Register for David Benzel Webinar
Please join us on Thursday April 14th at 8pm for one of Growing Champions for Life’s most popular webinars – Teach Your Child the Best Kept Secret of Self-Confidence
Click here to register
ATA College Workshop and Coaches Forum
Please join us on Saturday evening March 26th from 7pm-8pm at ATA College Prep (on the ATA campus) for a College Workshop and Coaches Forum. Carol Hagar will give a brief presentation outlining the college search and recruiting processes and college coaches from the area will be available for Q&A.
TennisRecruiting.net has generously offered to provide dinner for this event.
Please RSVP to Carol.Hagar@AustinTennisAcademy.com so we have an accurate head count for dinner.
Abigail and Callie Help Team to Bronze Ball
ATA had 4 players this past week compete in the National Spring Team Championships, Abigail Chiu, Harrison Chiu, Callie Creath and Anushka Dania. Congrats to Abigail and Callie for helping their team, Firecrackers, come away with a bronze ball finish!
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.
Caroline Wernli #15 in Nation!
Congratulations to Caroline Wernli, who ages up tomorrow to Girls 14s. Caroline is ending her 12s career being ranked #1 in Texas for the past 8 months and #15 in the nation. She is already #10 in Texas in 14s. Happy Birthday Caroline, all your hard work and dedication is showing.
What Separates ATA’s Fitness Program
Over the past two years, ATA’s fitness program has risen to a new level that separates it from other programs through the addition of pilates and on-court tennis specific fitness training that complement the existing strength and conditioning program that is based on the C.H.E.K. system (Corrective, High-performance, Exercise and Kinesiology). Dio Miranda, who serves as the Director of Fitness for ATA, has created a culture that discourages the no pain-no gain philosophy that can hurt players by instead encouraging them to train in a safe way with appropriate form and technique in a functional environment. The flexibility and range of motion of ATA students are also addressed through specific stretches that are assigned based on individual assessments. In addition, players are educated on sleeping and hydration patterns, and customized nutrition programs are offered through metabolic typing such as blood type diets. An increasing number of ATA players are also taking the next step by adding private training sessions that are customized for what the individual players needs following a comprehensive assessment. In addition to Coach Dio, athletes training at ATA now have the option to have private fitness sessions with newly hired Josh Rifkin as well as pilates sessions with Lucie Schmidhauser.
The ATA fitness program has benefitted by adding pilates exercises that are aimed to improve core strength, muscle tone, flexibility and posture. Coach Lucie Schmidhauser, who is comprehensively certified through Peak Pilates, is available for private sessions using the Pilates Reformer as well as group mat classes. The most recent addition to the ATA Fitness team is Josh Rifkin who brings a new focus to tennis specific fitness training based on his experience as a high level junior and collegiate tennis player along with the knowledge he gained by studying under Pat Etcheberry, who is the most renowned fitness expert in the tennis industry. Etcheberry has trained Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Justine Henin, Monica Seles and many other accomplished tennis professionals. Coach Josh was also exposed to some of the best tennis coaching minds while training for the professional tennis tour. According to Coach Newman, “it is a huge benefit to our players to have a fitness trainer who played tennis at a high level and has a strong foundation in fitness through the highly respected C.H.E.K. Institute.” The basis of what Coach Josh does with his on-court tennis specific training is from his Pat Etcheberry Training Certification. The core of this on-court training is tennis specific footwork patterns and movement patterns that athletes actually use on the court. These movements are strengthened by using resistance bands and medicine balls to improve tennis performance. Josh also utilizes drills that enhance power, strength, endurance and conditioning while also improving agility, acceleration, direction change, recovery and racquet head speed. This type of tennis specific training complements general performance enhancement training. It should be noted that Coach Josh is also available for performance enhancement training sessions in the gym.
Coach Dio has trained professional baseball players from 9 different Major League Baseball teams, and he firmly believes ATA’s fitness program rivals that of most Major League teams. Whether players are training with Coach Dio for strength and conditioning, Coach Lucie for core strength enhancement through pilates exercises or Coach Josh for tennis specific movement patterns, all three energetic coaches deliver high level tennis specific fitness training that allow players to reach the next level of performance.
ATA dominance at Excellence
ATA players comprehensively dominated their respective draws at last weekend’s SuperChamp Excellence tournament held in Austin and Corpus Christi.
Abigail Chiu captured the Girls 18s A draw in impressive fashion the week after she won Doubles Excellence. After notching a straight set victory over the #1 ranked player in Texas in the semifinals, Abigail played her best tennis in the finals against the #6 ranked player in Texas, Sydney Riley, who recently signed to play at Clemson. According to Coach Doug Davis, “Abigail was mentally tough throughout the three set battle and she used an effective blend of aggressive baseline play combined with smart defensive play and well timed advances to the net to secure the victory.” Naval Academy signee Meghan O’Malley also had a strong performance by reaching the 18s B draw semifinal and Alex Mjos staged a dramatic comeback in the finals of the 18s C draw over teammate Kristin Kerrigan. As was the case with Abigail Chiu, Alex Mjos had considerable momentum coming into this tournament after winning the 16s A draw Doubles Excellence title the week before.
