Alumni – Page 9 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

CP Grad Bartlett Brings Energy, Work-Ethic To Hilltoppers

ATA College Prep alum and St. Edward’s University freshman Chase Bartlett wrapped up his first college semester maintaining his high academic standard, earning a 4.0 GPA and claiming a spot on the President’s Honor Roll through 7 classes on the Hilltop.

“While not at all surprised, I am incredibly proud of Chase’s accomplishments and his continued diligence during his first year at St. Ed’s,” ATACP Director Carol Hagar said. “His insatiable curiosity, his dedicated work ethic, and his copious positive demeanor embody the ideal scholar-athlete. Chase was an excellent leader while at ATACP and it is a beautiful thing to see him carry that forth into his college community.”

His work ethic was also evident on the court, as he’s spent the majority of his winter break participating in practices and fitness workouts with his former teammates at ATA preparing for the upcoming season.

“Chase Bartlett’s willingness to be humble and work hard continues when he returns to ATA from college,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “This past few weeks he has been in practice a lot. Just like when he trained at ATA full time, for him it’s never about who he is practicing with, it’s about what he brings to the practice. He brings a high level of energy and of course a high level of tennis. He doesn’t come with the attitude that he’s too good for the kids in the academy, he comes with that attitude of wanting to be there and wanting to get a great workout. I think this draws a high level of work and effort from his younger teammates. Consequently everyone gets an amazing practice.”

As a team, Bartlett and his fellow Hilltoppers set the goals to finish top 10 in the country this year while earning the highest GPA out of any athletic team at St. Edwards.

“I’m super excited about this upcoming season because I want to see the work that the Hilltoppers put in the fall season pay off,” Chase said. “A lot of guys (myself included) pushed literally to our physical limit. I remember one practice when the other freshman and I won a relay race against our other teammates and then both of us proceeded to leave the courts and throw up. That happened a few times this season.”

While the team logged long hours working together through the Fall, being apart through the holiday season makes continuing the momentum a challenge for each individually.

“It’s really helpful to have ATA,” Chase said. “During a one-month long break it’s important to keep training to maintain what we worked for in the fall, and for that you need a place to train. I like going to all of the academy practices and fitness sessions because when I was in high school/middle school it was really motivating to see what older, more-experienced people can do.”

As far as his academic success at the college level, Chase again looked back to his ATA College Prep roots.

“ATA College Prep really prepared me well. CP taught me both the time-management skills and academic foundations that are necessary for success at the college level.”

Follow along while Chase and the Hilltoppers begin the season in the coming weeks. The St. Ed’s Men’s and Women’s teams are scheduled to play multiple matches on the ATA courts, offering many opportunities to see college-level tennis right here while supporting some ATA alums, including Charlie Shin, Men’s and Women’s head coaches Estevam Strecker and Kendall Brooks, as well as Bartlett.

Next up:

St Ed’s vs ATA All Stars – Jan 27^th 4pm

St. Ed’s vs Southwestern U – Feb 3^rd 4pm

St. Ed’s vs UTRGV – Feb 11^th 2pm

Designed Learning Experiences – The Math Mindset

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. ~Einstein

Neuro-targeted teaching methodologies are implemented by ATACP instructors throughout the curriculum to build stamina and perseverance in our student-athletes. Primary goals are encouraging students to think critically and creatively, to develop and explore new topics of interest, to be willing to take risks, and to build confidence through failing and trying again. Much like Thomas Edison’s and Albert Einstein’s approaches to inventing, a failed attempt is simply another opportunity to gain new knowledge and master a better understanding for the next attempt.

In the following article, math instructor, Linda Dobbs, explains ATACP’s growth mindset approach to problem-solving.

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First day of classes at ATACP. Algebra and PreAlgebra students enter the room. Pumped up to be learning new math skills? Unfortunately, not. The disclaimers begin. “I can’t do math.” “Math is hard.” “When will I use this stuff, anyway?” What to do?

Teach a new mindset. One component of this year’s Algebra and PreAlgebra classes is a weekly problem-solving session inspired by Jo Boaler’s Mathematical Mindsets (Jossey-Bass, 2016). The book explores the commonly uneasy relationship that many people, child and adult, have with mathematics and proposes ways of altering attitudes toward math. In particular, six questions from the book have helped shape the ATACP problem-solving sessions.

Can you open the task to encourage multiple methods, pathways, and representations? Instead of teaching a single method of solution for each problem, we present problems that encourage multiple approaches.
Can you make it an inquiry task? Instead of asking the student to reproduce a particular technique for figuring out a type of problem, we present a problem that encourages new ideas from the students.
Can you ask the problem before the method? Rather than present problems paired with solutions, we present a problem that allows students to arrive at the method through exploration.
Can you add a visual component? Instead of simply writing equations, we incorporate drawings, color, and movement as a problem-solving tool.
Can you make it low floor and high ceiling? Instead of one problem fits all, we create problems that have easy entry (low floor success) but can provide increasing challenges (high ceiling success).
Can you add the requirement to convince and reason? Instead of demonstrating the ability for rote memorization and formulaic solution, we ask the student to show WHY the math works.

