an ongoing basis, or project basis foran event or program in your community).
I am excited to see our division grow this year andpromise to do all I can to help foster a fun, active, andvaluable membership environment. Please email or callme anytime with suggestions or to find out how you canget further involved with the Southwest Division.
See you on the courts!Vicki FosterSWPTA President
“Quick Quote”“Work is only work if you’d rather
be doing something else”
-Unknown Author
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Southwest Presents Award Winners
Front - Richard St. Denis, L-R Dick Johnson, Sara Stablein, Jim Reffkin andJohn DenBoer. Not Pictured - Jimmy Parker.
The SWPTA presented its annual awards to some very deserving members at this year’s conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Congratulations goes out to Sara
Stablein who was voted the Southwest Pro of The Year.Sara is the past president of the SWPTA and Director ofTennis at the Phoenix Country Club. Dick Johnson ofAlbuquerque, N.M. and coach at La Cueva High Schoolwas named the High School Coach of The Year with a 13-1record in division play and another state 5-A title, his tenthin the last 11 years! This year’s Star’s Award went otTucson’s Richard St. Denis who is the Director of WorldAccess Project Inc., a non-profit organization that provideswheelchairs and other mobility equipment to peoplethroughout Mexico. Jim Reffkin, USPTA National Pro ofThe Year in 1996 and USPTA National President was theFacility Manager of The Year and is managing director of
the Jim Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz. The 2011 Men’s Open Player of The Year was John DenBoer who isfounder and director of “Mental Edge Tennis” and the Men’s Senior Player of The Year was Jimmy Parker whoended last year being ranked number one nationally in the USTA Men’s 65 Singles and Doubles. We in the Southwestare very proud of all of the 2011 award winners!
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Stopping SpamProtect your privacy to cut back on unwanted mail - Iolo Technologies, LLC
Spam—the electronic “junk mail” that finds its way into our email inboxes every day—needs little introduction.Anyone who has ever opened up an email, blog, IM, or social networking account has most likely received their fairshare of unsolicited messages from online pharmacists, pokergames, or shady bankers looking to “give” you money.The bad news: Unless you give up using the internet altogether,spam is pretty much unavoidable. To paraphrase BenjaminFranklin, spam has taken its place alongside death and taxes as oneof the few things that remain certain in our world.
The good news: While we may never be able to completelyeradicate spam, you can significantly reduce the amount of spamyou receive. Because spammers collect email addresses andpersonal information online, protecting your online privacy can beone of the most effective ways to cut down on spam. Read on forsome common (and not-so-common)-sense ways to protect yourinbox and your peace of mind.
A brief history of spam
Spam is almost as old as the internet itself. The first recordedinstance of unsolicited internet messaging was an advertisement for a (now-defunct) computer supplier sent out in1978 on ARPANET, the Defense Department network that was the predecessor of the modern internet.
The term “spam” came into colloquial use in the 1980s. Contrary to popular belief, electronic spam is not named(directly) after the canned meat product. Rather, it’s a reference to a popular sketch by the British comedy groupMonty Python’s Flying Circus. In the sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant loudly chant “Spam, Spam, Spam” untilall other conversations are drowned out—a humorous comparison to the way electronic trash can quickly swamp aninbox.
While the story of spam’s origins may be comical, there’s nothing funny about getting spammed by an advertiser orbecoming the unwitting victim of a spam virus. Below are some practical tips for protecting your privacy and cuttingback the amount of spam you receive.
Don’t give out your email address
One of the easiest ways for spammers to get hold of your email address is if you give it to them yourself. Although itmay seem almost second nature to enter your email address before making a purchase at an online store, commentingon a blog, or downloading a new application, you shouldn’t give out your email address to just anyone.Before you submit your information anywhere online, you should make sure that the site you’re visiting is reputable,and will not make your email address or personal information available to anyone else.* Check privacy policies on web sites and mailing lists. Trustworthy companies and lists (mailing lists) will have alink to their privacy policy on their websites. Read through the policy to find out exactly what the web or listservadministrators plan to do with your information before you give them your email address.* Watch out for default options and checkboxes. When you sign up or register online for some services or products,
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you might be presented with check boxes that offer to send you email announcements or special offers. These optionsare usually pre-selected by default, so if you aren’t interested in receiving these kinds of notices, remember touncheck them before you continue.* Open a separate email account. Consider getting a “dummy” or “decoy” email account from a free email service(Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail are a few) to siphon off spam from your primary account. Use this “decoy” to sign up formailing lists, shop online, or join social networking sites. This way, if the account gets too filled with spam, you cansimply delete it.