In the Boys 18s A draw, Princeton signee Payton Holden showcased his brilliant shot making abilities in reaching the semifinals. Another highlight of the Boys 18s A draw was the epic four hour battle waged between ATA teammates Erik Kerrigan and Jake Berber that Erik won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in the longest match of the tournament. According to Tournament Director, Brian Notis, “both teammates displayed great spirit and tremendous respect for each other.” Numerous spectators commented on how Erik and Jake acknowledged each other’s great shots and how they frequently engaged in friendly banter in between points. This was ATA valued sportsmanship at the highest level, according to Coach Notis. Equally noteworthy, the Boys 18s B draw was highlighted by Chase Bartlett courageously fighting his way to two victories despite having to serve underhanded throughout the tournament as a result of an injury. The Boys 18s C draws were dominated by Jesse Wikso and Roger Chou. Despite both of them playing up an age group, Jesse and Roger were able to win their respective draws in convincing fashion.
The Girls 16s A draw produced a semifinalist, Georgia Wright, and the tournament champion, Callie Creath. Coach Brandon Davis said “Callie played some of the best tennis I have ever seen her play; she was fully committed to owning her aggressive game style and it paid off.” Coach Brandon also noted that Callie’s opponents in the semifinals and final had beaten her the previous two times. Coach John Schoenmakers was equally encouraged by Georgia’s more aggressive play and increased pace on her groundstrokes that contributed to her semifinal finish. It should also be noted that ATA newcomer Kailey Chase, who is beginning to reap dividends from her hard work and openness to coaching, reached the semifinals of the 16s C draw. Kailee Meyer’s improved focus in practice is also starting to pay off with a semifinal result in her respective 16s C draw.
Tyler Anson’s steady hard work over the past 12 months is also beginning to yield impressive results as shown by winning his 16s B draw. Coach Newman noted that it was the first tournament he has seen Tyler “in full-out competitor mode, pumping his fist, encouraging himself, and holding himself as if he believed he was the best player in his draw.” Juan Abboud, who just moved up into 16s this month, continued his winning form by capturing 5th place after knocking out the #1 seed in his 16s B draw. And Kyler Bender did a great job of bouncing back and winning three consecutive matches in his 16s C draw.
The Boys 14s A draw saw a breakthrough performance by Blaine Kanak. In his quarterfinal match, Blaine fought back from down a set and down 1-4 in the second set to defeat the #4 seed in a third set tiebreaker. Blaine followed up with another great performance in the semifinals, narrowly losing after yet another epic battle. Coach Notis attributes Blaine’s breakthrough to his improved poise and focus as well as his newfound willingness to utilize tactical discipline. Blaine’s doubles partner, Max Schmidhauser, finished strong in the 14s A draw after losing a three set heartbreaker in the first round. Max bounced back with excellent mental toughness to win three consecutive matches against higher ranked opponents. In the Boys 14s C draw, Matthew Gavrilov had another strong tournament by reaching the finals.
In the Boys 12s A draw, James Cockrell showed he is a top player in Texas winning his first round and then being 2 points away from taking the first set against the #1 player in Texas. In his third round, he dominated the match and made quick work of his opponent. His last match, he lost a close three set battle 7-6(8) in the third. According to Coach Kalapala, “James competed very well and is making big strides mentally when the matches are tight.”
Two of the youngest girls in the Academy program also showed encouraging progress at Excellence. Sasha Malysheva showed signs of her vast potential by reaching the semifinals of the G12s B draw. According to Coach Rifkin, “Sasha plays beyond her 11 years with excellent focus, intensity, energy and mental toughness.” Kerry Lum, who only super-qualified in December, continued her rapid improvement by winning 3 matches in the Girls 12s B draw. With younger players like Kerry and Sasha making great strides, ATA’s future is indeed bright.
USTA National Winter Championships Recap
Under the guidance of Coach Newman and Coach Notis, 17 players represented ATA at the USTA National Winter Championships in Phoenix (Boys and Girls 16’s&18’s) and Tuscon (Boys and Girls 12’s&14’s).
Boys 12’s – James Cockrell
Girls 12’s – Sasha Malysheva, Caroline Wernli
Boys 14’s – Juan Abboud, Harrison Chiu
Girls 14’s – Anushka Dania, Megha Dania
Boys 16’s – Jesse Wikso
Girls 16’s – Callie Creath, Kristin Kerrigan
Boys 18’s – Chase Bartlett, Jake Berber, Payton Holden, Erik Kerrigan, Alejandro Rodriguez
Girls 18’s –Hunter Bleser, Abigail Chiu
Several ATA seniors distinguished themselves in the 18’s draw of Winter Nationals. Payton Holden rebounded from a first-round singles loss to win 5 matches in the consolation draw and finish in the Top 24. Hunter Bleser defeated a #17 seed in her first-round singles match whom she lost to a few months ago. Perhaps more importantly, the Head Coach of University of Virginia (where Hunter will be attending this fall) told Coach Newman that he was excited about the improvement Hunter has made in her game since the summer. Erik Kerrigan also advanced himself with his future coaches at the University of Chicago by upsetting the #3 seeds in doubles with his partner Eric Morris. Another senior, Jake Berber, also stepped up and reestablished himself as a national level player by winning 2 singles matches in the backdraw.