Throughout this semester, each week problems are placed in front of the students that incorporate these goals. The Create a Jack-o-Lantern exercise met many of these goals. Students were given a set number of eyes, noses, and mouths and asked to explore how many unique jack-o-lanterns they could create. Parameters were changed, and the students were asked to figure out how the changes impacted their jack-o-lantern total. The students were exploring permutations and combinations, but without knowing that was a mathematical concept with established solution methods. (Q3) They approached the solution in a variety of ways (Q1) Some of them drew choice trees, some of them drew jack-o-lantern faces, some of them zigzagged lines through the elements on their worksheet.(Q4) The task began with small numbers and relatively simple combinations, but continued with more features and qualifications.(Q5)

Another challenge involved exploring Voronoi diagrams, a way of partitioning a plane into subsets. The students were given a grid and 2 points (pizza parlors) and asked to partition the grid so that each location in the partition was closer to that partition’s pizza parlor than any other pizza parlor. They were then asked to place the points to create equal partitions. Then they moved on the 3 points. The students were given no system for a solution and they worked together in teams. They had to convince each other that their solutions were accurate. Since they did not expect to receive a solution method, they created their own amazing solutions.

Students still can find math hard or irrelevant. However, over the semester, their mindsets have begun to change. They have become increasingly comfortable attacking problems. They spend less time trying to figure out the “right way” to solve a problem and more time finding their own solution. They are even, at times, enjoying math.

This is an excellent example of inspiring students to utilize computational, critical, and creative thinking strategies – all proven through recent research to increase logic, confidence, and resiliency. ATACP is neuro teaching for the future.

Former Newman Student’s Story of Success Featured In FW Weekly

Carla Rosenberg, a former student of ATA CEO Jack Newman and active member of the ATA community, recently spoke to a group at the North Texas Food Bank. Her talk so moved Rush Olsen, a writer for the Fort Worth Weekly, that he featured her in his column, Sports Rush.

Here is an excerpt:

Something got Rosenberg to the point where she is this successful, and it was clearly either in spite of sports or because of them. In a recent talk she gave to employees at the North Texas Food Bank, she explained the role sports, and especially tennis, played in her development as an executive.

“The tangibles that come through playing athletics stay with you,” she said. She turned those tangibles into a series of philosophies she finds crucial to success.

Coach Newman, who has impacted many generations of students over the past 3+ decades, expressed his pride in seeing his former students succeed in life.

“As coaches, we often don’t get to see the real fruits of our labor until long after our students graduate from ATA. The lessons we impart can often times be long term life time skills that don’t reveal themselves until our students are well into their careers.

It’s incredibly rewarding and fun when you get to see something you taught, actually stuck to your student and that they use it in their everyday life.”

Read the full article about Carla here.

Last Year’s Seniors Check In From College

Each Fall, the previous year’s Seniors and current college Freshman send us an update of how things are going. Below, please enjoy the check in’s from Payton Holden at Princeton, Jake Berber at Claremont, Hunter Bleser at the University of Virginia, and Chase Bartlett from St. Edward’s University.

JAKE BERBER – CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE

Thinking back on my time at ATA, I can’t help from getting a smile on my face. It’s such a special place and you’ve done an incredible job at making it a place of such family. As I’m writing you from my room in Wohlford Hall, room 111, there are a few things that come to mind when I think about what I would love to tell the current players at ATA.

First of all, try your best to make life long friendships. Personally, I was blessed with an incredible class of 2016 and I consistently keep in touch with many of my fellow peers. Obviously, the tennis is unbelievable and is the reason why everyone is there, however, the people there are just as special. Take some time to worry less about how poorly you are hitting your forehand and actually ask someone how their day/week/life is going.

Second of all, try your best to get to know the coaches. They may be annoying at times but each and every one of them has an incredible story to tell. Some of my favorite tournament trips were when I was rooming with a coach because they’re all extremely interesting and smart people.

Lastly, enjoy the amount of free time that you have now. Even if you are feeling overwhelmed with school, tennis, or whatever is taking up your time, trust me, it only gets more hectic. For the last 3 weeks, I had 6-8 am practice Monday-Thursday and midterms all of last week. Start working on your time management skills now before you get to college so that you aren’t feeling as if you have negative time to work with once you get here.

Hope all is well back home,

Jake

PAYTON HOLDEN – PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

“The tennis aspect of Princeton is very tough and hectic. Practices are always super fun, loud and competitive. My practice schedule for the fall is MWF 7:15am lifts with 4-7pm practice and Tuesday Thursday practices from 1:30-3:30ish. Then on top of that, in order to receive our warm ups (Sweat pants and sweatshirts) we have to complete certain things in our free time. For instance, to earn one of our pairs of sweats we have to play 4 singles sets, 4 doubles sets and 5 extra ab workouts on our own time. As far as tournaments go, I have played 3 out the 5 fall tournaments we have scheduled this fall. College tournaments in the fall feel equivalent to matches at grand slam; technically it is an individual tournament but the cheering and support is still extremely high. One of the highlights of the fall thus far has been the ITA grass court tournament. Luckily I was able to compete against players from Michigan and TCU in the first ever collegiate grass court tournament. Overall, ATA and more specifically ATACP prepared me very well for the rigorous practice and tournament schedule, it also taught me how to manage my time on the road, which is a crucial skill to have for college tennis.