Filter your email accountMost email programs are equipped with spam filters that automatically sort out the spam from your incoming mail.However, these filters are not 100 percent foolproof. A filter can sometimes misidentify a legitimate email as spam,so you should go through your spam or trash folder every once in a while to make sure that you haven’t missed anyimportant messages. On the other hand, the filter could be letting too much spam through.Here are three easy tips on how to deal with the spam that’s slipped through the cracks:* Do not reply to spam. If you come across a message that appears to be spam, don’t respond to the email: respondingallows the spammer to verify your email as a legitimate address. Instead, report the message as spam to your siteadministrator. (Most web-based email programs have a linked option to let you report any incoming message asspam.)* Disable graphic downloads. Some spammers place trackable graphic files in their messages, which allow them toverify that you’ve received and opened their email as soon as the images begin to download on your screen. To be onthe safe side, disable the automatic download of graphic files in your email program. (Most email programs disableautomatic graphic downloads by default, but you should double-check to make sure that this option has been turnedon.) You can always choose to “download pictures” when you receive an email from a trusted sender, but it’s best toavoid doing this if email is from someone you don’t know.* Don’t follow links in spam messages. If you’ve received an unsolicited email, don’t click on any of the links in thebody of the message—including any links that give you the option to “unsubscribe” from messages like it in the future.This is yet another tactic that spammers use to confirm whether or not your email address is legitimate.
Protect your online privacyBecause the World Wide Web is so ever-present in our lives, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the internet is still avery public space. As a result, you should be careful about the kind of information that you make available online.Before you post anything about yourself on the internet, decide whether it’s information that you want or need to haveout in public.* Avoid posting your email address online. One way that spammers can pick up your email address is by using aharvesting program that hunts through web pages and picks up any email addresses it finds. If you need to have youremail address available online for business or professional purposes, consider posting it in a format that’s not easilyrecognizable to an email harvesting program; for example: yourname-at-gmail-dot-com.* Monitor your online privacy settings. More and more people are using social networking sites like Facebook,LinkedIn, and Twitter to keep in touch with their friends, family, or business partners. However, these sites can alsoshare the personal information that you post with third-party programs—unless you specifically instruct them not to. Ifyou frequent any social networking sites, periodically check to make sure your privacy settings are configured to thelevel of online privacy that you want; the settings sometimes can change if the site decides to reconfigure its privacyor information-sharing protocols.* Beware of untrustworthy applications on social networking sites. Many social networking sites offer applicationsyou can use to take quizzes, play games, or send your friends virtual “gifts.” But you should be aware that theseapplications also have access to your (and your friends’) personal information. Some malicious programs will sellthis information to mailing lists or advertisers, while others will go so far as to steal your login information, sign in toyour account, and then spam your friends. With this in mind, be careful about downloading new applications to youraccount, and remove or disable any applications you don’t feel comfortable sharing your information with.
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Our Southwest Conference was held onFriday, January 27-28 at La CamarillaRacquet, Fitness & Swim Club inScottsdale, Ariz. Many thanks go out toRoger Furman, director of Tennis at LaCamarilla and his entire staff, who tookgreat care in seeing that all our needs weremet.
This year’s conference was very wellattended with 70 pros and high schoolcoaches from all over the Southwest inattendance. Gary Trost, the national boardliaison for our conference and also apresenter, did a great job. We would alsolike to thank Feisal Hassan (courtesy ofHEAD Penn) who did an on-courtpresentation as well as a specialty courseon creative drill designs for doubles. JasonJamison (courtesy of USTA) once again dida fantastic job with the High SchoolCoaches Workshop on Friday and LaloVicencio, Tim Wilke, Mark Frampton andJohn DenBoer were our other featuredspeakers, all doing a great job on a varietyof topics.
Sara and Dan Stablein tested nine newmembers during our conference claiming itwas one of the best groups they had workedwith.
A QST Tennis Ball Tournament was held onFriday night and on Saturday night theSouthwest hosted their Trade Show andPizza Party to put a perfect ending to a verysuccessful conference for everyone.
A great turn-out the for Southwest Conference
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Pickleball Courts popping up everywhere! by Jack Michalko
Surprise, AZ – Surprise’s Community Park should be open for pickleball by the end of the month.Workers started converting two tennis courts into eight pickleball courts last week and expect the project to take aboutthree weeks.
Pickeball is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation. It was named after a dog named Pickles, who liked tochase the tennis balls of one of the game’s inventors.
Pickleball is played on a badminton court with a 34-inch tall net in the center. Players use a perforated plastic ball,similar to a Wiffle ball, and wood paddles, according to the USA Pickleball Association.
Pickleball enthusiasts had tried to persuade the Surprise City Council to help fund a $45,000 conversion project, butthe council postponed the idea. In December, the Surprise Pickleball Association donated $25,000 for the initialretrofit of the courts. No taxpayer money is being used.
Surprise’s Director of Community and Recreation Services Mark Coronado said that the city has 25 tennis courts justnorth of the site (the Surprise Tennis Center).
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from the professorfrom the professorfrom the professorfrom the professorfrom the professor by Gerald Winder - Education Chairman
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Just Starting Out?As I was told that several goodyoung pros have passed our testingsession during our recent SWPTAConference, I thought perhaps asuggestion or two might provehelpful to some. Depending onprevious experience, both playingand teaching/coaching, one mightwant to start a bit of career planning.
Do you want to go upwards in career mobility? Do youwant to have a career in a certain part of the country, oreven another country? Is there a value in having yourcareer have lateral mobility, before upwards? Do youhave a particular interest as a tennis professional, andhopefully, a strength in a particular area? All these andmore may be something you may wish to considerbefore “jumping off the cliff”, so to speak.
As a young professional just out of college tennis, I wasby all levels, green! While I was lucky enough to playcollege tennis on a full ride, I was no world beater, so aday job certainly beckoned! While I had been a HeadPro in running the summer program where I learned toplay, I knew I still had so much to learn, so very much!So, first, I knew I wanted to travel as much as possible.I knew I needed to get certified, and knew learning agood, organized teaching system would hold me in goodstead. Also, I decided then to take my career over asbroad a path as possible before trying to gain someupwards mobility. You may see, hopefully, a value inone of these areas or more.
As to travel, you could select a part of the country youmay wish to work in. Then, by hunting through theUSPTA Job Bureau, a member benefit of our associa-tion, you may find a position opening in an area that youwish to live/work. If you have the luxury of doingseasonal work, you can do the above, and hopefullyreturn to the same position each season over the years.Or, you could choose to move around in individualpositions, or, work for a management company thatsimply is willing to allow you to move amongst theirvarious contracted sites, as I did. Also, I signed on to
that approach as at the time they were known early onfor excellent programming, which I knew I had to learn.I also knew I needed to get certified in a teachingorganization, which I did. A good friend of mine at thetime, an exceptional USPTA professional, told me soonafter that point, that I should be USPTA Certified also. Idid that, and started my lateral career path, whilelooking for overseas opportunities. Keep in mind that ifyou do select an overseas position, you might also wantto be certified by another national trade association,adding a more international body of knowledge to yourskill set. Having a solid interest in stringing, I earnedmy certification as a USRSA certified stringer, whichover the years kept bucks coming in during rainouts,along with getting better positions over the years. To myknowledge, I believe you can still get certified in Sports
Science Levels I & II, so Irecommend doing that asmuch as possible. While theoriginal CompuTennis Com-puter Match Charting certifi-cation doesn’t exist anymore,with newer technology outthere, a pro can gain greatmatch charting skills withcomputers, Ipads, Iphones,etc.
If you are wanting to learn the business well, I stronglyrecommend that you look into the possibility of workingunder a “name”...someone known for an area of theindustry that you can work under and learn, learn, learn! I have several friends within our industry in differentplaces that did just this, and have very good careersgoing for themselves. This works well for being undera “programming guru”, a “business guru”, or just a goodpro known as a “teaching guru”. I selected the latterearly on as I wanted to learn at least one good teachingsystem to base my work around. That professional wasUSPTA Hall of Fame member Welby Van Horn, a greatplayer in his own right, and a great teacher! Of course,if you are looking for a more vertical career path, Irecommend that you work to attain the highest level ofUSPTA certification that you can possibly achieve, andif you make it to P-1, then look at what it takes to reach the level of Master Professional, the highest level in ourassociation. You can also go in this direction by work-ing at any of our Specialist degrees, or gain the body of
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Southeastern Arizona
by Jonathan Davis
knowledge you would need to be the “guru” in yourparticular interest, be it teaching, programming, juniordevelopment, QuickStart/Little Tennis, etc.