Academically it is challenging but not impossible. As long as I am diligent with my work and study consistently it isn’t too bad. This semester I am taking Spanish, Micro-Econ, Calculus and a Writing Seminar. CP classes prepared me very well for all of my classes, I feel like I know all of the pre-requisite material needed for all of my classes.

One piece of advice I would give the younger players is to really focus on doing the little things, especially when they are tired. For instance, I wish I had done all of my homework right after practice/dinner when I was still tired, because there is hardly a second here where I feel “ready” or “energized” to do work. Often I am super tired and just have to grind through it.

Well I hope everyone has a great and best of luck to everyone,

Payton”

HUNTER BLESER – UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Hey ATA!

I am about to finish up my sixth week at school now and I just wanted to check in with yall and let you know a little bit about what college is really like and what ATA has taught me.

First off, time management is the major key component when trying to balance your academic and athletic life at school. You will not only have to schedule your days around classes and practice, but you will also have to take into consideration tutoring, conditioning, weight training, homework, etc. Those free hours that you have between classes at CP now, use them to get homework or readings done early. Make this a habit so that you when you move off into the next chapter of your life you won’t be overwhelmed.

Secondly, take advantage of CP’s environment and work on your communication skills. Professors and coaches really appreciate and idolize someone who communicates with them 24/7. Get in the habit now of “over communicating”. I promise it will help you out in the long run!

Lastly, take advantage of the advice and instruction your coaches at ATA are offering. They truly want the best for you and want to see you succeed in your endeavors. It may seem somewhat annoying now, but trust me, when you get to school, you’ll miss having them there every step of the way. The coaches and staff at ATA are truly your second family, whether you realize this or not right now. Love your family, because soon you’ll have to leave the nest and grow up.

I hope you guys are doing great! I still keep track of almost all of your results not twitter! Feel free to call, email, or text me if you guys have any questions about the college process or need some advice about anything! Can’t wait to see you guys here in a few months! Miss y’all like crazy!

Take care,
Hunter Bleser
Wahoow

CHASE BARTLETT – ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY

Hey Coach,

Midterms are coming up, and since it’s almost halfway through the year I thought I would give you an update on how college life at St.Edwards has been so far. Fall semester has been interesting so far – I have changed roommates (my first roommate would get back at 4am on weeknights and wake me up, and I think he was selling drugs out of the room when I wasn’t there) and I now live with a good friend on the tennis team. Life is very similar to college-prep life. I set my alarm for 6:50am when I was in CP, and I still set my alarm at 6:50am in college. I feel like CP was a very smooth transition into a liberal-arts college – some of my classes are around 14 students, which is actually pretty similar to Coach Tommy’s English class. Additionally, the content is similar; this year there is an emphasis on community, which is really similar to CP’s focus on what it means to be a good citizen.

I’m not going to say that I find St. Edwards easy – I find it very challenging actually – but, I do think that it is do-able. I’m pretty happy with my choice of school; I think that going to a different school just because of a brand-name diploma would have been a bad choice, because the work load here is hard enough already and because I can’t imagine how much of a “better education” would be possible. I have a 4.0GPA so far, and have worked very hard to do so (I study between 3-5 hours daily). I get assigned about 8 writing assignments per week, and about 200 pages of readings. It seems like a lot, but when you get in college and you HAVE to do your work to get A’s, you figure out that there is a lot of time in the day that usually goes to unimportant things.

Tennis is good; the guys on the team are a lot of fun to be around, and Coach Strecker cares a ton about us and our program, which I think is the most important thing for a coach to have. Fall season was okay for me and for our team, I won one tournament in singles and doubles, but had to pull out of one because I had some sort of virus which lasted a week, and I went into regionals without having trained more than once. I’ve seen the level of competition though – I definitely belong here and have a strong shot at winning regionals next year. Training is interesting though, we are only allowed 25-something days of official practice (which means that we have been doing a ton of running and a ton of lifting). I have probably only spent 6 hrs on court for the past week or two, which is tough. I would tell anyone who is in CP right now to enjoy court time and have fun with it, because it’s much more pleasant to play tennis for 5 hours a day than to run until you throw up or write papers until your eyes hurt.

Overall, school has been good. I’m pretty happy with my choice so far, and hopefully I can hold on to my 4.0 through midterms!

Hope you are doing well and that everything is going well at the academy.

Chase Bartlett

Watch ATA CP Alum and Princeton Freshman Payton Holden Live

The first ever Hall of Fame Grass Court ITA Invitational kicks off tomorrow, bringing 8 Division I teams together to serve it up on the grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

ATA College Prep graduate and current Princeton Freshman Payton Holden will be one of 8 Tigers competing in the event starting tomorrow. Our friends at FloTennis are offering live video and extended coverage of the event – click here to check out the action.

Eight teams (4 women’s and 4 men’s) will compete in a flighted singles and doubles round-robin format, playing for individual ITA Ranking Points. Following is a list of participating teams, listed with their national ITA ranking, based on the standings at the end of the 2015-2016 seasons.