As a closing thought, I would also recommend that youconsider finding a city newspaper, area newspaper,small magazine, etc., and offer to become the TennisColumnist. First, this will immediately help you to getthe reputation of the tennis guru in that area, becauseyour name is very quickly out there amongst the generaltennis community. Secondly, if you feel you don’t haveany writing talent/ability, nowadays they have comput-ers with spell checkers! C’mon, it is not that hard, andthe payback is huge! This endeavor was probably one ofthe very best things overall that I did in my career as Iwas a tennis columnist for 13 years on a decent sizedinternational newspaper. Don’t know a format for doingthis column? Email you and I will give you a good one.
I hope this at the very least gave you, particularly theyounger pros out there, some valid ideas. If you haveany questions on anything, please feel free to email meat [email protected]. Also, to end any confusion frommy last column, my”Au Revoir” closing was due to afterover 16 years, I am no longer a member of the SWPTABoard of Directors. But, I was asked to continue asEducation Chairman, so here I am! Hope everyone hasa great Spring here in the Southwest!
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My name is Jonathan Davis and I amyour new SWPTA SoutheasternArizona District Coordinator. I amone of the teaching pros at the HiltonEl Conquistador Golf & TennisResort here in Tucson, Ariz.
Spring has arrived and with the goodweather comes a busy tennis schedule
for everyone. There are so many events happening thisspring it is hard to focus on just one; however, there isone in particular that I believe overshadows the rest, theGootter Grand Slam.
The Jim Reffkin Tennis Center will play host to theseventh annual Gootter Grand Slam tennis tournamentand pro-exhibition on the weekend of March 24, 2012.This event will feature exquisite tennis, great music,delicious food and a wonderful wellness fair. Proceedsgo to the Steven M. Gootter foundation to work onconquering sudden cardiac death.
The weekend is kicked off with a Gala dinner and liveauction Saturday night. On Sunday there is an adultdoubles team tennis charity tournament followed bya teaching pro shootout where local pros compete forbragging rights. The event is highlighted on Sunday by apro-exhibition between Mats Wilander and MikaelPernfors. The event is fun for the entire family andspectators get to see some of the best tennis the South-west has to offer.
I encourage everyone to come out and support this greatevent. If you are interested in more information orwould like to purchase tickets call the Reffkin TennisCenter at 520-791-4896. You will definitely see me outthere on Sunday enjoying the great tennis and competingfor the top spot in the pro shootout, I hope to see youthere as well.
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Phoenix, Arizona
by Mark Pachtner
SWPTA president Vicki Foster held aTennis Across America multi-culturalevent Sunday, February 5, 2012 at theChandler Tennis Center. Vicki invited16 kids and four adults from PinonAccelerated Middle School on theNavajo Reservation to attend a freeafternoon tennis clinic. The event
included a lesson, ball machine play and games usingthe QuickStart format. Only one of the attendees hadever been on a tennis court before so after the group’sintroduction to tennis,all of the kids were senthome with free tennisracquets and a case ofballs to practice with.Their school was alsoprovided with balls anda new ball hopper, allthanks to a generousdonation from USPTA pro Tony Reyes and his PASSprogram. Master Pro Larry Lineberry, the SouthwestDivision’s Northern Arizona district coordinator, willbe following up with the group to assist in providingfuture tennis equipment and resources so they maycontinue to play.
For the seventh year, USPTA pro Michael McDowellworked with PE teacher Connie Allen to provide a twoweek tennis program for the kids of Kyrene de laMariposa. This January fellow pros at Kiwanis Recre-ation Center (including USPTA Pro Chris Brewer)joined Connie and Michael in bringing tennis to themore than 600 students at Mariposa. Students, teachersand pros all had a great time and everybody is lookingforward to continuing this tradition in 2013.
Desert Highlands in North Scottsdale will be hosting theUSTA Southwest Slam Series Grass Court Champion-ships for Seniors June 8-10, 2012. Age groups will be35-80, Singles and Doubles. Entries open April 16, thetournament ID # is 750009412. Eric Anderson, Tourna-ment Director, can be reached at 480-419-3651, or
[email protected]. On Saturday January 21, 2012,Troon Country Club and Direc-tor of Tennis Mark Pachtner had115 participants in their SpecialOlympics Tennis Fun Day. The46 special athletes enjoyed thetennis clinics from Troon mem-bers and USPTA professionalslike Vicki Foster, Eric Anderson,Karen Weir and Danica Dunn.The special athletes came fromas far as Florence, Ariz. and asnear as Carefree and the City of Scottsdale sent 15 oftheir special athletes to join in. The volunteers fromNotre Dame Prep, Brophy College Prep, Troon mem-bers and the local community cheered on the efforts ofthese very special athletes. They also had a fire engineto explore, courtesy of the Scottsdale fire department,and the Golden Retriever therapy dog show was a hit.All volunteers and athletes were invited for an awardsluncheon in the clubhouse, during which the athleteswere recognized with gold medals and they recognizedthe sponsors with event shirts signed by all athletes.Thank you all for your generous donations and support.The event raised over $4,000! During the luncheon,Special Olympics Arizona honored Mark Pachtner ingrateful appreciation for his devoted service and com-mitment of 12 years to the Special Olympics Tennis FunDay. He received a personalized “thank you” letter and
commemorative plaque from Tim Martin, CEO ofSpecial Olympics AZ.
US OPEN NATIONAL PLAYOFF - MAY 19-21, 2012 -SCOTTSDALE RANCH PARK, SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
Online Entry Opens March 15
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The USTA announced the return of the US Open NationalPlayoffs for the third year. The US Open NationalPlayoffs will include both men’s and women’s singlesand mixed doubles in 2012. The USTA created the USOpen National Playoffs to expand the footprint of the USOpen to cities nationwide by providing the opportunityfor all players 14 years of age and older to earn a berthinto the 2012 US Open. The US Open National Playoffsmen’s and women’s singles champions earn a wild cardinto the US Open Qualifying Tournament, held the weekprior to the US Open. The US Open National Playoffsmixed doubles champions receive a main draw wildcard into the 2012 US Open.
USTA Southwest will hold its US Open National PlayoffChampionship event on May 19-21 at Scottsdale RanchPark, the same site as the 2011 event. Last year’sSouthwest champions were Bojan Temunovic, Men’sSingles; Sylvia Kosakowski, Women’s Singles; and SamHarrison and Nicole Melichar, Mixed Doubles.
The US Open National Playoffs begin as a series ofsectional qualifying tournaments and will be held in 13USTA Sections throughout the country. The 13 men’s,women’s and mixed doubles champions from eachsectional qualifying tournament will advance to the USOpen National Playoffs - Men’s Singles, Women’sSingles and Mixed Doubles Championship.
All three tournaments will be held in conjunction withthe New Haven Open at Yale, presented by FirstNiagara, a US Open Series event. Those events will beheld in New Haven, Conn.
On Wednesday January 25, 2012 Troon CC celebratedits 25th anniversary witha tennis party on and offthe courts open to mem-bers and the community.The kids enjoyed somefun tennis games, chickenskewers and fruit. Theyoung game winnerswalked away with some special treats. The adultswatched Mark Pachtner & Dennis Kuhr “battle it” outagainst Charlie Drocco and Glenn Gerbino, the previoustennis pro at Troon. Afterwards they socialized and thenwent over to have dinner at the clubhouse.