Men’s Teams
University of Virginia, No. 1
TCU, No. 3
University of Michigan, No. 25
Princeton, No. 52

Women’s Teams
University of California, No. 2
Oklahoma State, No. 8
Georgia Tech, No. 16
Harvard University, No. 55

Good luck, Payton!!!

ATA Alumni Pablo Landa Earns BIG 10 Distinguished Scholars Award

Former ATA player Pablo Landa who plays for the University of Illinois was awarded the Distinguished Scholars Award. The award recognizes student-athletes with a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 for the 2015-16 academic year. Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letter winners in at least their second academic year at their institution. Congrats to ATA Alumni Pablo for his student athlete achievements! To read Illinois full article click here

ATA Alumni Josh Hagar Named to ACC All-Conference Team

Josh Hagar was awarded 3rd all-conference team in the ACC. Josh is ranked nationally 106 in singles and 51 in doubles. He is 12-9 in singles this year playing toward the top of Notre Dame’s line up. Click here to read more

Ford wins player of the week award

ATA alumni Ashley Ford, a sophomore at Millsaps won her conference’s (Southern Athletic Association) player of the week award this past week. Ashley went 4-0 at #1 singles and doubles for the weekend helping her team win both matches to close out their regular season. Click here to read more

Wisdom Shared Through ATA Alumni

Earlier this year, Coach Newman invited six ATA alumni members who work in Austin to participate in a panel discussion so current ATA students could see how some of the life lessons they are learning have been applied in real life. The goal of having current ATA students witness firsthand the powerful outcomes that result through the positive processes the ATA program offers was accomplished in a powerful way through this panel discussion. Many of the ATA coaches who attended were impressed by the articulate and insightful nature of the comments shared by the alumni members. Through the stories they shared, each of the alumni members communicated that the ATA culture and the process of competing in junior tennis had been their primary driver of success.

Many of the alumni members contributed specific thoughts on the qualities they learned from junior tennis and ATA that has helped them succeed in the workforce. Ryan Berber, who was on the tennis team at Claremont McKenna and is currently an Investment Associate at Nicoya Capital, said he learned how to stay calm under pressure through competing in junior tennis and that he never gets rattled in his job. Santiago Montoya, who played for Notre Dame and now serves as Chief Investment Officer for A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, talked about learning how to rebound from failure since most tennis players lose frequently. This resiliency has helped Santiago in his professional career. Whitney Waters, who earned All-American honors at University of Redlands and currently serves as the Director of Marketing for AlertMedia, shared how learning how to lose with humility has been invaluable given the fact that you lose deals in business. Blake Davis, who played in the starting line-up all four years at Florida State and now serves as an analyst for Elberon Investment Fund, talked about how the competitiveness that was his biggest strength in tennis has also allowed him to enjoy professional success. Blake got the attention of the ATA students by telling a poignant story about his first job out of college with Wells Fargo’s Investment Banking division. Blake shared that despite the fact that the vast majority of the people who were in the year-long training program were Ivy League graduates, more than 50{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of his colleagues could not handle the rigorous demands of the program and either quit or were fired. Blake attributed his competitiveness and desire to win at everything he did for allowing him to succeed in the training program, while many of the Ivy League graduates couldn’t handle it.

The panelists also shared their most significant takeaways from being in the ATA program that have benefitted them after their tennis careers ended. Santiago Montoya mentioned how his discipline was shaped at ATA and is now infused in his core. Santiago, like several other panelists, also talked about the goal setting he learned under Coach Newman. Whitney Waters emphasized learning to put the process of pursuing excellence in tennis over result outcomes, as well as the real life applications in terms of learning to appreciate the journey. Claire Cahill, who earned All-American honors at Washington & Lee and currently serves as a Business Analyst for Bazaarvoice, told an inspiring story of how she had to come back to her ATA roots to get her college tennis career moving in the right direction. Following Claire’s sophomore year at Washington & Lee in which she did not play in the starting line-up, Claire decided she needed to step up her commitment and return to her disciplined training habits by spending the entire summer doing morning and afternoon practices at ATA under the guidance of Coach Newman. The net result of Claire’s hard work and dedication was earning All-American honors at the end of her junior year after playing in the doubles and singles line-up the entire season. Claire attributed her remarkable turnaround to the hard work she put in at ATA the summer before her junior year.

Many of the alumni members said the thing they valued the most from their experience at ATA was the life-long friendships they formed there. ATA coach Brandon Davis, whose collegiate career at the University of Illinois was highlighted by reaching the NCAA Finals in 2007, shared that “the friends I made at ATA are still my best friends and we have been in each other’s weddings.” Brandon also urged the current players to take advantage of the opportunity to create their own special relationships during their time at ATA.

The most poignant example of a lasting relationship that began at ATA was that of alumni members Whitney Waters and Ryan Berber who recently announced their engagement.

Given the inspiring nature of the stories shared by the alumni members that reinforce the life lessons the ATA coaching staff is trying to instill in our students, there will be more of these panel discussions in the future.

ATA Alumni Andrew Parks Earns Player of the Week Award

ATA Alumni Andrew Parks Earns Player of the Week Award

Air Force Academy senior and ATA alumni Andrew Parks went 4-0 this past weekend to earn player of the week award for the Mountain West Conference. He also earned his first career win over a nationally ranked opponent! Congrats to Andrew! To read more on his weekend results click here.