SOUTHWEST OFFICERS
PresidentVicki Foster ... 602-930-8423
Chris Brewer ... [email protected]
Vice PresidentDayna Maltby Guizzetti ... 602-399-0293
Glenn Gerbino ... [email protected]
Treasurer Lalo Vicencio ... 915-240-3919
[email protected] President
Sara Stablein ... [email protected]
Pro Emeritus Britt Feldhausen ... 520-886-1885
[email protected] Director
Jack Michalko ... [email protected]
SOUTHWEST COORDINATORSNorthern New MexicoJoe Felice ... 505-331-4300
Mark Pachtner ... [email protected]
Southeastern Arizona Jonathan Davis ... 520-360-0182
[email protected] Arizona
Larry Lineberry ... [email protected]
Southern New Mexico & El PasoLalo Vicencio ... 915-240-3919
[email protected] Tester
Dan Stablein ... [email protected]
Sara Stablein ... [email protected]
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Northern Arizona
by Larry Lineberry
Northern New Mexico
Several Northern Arizona SWPTA pro-fessionals are on committees of theSouthwest Tennis Association. They are;Hall of Fame Committee-Chris Howard,Prescott Junior Competition Committee-Sterling Fetty, Prescott Adult CompetitionCommittee, Pro Advisory Committee,Awards Committee - Larry Lineberry,
Sedona. In Flagstaff, SWPTA professional, Nicole Williams, isconsulting with the Northern Arizona Tennis Associationto create programming for Flagstaff School Districtafter school programs that incorporate the USTAQuickStart format to over 700 students yearly. She isdesigning new drills and skill games for instructors thatwill help retain the players who attend classes regularly. A permanent indoor tennis facility is being discussed bythe City of Flagstaff in conjunction with Northern Ari-zona University. Indoor tennis will completely changethe nature of tennis in Flagstaff. It is hopeful that afacility can be operational by 2013. Chris Howard of Prescott has accepted a position on theBoard of Directors of the Northern Arizona TennisAssociation. In Sedona, Larry Lineberry will conduct a one day Rallyfor the Cure Event April 7, 2012.Sedona Racquet Club has a new name. It is now calledSedona Tennis at the Red Rocks (S.T.A.R.R.). Theywill be one of the four level 1 adult tournaments com-posing the Southwest Slam Series of all surface events,including indoor, grass, clay and hard courts. SWPTA professional Greg Prudhomme will be Larry’sguest professional at his 7th annual Champions Camp forJuniors July 9-13.
Greetings from the Land of Enchant-ment! Even though it is still winterhere, our Pros have been busy.
Dick Johnson is the new President ofthe Northern New Mexico DistrictTennis Association and Joe Felice isthe Vice-President. NNMTA has an
active agenda for 2012.
April 1, Dick Johnson, D’Wayne Begay and Joe Felicewill be starting their 6th season of Super Senior Tennis. It is a program for seniors over 60 who are beginners orhaven’t played tennis for over 10 years. The programconsists of six weeks of lessons, twice a week, followedby six weeks of round robin play, twice a week. Thereis a Kick Off Party and an end of season Pot-Luck. SSTis held at six different locations in the Albuquerquearea. It is sponsored by the USTA, NNMTA and theSWS. This has been a very popular program and hasresulted in increased numbers in lower level Leagueplay and Flex League play.
2011 SWPTA High School Coach of the Year, DickJohnson is starting his 22nd year as tennis coach at LaCueva High School.
Joe Felice had his 40th anniversary as a USPTA Pro 1 in2011. He is starting his 7th year at Sierra Vista TennisCenter, where his emphasis has been on Senior Tennis.
D’Wayne Begay, tennis pro at Four Hills Country Club,has been active with his Wheel Chair Tennis,
Jeff Tonjes is heading back to Harbor Springs, Michigan,for his 19th summer. He is at the Little Harbor Club.
Corey Matney, at the Shellaberger Indoor Tennis Centerin Santa Fe, Feb 10-12, hosted the first leg of the South-west Grand Slam Series, which includes Indoor, Grass,Clay and Hard Court age division tournaments through-out the Southwest. The Grass Courts will be in Phoenix
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SWPTA 13
Southern NM & El Paso
by Lalo Vicencio
in June, the Clay Courts in Sedona in September, and theHard Courts in Tucson in November.
Northern New Mexico USPTA members who haveanything newsworthy happening, please contact me [email protected] or call me at 505-331-4300.
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It is up and running! It has taken sometime but the Ellis Tennis Center (for-merly known as the El Paso YouthTennis Center) is working like neverbefore. The center went through aseries of major improvements and itlooks like a brand new facility.
All 23 courts were resurfaced and new benches withproper shade were placed on the courts. They also set upmore shading structures inbetween the courts to make itmore pleasant for spectatorswatching matches. They alsobuilt a permanent official 10and under tennis court rightnext to the information booth.
The main building had itsshare of changes and im-provements as well. Thelobby was decorated withpictures displaying historicmoments in tennis from theera of the wooden racquetsand the long dresses to the
modern tennis. The center has a study room for kids; thisroom is equipped with everything that the young playersmight need to succeed inschool.
They also designated a con-ference room to take the
players and teach them about tactical, technical andmental aspects of the game; this players’ room is deco-rated with inspirational and motivational phrases.