Meghan O’Malley To Attend U.S. Naval Academy

Austin Tennis Academy veteran Meghan O’Malley will sign her letter of intent to attend the United States Naval Academy on Wednesday evening while the community comes together to celebrate.

“I am fortunate to have grown up at ATA,” Meghan said.

Meghan has been a consistent staple in the programs at ATA since she was 10. When she looks back on it all, it is the people who stand out the most.

“I am grateful to have trained with great tennis coaches who are also great people,” Meghan said. “They commanded that I give my best on the court and they were dedicated to making me a better player. Most importantly, they cared about me as a person, not just after a match or during a tournament weekend, but every day. I have so many great memories, so many moments that I will remember the rest of my life.”

Meghan has consistently ranked among the 20 best girls in Texas in her age group, and the top 150 in the United States. She is also a 2-time National Champion as a member of the Dream Team in Junior Team Tennis. Just last weekend, Meghan reached the semifinals of her draw at USTA Texas Excellence. With plenty of on court success, it is her personal growth and perspective off the court that has been Meghan’s biggest takeaway from her time in the sport.

“ATA has taught me resilience, discipline, dedication, and commitment. Playing tennis has provided me with a foundation of some pretty amazing life lessons. ATA encouraged me to be a good tennis player but also a citizen of significance. I think that’s the biggest difference with ATA — it provides us with a culture to give back and to grow to be a leader. I think the culture of ATA led me to think about what I want as an adult. I want a life of purpose, to be part of something meaningful, something bigger than myself.”

With her strong sense of mindfulness and connection to citizenship (Meghan recently raised over $5k for Wounded Warriors), the Naval Academy was a natural fit. More importantly, though, Meghan has been well acquainted with the Navy for as long as she can recall.

“My dad was an officer in the Navy, so it has always been a part of my life,” Meghan said. “I grew up knowing that the Naval Academy was special. I knew the Academy would provide me with a strong academic education and outstanding opportunities to develop leadership skills. But it was my visits to Annapolis and to the Yard where I really learned that it is an exceptional place. Everyone works hard and everyone has a strong drive to succeed.”

Meghan will join a Navy Women’s Tennis Team that is about half way through the 2015-2016 season and is 7-4. The team competes in The Patriot League, where historically they have made 4 tournament finals appearances in 8 seasons.

“I am really excited to be a part of the Naval Academy’s tennis team. I immediately connected with Coach Puryear, Coach Pedergnana, and the players on the team. I’m excited to continue to take my game to the next level and continue to compete.”

Meghan will also enter a tough academic environment. As a science and technical school, The Naval Academy focuses heavily on science and math, with military education that includes ethics and leadership training.

“While I don’t know exactly what I want to study, I’m leaning towards International Relations then pursuing a law degree. The Naval Academy faculty invests a lot of time in helping students choose a field of study so I’m also going to be open to new ideas and experiences. My summers will be filled with hands on training on our nation’s fleet. I will spend time on different kinds of ships, in different parts of the world and will have the opportunity to spend summers abroad. I’m most excited about being on an Aircraft Carrier and learning more about Naval Aviation.”

Meghan will rely on academic foundations developed during her six years as a student at ATA College Prep.

“I think ATA CP is a very special and unique place. The small class sizes made it easy to have meaningful discussions, and it enabled me to have strong relationships with my teachers and my peers. At ATA CP, I learned how to learn, and I learned how to enjoy the process of learning. Of course grades are important at CP but it’s also about being curious and having an open mind for new experiences.”

For her senior year, Meghan is attending Vandegrift High School in Austin – on of the top public schools in the city.

“I’m enjoying my first and last year as a public high school student. It’s a much different experience and I’ve learned a lot from it. First, most of my classes have over 30 students in them. I have dedicated teachers, but they don’t have flexibility to make sure all the students understand the topics. There have been many times where I must choose between academic or tennis success. Also, teachers are bound by many rules. They’re sympathetic when I have a big tournament coming up or when I miss several days of school for tennis, but they can’t change test dates or project due dates. This has helped my time management, and I’m learning to operate on less sleep. But, it has made me appreciate the ATA CP teachers; they looked out for my development as a whole.”

Through the whole process – nearly a decade of tennis training and accomplishment – the lasting sentiment for Meghan has nothing to do with tennis.

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that I am responsible for my success and my happiness. Every experience has the opportunity to provide me with things to complain about, thing to be grateful for and things to learn. I have the ability to choose what I focus on.”

Please join the ATA community as we celebrate with Meghan and her family at her Signing Ceremony this Wednesday evening at 6:30 in the ATA Fitness Center.

ATA CP Senior Erik Kerrigan Commits To University Of Chicago

ATA College Prep Senior Erik Kerrigan announced to his classmates and teachers last week that he plans to attend the University Of Chicago next fall – the number 4-ranked national university and the number 3-ranked NCAA Division III tennis program in the country.

“I am looking forward to stretching my mind and expanding my horizons at one of the top 5 universities in the world,” Erik said.

Earlier this month, Erik was also named a Commended Student in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

About 34,000 Commended Students were recognized this year for their exceptional academic promise. Commended students placed among the to 5{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of more that 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“I felt very prepared for the test,” Erik said. “The best way to do well on these tests is to do enough practice that you have effectively seen any kind of problem that will be asked.”

Erik specifically appreciated the guidance he received from ATA CP’s math and science specialist, Bryan Rutherford.

“Mr. Rutherford did a fantastic job when I came to him asking for help. He provided me with practice materials and was willing to take some of his free time to go over problems with me.”

Erik has been part of the ATA program for 6 years, and began ATA CP as a sophomore. Since beginning College Prep, Erik has become one of the best tennis players in the state. He is learning the importance of managing his time and his energy, thinking creatively and mastering problem solving, all of which are important preparation for a successful collegiate scholar-athlete.

“The biggest positives about CP for me include small classes, easy to access teachers, and lack of busywork,” Erik said. “All work assigned will help you grow, not just take up time.”

ErikKBH

Erik’s daily routine at CP begins with a morning workout 7:45-9:30AM. He steps off the court and into school, selects a taco for breakfast and prepares for his CP Leadership meeting. Following a college block schedule, he moves from Computer Science to Debate to English Literature to Government to French on MW&F, and from Linear Algebra to Anatomy & Physiology on T & Th. His private lessons and fitness programming are interwoven throughout his days. Often, he finished with afternoon practice from 4-6PM and fitness from 6-7PM.

“I like that at CP, you can always find your teachers for help, and that classes don’t assign a lot of homework simply to take up time, they assign what needs to be known.”

This rigorous academic load is designed to prepare Erik and the other students for what comes next at a top-tier academic school. The intensity of two-a-day workouts, small group intensives, and individualized lessons are preparing him for elite college fitness training.

Erik will join a Men’s Varsity team at UChicago that competes in the NCAA DIII and consistently finishes in the top 5 nationally.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of making the lineup at a team contending for a National title, and being a leader on that team going forward.”

According to U.S. News & World Reports, the University of Chicago ties with Stanford and Columbia as the number 4-ranked national university. Erik will predictably step into a competitive environment with some of the brightest young adults in the world, including future teammate and ATA CP alum Liam Leddy.

“We’re very excited to have Erik joining us next year,” Liam said. “While I will have graduated by the time Erik gets to campus, it’s nice to know that ATA CP will still have representation on the team and at the university. I know that Erik will better the team, and UChicago will better him on and, most importantly, off the court.”

While the experience of living away from family and having a new setting around him are exciting, ultimately, it is the people he will spend his time with that set U of Chicago apart from other options.

“I think the combination of being near a big city, coupled with a great group of guys on the team, and a laid back coach made it a perfect combination for me.”

ATA CP Senior Payton Holden Commits To Princeton University

ATA College Prep Senior Payton Holden recently announced that he plans to pursue his academic and athletic careers at Princeton University – the number 1 ranked national university – next fall.

“The main thing that drew me to Princeton was the high academic level,” Payton said. “No one in my family has ever attended the Ivy and I think it will be a life-changing experience.”

Payton first came to ATA nearly nine years ago, learning QuickStart tennis skills and having fun with the game. Today, Payton is amid his 5^th year in the ATA College Prep program, has blossomed into a top national-level tennis player and is a standout student in a challenging academic environment.

“Payton Holden is the sort of young man ATA and ATA College Prep were designed to help,” Coach Jack Newman said. “He struck his first ball as a wide-eyed 9 year old and has been a top US junior tennis competitor the entire 9 years since. With his latest accomplishment of committing to Princeton University, Payton joins the ranks of ATA players who have used their tennis and academics to leverage their college choice. He joins former students like Jeff Offerdahl (Vanderbilt), Grayson Broadus and Josh Hagar (Notre Dame), Spencer Chiu (Pomona) and Camilla Trapness (Amherst) in an exciting adventure of college tennis and academics.”

Athletically, Payton will join a Princeton Tigers team that competes in the Ivy League alongside schools like Harvard and Yale. The group finished 2015 ranked 36 in the nation, logging a record of 19-8.

“I am so excited for the team aspect of college tennis,” Payton said. “Anyone who knows me will say that I am a people-person, and being with a group of 10-12 guys all working towards the same goal will create something special in the end.”

Academically, Princeton is the number 1 ranked national university according to U.S. News & World Reports. For Payton, it is the opportunity to grow that he is most excited about.

“I am excited to have my mind blown,” he said. “School will be extremely difficult and I am excited to see how I handle it and how it changes me as a person.”

Payton started this school year as a junior, but decided to graduate early when the opportunity became available. This is one example of how CP works to maximize students’ college opportunities through individualization and planning.

“One of our foundational principles is to provide opportunities that help a child move from where he is to where he wants to go,” CP Director Carol Hagar said. “Because of our flexible learning schedule and individual academic planning, Payton was able to explore advanced placement, high school credit courses at a very young age. He began typical high school freshman courses during his 7th grade year at CP and has been able to continue at an accelerated pace. Now he is exercising his option to graduate a year early and attend the school of his dreams, Princeton University.”

In his years at CP, it is learning to get the most out of himself that stands out to Payton as what will stick with him moving forward.