Perhaps the nicest feature inthe main building is the TVlounge. The TV lounge has 12big flat screens where specta-tors cancomfort-
ably sit down and watch the actionhappening on courts 1-12. I amhappy to say that I had the chance ofchecking out this room during thelast junior tournament they hostedand I was super impressed by thequality of the video and the workthey did.
The Ellis Tennis Center already has a full agenda oftournaments for 2012 and they have plenty of activitiesto offer for players of all levels and all ages. They arealso partnering with the USTA to conduct workshops likethe USTA QuickStart training program they hosted lastmonth.
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COURT ofOpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinions
COURT of Opinions is your chance to share withothers how you would handle various situations.
THE SITUATION: “How would you deal with anangry parent who feels their child is in a lower group inyour junior program than he/she should be.?”
I have a sit down meeting with the parent and tell themthat our goal is to move their child up to the next levelas soon as possible, this already diffuses the situationsomewhat and it really is our goal. I then explain if Ikeep a junior in a group too long that is a lower level,they will be bored, BUT on the other hand if I move ajunior up too soon things move too fast and they will befrustrated and potentially quit. I end the conversationagain by saying that the whole goal of our junior pro-gram is to help juniors improve rapidly therefore movethem up as soon as possible. I will cite one of our goodjuniors and the fact that they progressed in the samemanner and came up in the same system. If this fails Itell them that we are probably not a good fit and theymight need to look elsewhere.-David Ochotorena, Albuquerque, NM
Sometimes dealing with an angry parent is a battle thatwe will never win. Perhaps we need to be careful whenspeaking with them and try not to express opinions orsubjective thoughts because these could be easilymisinterpreted by the parents and instead of helping uscould work against us.- Our response to parents in this situation should bebased on objective information. The assessment of ourplayers in these areas will give us more facts to presentto our angry parents:o Physical:
* 1 mile run test* Push up test* Long or vertical jump* Pull up test
o Technical* Video analysis of all strokes
* Match play: who do they beat and who do they lose to?
o Mental/social* How do they behave? Follow rules? Sports-
manship?- Many teaching Pros do all this math in their heads andthey know it but writing down these thoughts on paperand presenting them to a parent could help alleviateproblems.-Lalo Vicencio, El Paso, TX
In our training system we clearly state goals for playersto achieve to get to the next level. If you promoteplayers based on a coach’s opinion you’re leavingyourself open to a parent’s opinion deciding the strengthof your programs.-Josh Basha, Phoenix, AZ
The Next Situation: “Do you feel our pros should hireonly USPTA pros to fill vacant teaching positions?”
WWWWWant tant tant tant tant to ro ro ro ro replepleplepleply?y?y?y?y?Email it to...
[email protected] fax it to 602-265-2711
o Tactical
SWPTA 15
SWPTA 16
National News
USPTA’s Heckler announces plansto retire in December 2012
– 41-year member piloted organizationthrough major growth and technology revolu-tion –
HOUSTON – Tim Heckler announced that he will retirefrom his position as chief executive officer of the UnitedStates Professional Tennis Association in December2012, after 30 years in the position.
When Heckler was tapped as USPTA CEO in 1982, theorganization had approximately 2,400 members and anannual budget of $700,000. Today, the association is theworld’s oldest and largest organization of its kind,serving more than 15,000 members in 66 countries, andoperating on an annual budget of $6.5 million. Also, theAssociation’s equity has grown from $60,000 in 1982 tomore than $4.2 million today.
Heckler, who began playing tennis at age 3, started histennis-teaching career in 1970, the same year he joinedUSPTA. He was elected president of the USPTA TexasDivision in 1974 and served as national president of theorganization from 1980 to 1982.
With Heckler’s guidance, USPTA became one of thefirst tennis organizations to embrace technology, firstthrough the computerization of the business itself asearly as 1982, and then later through its use of theInternet and email-based communications and education.USPTA introduced its first website in 1995.
The USPTA honored Heckler in 2000 by naming him agrand inductee in the Association’s Hall of Fame. Healso received the International Tennis Hall of Fame’sTennis Educational Merit Award in 2002 and wasinducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. In2008 he received the highest honor awarded by theUnited States Professional Tennis Association, theGeorge Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award.
USPTA’s APC Competency classifica-tion: an opportunity for members toenhance career opportunities and buildtheir image in 2012
The United States Professional Tennis AssociationAccredited Professional Coach classification, its newestmembership classification that includes mandatoryeducation, provides added benefits to members with theAPC designation including opportunities for careerenhancement through a commitment to tennis and tenniseducation and demonstration of expertise, and buildingthe image of tennis-teaching professionals and tennis as aprofession overall.