“ATA CP has taught me the responsibility to manage my own time,” Payton said. “Its schedule is similar to a college schedule, so it has made me comfortable with learning certain topics on my own between classes and completing school work while on the road.”

While Payton logged long hours to earn his place at Princeton, he gives credit to his long-time coach, Jack Newman, for the long-term plan and ultimately opening the door.

“Coach Newman is a college process guru,” Payton said. “He knows everyone, but more importantly every coach knows who he is and respects him as a coach. He has a very good reputation with college coaches and it allows him to get his students more opportunities.”

Beyond forehands and physics, Payton will head to Princeton armed with other tools that he also credits to his time at ATA.

“ATA has taught me a strong work ethic and to enjoy the struggles on and off the court,” Payton said. “When you encounter any adversity and overcome it, you grow as a person/player.”

Congratulations, Payton, and go Tigers! Join the community at ATA on Nov 11th to celebrate Payton at his official Signing Ceremony party.

ATA College Prep Senior Hunter Bleser Commits To U Of Virginia

Hunter Bleser, a senior at ATA College Prep, recently accepted a full scholarship offer from the University of Virginia, where she will extend her academic and athletic careers beginning next fall.

“Virginia, for me, hit a home run in every aspect that I was looking for in a college,” Hunter said. “They have an incredible athletic program and are one of the top ranked schools in the country academically.

The University of Virginia was ranked the number 3 best public university in the United States according to the 2016 U.S. News and World Report rankings. Founded by Thomas Jefferson as a research university in Charlottesville, UVA enrolls about 15 thousand undergraduates and another 6 thousand graduates on campus.

“I’m excited to push my mind to its full capabilities and to have the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the brightest people out there,” said Hunter.

On the court, Hunter will look to contribute to a Cavalier team that finished the 2015 season ranked 9^th in the country. Athletically, Hunter said she is most excited to push her limits and improve.

“To have the long days where I know I’m going to be completely exhausted when I get back to my room every night and to have the practices where I feel like I’m going to die. That to me is the best part.”

Her choice ultimately came down to the University of Kansas and the University of Minnesota besides UVA. For Hunter, Virginia presented the best opportunity to excel to her full potential both academically and athletically, which is what she is most looking forward to at the next level.

“Initially though, I would have to say the academics are what drew me to it. The great athletics program was just icing on the cake,” Hunter said.

Hunter joined the ATA College Prep program the summer before her senior year. She has thrived in a program that focuses on direct preparation for the environment of high-level academics and athletics into which its students will move.

“ATA CP is different from my previous school because it is more accommodating to my busy schedule but in a college set up. The longer classes and the block schedule really makes you work harder and focus more than my previous school did. The teachers here are more understanding with my busy schedule but they make a point not to take it easy on me just because of that. ATA CP definitely gets you ready for a more college-like setting than your typical public school.”

Preparation for and guidance through the college process is a pillar of ATA CP, and was something that stood out to Hunter.

“ATA tremendously helped me in my college process. They explained to me what exactly it is coaches are looking for and encouraged me to play my game just the way it is. They also went above and beyond with helping me get connected to my dream school. I truly owe this program everything and these coaches everything!”

For Lucie Schmidhauser, her primary coach at ATA, Hunter deserves all the credit.

“Hunter impressed me from the start with her willingness to do whatever it takes to get better as a tennis player. She has a big upside that will allow her to be a successful collegiate tennis player at the University of Virginia. Her height, huge forehand and aggressive gamestyle will make her a force to be reckoned with at the highest levels of collegiate play. Hunter is also very coachable, humble and hard-working and these qualities will serve her well in the future, on and off the court.”

ATA College Prep Director Carol Hagar also praised Hunter.

“I am incredibly proud of Hunter! She came to ATA CP in full force and has taken full advantage of all that is offered here. Her positive attitude, academic diligence, and compassion for her classmates will definitely complement her future successes at UVA.”

Congratulations, Hunter!

Grayson Broadus Checks In From Notre Dame

Dear Fellow Teammates,

My college experience has been wonderful so far. Overall college life is a lot busier than high school life. I can never afford to waste time. The material or amount of school work isn’t too overwhelming if you stay on top of things. Classes are for the most part pretty large with a 100 plus students and most courses are lecture based. I find it is much more efficient to look at the PowerPoints ahead of time in order to be able to write down more and understand more during class – a practice I was introduced to at ATA College Prep. Studying and learning the material from every class is crucial because we have daily quizzes. The biggest difference between high school and college is that missing class for tournaments is a nightmare of an experience academically, especially because tests have to be taken ahead of time. However, you have all the resources necessary to succeed. Professors are very helpful during their office hours, student-athlete counselors are always checking in on you to help you stay on top of things, and I have tutors available to me whenever I request them. This is essential and has already helped me tremendously. Also cramming last minute is incredibly hard and rarely works based off of what I have heard from fellow students. Lastly, you are trying to work really efficiently in order to get to bed at a decent hour in order to be ready for practice the next day.

College tennis and practice is a lot different than junior tennis practice. Every practice is approached with “dual match intensity.” If you think Coach Doug or Newman yelling at you is rough than you are in for quite an awakening. Practices get very loud and heated. Everyday you have something to prove and if you aren’t giving it your all you will most definitely find yourself losing and receiving quite an earful. However, practices are very fun because people are encouraging you, yelling your name, and recognizing everything you do well. Your teammates are always there to pick you up. On the other hand the coaches are not your “Friends” during practice. The words that are stressed most in practice are physicality and infinite toughness. Practices are incredibly intense with few breaks and you are always fighting the urge to bend over. Fitness is the same way and even tougher. Not taking an ice bath is a mistake.

Even though college is quite intense and packed with work, I love the environment. I couldn’t ask for better teammates, friends, professors, or college campus. If I could change one thing to prepare myself better for college it would be to make the most out of every minute in practice and not go through the motions some days. Even if you may be the one of the best players at practice, in college it is an absolute dog fight no matter what position you played the year before. If you aren’t exhausted after a couple minutes of practicing then you aren’t practicing right. Overall, ATA College Prep was great preparation for college in the classroom and on the court and I am very thankful to have been apart of the community.

I wish all of you luck this year,

Grayson

Maggie O’Meara Earns All-Conference Honors

ATA College Prep alum Maggie O’Meara earned All-Mountain West honors for her doubles play this season alongside partner McKenzie Davis. O’Meara earned all-conference honors, an award voted on by the coaches throughout the conference, in her Freshman season.

Photo Credit: Utah State Women’s Tennis Facebook Page

The duo logged a 15-4 record so far this season, and looks to add to that record in the second round of the Mountain West Women’s Tennis Championships on Friday against San Jose State.

Congratulations, Maggie, and good luck this weekend!

ATA Alumni Update

The ATA Academy alumni are making waves across the country in college tennis. From time to time, we like to bring you an update on what some of them are up to at the next level. Below are links to three articles that feature recent accomplishments by three of our recent graduates. Enjoy!

Colton Malesovas, competing for Whitman College, earned Northwest Conference Player Of The Week after going undefeated at #1 singles and #1 doubles against three top-25 teams in the same weekend. Read more here.

Andrew Parks, competing for the Air Force Academy, split sets against Northern Arizona at #5 singles as the duel match leveled at 3-3. With the duel-match on the line, Parks performed at his best, earning a clutch 7-6 victory in the third set to clinch the victory for the Falcons. This was Andrew 4th 4-3 clincher on his career. Read more here.

Ashley Ford, a freshman competing for the Millsaps Majors, took on the top nationally ranked team of Emory University this past week. Ford fought her way to the only victory for her school, taking the #2 singles point in a riveting 10-8 in the third set victory. Read more here.

Good luck to all of the ATA alumni competing across the country!

Hagar Ranked Nationally In Singles And Doubles At ND

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its preseason rankings yesterday, and ATA alum Josh Hagar is all over them.

Hagar is entering his Sophomore season at Notre Dame University. His team will open the year ranked 14th in the nation, while Josh and partner Eddy Covalschi earned the number 9 spot in the nation.

Josh also appeared on the singles rankings, coming in at number 82 in the nation.

Well done, Josh!

Carli K Commits to Attend Abilene Christian University

ATA senior Carli Knezevich committed to pursue the next steps in her academic and athletic careers at Abilene Christian University this coming fall.

“What initially drew me to ACU was meeting Coach Hutton at clay courts,” Carli said. “He seemed like a really nice guy and I already knew some people at ACU so I decided to take a visit.”

ACU in located in Abilene, TX, just under 3 hours west of Dallas. A private Christian college with about 4600 students, offering majors in business, pre-med, pre-dental, journalism, education and more. Upon visiting the campus, it was the people and the business school that resonated with Carli.

“What set ACU apart from the other schools were the people. Everyone was very supportive and friendly there and I loved the business school on my visit,” Carli said. “The campus was beautiful and I was really impressed with the indoor and outdoor courts.”

ACU’s College of Business is one of only six private universities in Texas that is AACSB accredited, the highest standard for business schools in the world.

“I am most looking forward to the business department because the classes were small and it seems as if I will be getting a lot of attention and help in school,” Carli said.

Carli will join an ACU Wildcat Women’s Tennis team that competes in the Southland Conference of Division I NCAA tennis.

“Athletically I am most looking forward to traveling and playing a lot of big teams because ACU has a pretty good playing schedule,” Carli said. “Also the team was really nice and since the boys and girls sometimes travel together and share the same coaches everyone seemed really close.”

In her many years at ATA, Carli has gained much more than a forceful forehand and a lethal lefty-slice serve.

“ATA has really taught me how to be a team player and to always push myself along with my teammates,” Carli said. “I will continue to use these tools throughout my college experience and even after college.”

Congratulations, Carli, and go Wildcats!

Claire Cahill Reflects On JTT For USTA Texas

Claire Cahill, ATA alum and current senior captain of the Washington and Lee University Varsity Women’s tennis team, is spending her summer as the Marketing and Communications Intern for the USTA Texas Section.

Claire’s first responsibility was to cover the Junior Team Tennis Sectional tournament in Waco, TX – an event that she herself competed in as a junior numerous times. After attending the event now as a 21 year old, Claire wrote an article that is currently published on the USTA Texas Section website.

Please check out Claire’s article, where she reflects on one of her favorite memories from junior tennis. Great work, Claire!

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