The competency exam to become eligible for this classi-fication is available to members through the USPTA’sLearning Management System. In addition to beingcertified at the USPTA professional level, members mustalso take the Professional Tennis Coaches Academy I andpass a competency exam at the 80th percentile or higher.Those who have already taken the PTCA I and scored 80percent or higher do not need to retake it.
The competency exam is made up of 20 questions andmembers will receive immediate feedback on their scorethrough the LMS. You must first take the online PTCA ICourse that you can purchase for $50. Upon completionof the course you are assigned the exam through the LMS.This classification is open to Professional 1, 2 and 3members and Master Professionals. USPTA Professionalmembers are required to take continuing education inorder to earn and maintain APC status.
APC is earned by accumulating 20 APC credits within atwo-year period. The designation is maintained bycontinuing to earn 20 APC credits over every two-yearperiod. APC credits can be earned in a variety of waysincluding attending the USPTA World Conference,USPTA division conventions, USPTA specialty courses,USTA High Performance education, viewing DVDseminars, and more.
The opportunity to earn credits at USPTA World Confer-ences and division conventions will require members tofill out a form for credit at the beginning of the seminaror specialty course (that is collected at the end of the
continued on page 17
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seminar), in order to verify attendance for credit. Formore details regarding qualifying credits, [email protected] members achieve this distinction, their certificateand member card will have an expiration date and thedesignation will be added after their professional rating.The documents are available online to print from themember management area of www.uspta.com, wheremembers can log in with name and member number.
continued from page 16
USPTA Professionals raise nearly$2.5 million for charity
In 2011 United States Professional Tennis Associationteaching professionals raised almost $2.5 million forcharity through the association’s Lessons for Life™program.
Lessons for Life became USPTA’s national charitableprogram in 1999 and since then the USPTA and itsmembers have raised more than $47 million in an effortto support various charities. Through this program, theUSPTA encourages its members to use tennis as avehicle to help others through fundraisers and otheractivities in their communities. The fundraisers takemany forms including tournaments, pro-ams, auctions,black-tie dinners and clinics. Many of the fundraiserstake place at country clubs and commercial clubs,where the majority of USPTA Professionals directtennis operations and programming.
In 2009 an additional element was added to the programwhen the USPTA and Rally for the Cure joined forces toraise awareness in the fight against breast cancerthrough tennis and Lessons for Life under the broader(Tennis – for the health of it!) initiative. Rally for theCure has the tools and materials for USPTA tennis-teaching professionals interested in running a Lessonsfor Life charity tennis event in support of Rally for theCure. This is just one more way USPTA teaching pro-fessionals can give to important causes through tennisand Lessons for Life.
This year USPTA will also be working with ThanksUSAas part of Tennis Thanks the Troops. This is a new
component of the program, and one that strives tomobilize USPTA members to raise funds to help fami-lies of military personnel, specifically by providingscholarships. For more information visitwww.thanksusa.org.
Lessons for Life is officially celebrated in October, butUSPTA members may direct and participate infundraisers year-round. Any fundraising that you do forrecognized charities – giving free lessons or clinics,organizing tournaments and play in pro-ams, conductingauctions, and hosting black-tie dinners – can be countedin Lessons for Life numbers. Reporting is easy if yousend an e-mail to your division liaison or [email protected] or send an electronic reportvia the Lessons for Life section of www.uspta.com.
Lessons for Life ReminderIf you host a Lessons for Life or charityevent in 2012 please e-mail DaveMoyer, Southwest chairman with thedetails of your event and the amount ofmoney you raised so our division getscredit. You can reach Dave [email protected]
Next TestingDate
June 22, 2012 at thePhoenix Country ClubCall head testers Sara
or Dan Stablein for moreinformation at 602-636-9841
SWPTA 18
A Publication of the USPTA Southwest Division
The Southwest Magazine is published quarterly by the Southwest Division of the United States Profes-sional Tennis Association.
The opinions expressed in the Southwest Magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those ofSouthwest Magazine or the USPTA Southwest Division.
Copyright© Southwest Division/United States Professional Tennis Association, Inc. 2012. All rightsreserved. Reproduction of any portion of this newsletter is not permitted without written permission fromthe USPTA Southwest Division.
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