Juniors Abigail Chiu and Alejandro Rodriguez advanced their recruiting status with college coaches from some of the most academically elite Division I schools in the country. Abigail won 2 matches in the main draw of singles and cemented her reputation as one of the premier doubles players in the country by reaching the quarterfinals of doubles. According to Coach Newman, “Abigail advanced herself with coaches from Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton by competing with a great attitude and showcasing an excellent game style.” During the tournament, Coach Newman had multiple conversations on behalf of Abigail with the Head and Assistant Coaches from Harvard, the Dartmouth Head Coach and the Assistant Coaches from Columbia and Brown. Despite being the last player accepted into the 18’s draw after working his way up the alternate list, Alejandro grinded his way to 3 singles victories in the backdraw, including a win over a #17 seed. According to Coach Newman, “Alejandro helped himself through his outstanding fight and hustle with the Head Coaches from Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern who watched his matches.” Coach Newman made time to have multiple conversations on behalf of Alejandro with each of the coaches from these elite universities.
In addition, Coach Newman spoke to many other college coaches about underclassmen such as Jesse Wikso, Kristin Kerrigan and Callie Creath to lay the groundwork so these coaches know our players before it’s time to be recruited. For example, Coach Newman has already started the college process for 9th grade Blue Chip recruit Jesse Wikso who competed evenly with the #1 seed in the second round before losing 3-6, 4-6 and then went on to win 2 matches in the backdraw. While Coach Newman is at major national tournaments, he is also talking to college coaches about players who are not at the tournament but who might be a good fit for their school down the line. Through Coach Newman’s long-term approach of developing relationships with college coaches, he is able to open doors and facilitate the college process for ATA players aspiring to compete beyond high school.
In the 14’s draw, Anushka Dania won 3 matches in the consolation bracket after losing her first-round match. Coach Notis remarked on “Anushka’s amazing defensive skills, superior ability to anticipate and intelligent use of variety to keep her opponents off balance.” Harrison Chiu also rebounded from losing his 1st round singles match (to one of the top players in the country) to win 2 matches in the consolation bracket. But it was Caroline Wernli who shined the brightest in Tuscon in the 12’s draw. Caroline finished in the Top 12 in singles and capped her outstanding tournament by earning a SILVER BALL in doubles with her partner Zoe Hammond from Oklahoma. Coach Notis was blown away by the fact that “Caroline and Zoe played an aggressive brand of doubles finishing many points at the net.” Although Caroline lost a three-hour battle in the round of 16 in singles, Coach Notis was impressed with Caroline’s “unmatched tenacity, consistency, excellent use of the entire court and fighting spirit.” On another promising note, 11-year-old Sasha Malysheva, in her first Level 1 National Championship, demonstrated that she will become a huge threat at the national level in years to come. After watching Sasha begin the tournament by winning her 1st round singles match against a girl she had lost to six months ago, Coach Notis was impressed with Sasha’s “poise and ability to dictate with her aggressive play.” The future is indeed bright for ATA with young players like Caroline and Sasha leading the charge!
ATA Winter Camp Dec 28-Jan 1
Get a ton of tennis in over break and sign up for ATA Winter Camp that is starting Dec 28 and goes through Jan 1. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Aptitude or Attitude… What Are We Looking For?
Harvard receives over 40,000 applications each year. About 2,000 of those applicants are accepted and just over 1,600 enroll as freshman*. And each year at Harvard and at each of the other 2,000 degree-granting colleges and universities, this process begins with admissions counselors pouring over applicants in a dauntingly speedy manner in order to flesh out the most interesting XX {37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9}. So how do they accomplish this? Who meets the criteria? What are they looking for?
Inquiring CP students want to know, so we engaged in an interactive discussion featuring the questions that college admissions boards members have ruminating in their heads while reading. They include questions that roughly fit into four categories: Growth & Potential, Interests & Activities, Character & Personality, Contribution to Community. We took the sampling below and read them aloud, contemplating how we think about and exemplify each in our daily lives. It is a thought-provoking list and may offer many topics for conversation around the dinner table.
Have you reached your maximum academic and personal potential?
Have you been stretching yourself?
Have you been working to capacity in your academic pursuits, your full-time or part-time employment, or other areas?
Do you have reserve power to do more?
How have you used your time?
Do you have initiative? Are you a self-starter? What motivates you?
Do you have a direction yet? What is it? If not, are you exploring many things?
Where will you be in one, five, or 25 years?Will you contribute something to those around you?
What sort of human being are you now? What sort of human being will you be in the future?
Do you care deeply about anything—intellectual? Extracurricular? Personal?
What have you learned from your interests? What have you done with your interests? How have you achieved results? With what success or failure? What have you learned as a result?
In terms of extracurricular, athletic, community, or family commitments, have you taken full advantage of opportunities?
What is the quality of your activities? Do you appear to have a genuine commitment or leadership role?
If you have not had much time in high school for extracurricular pursuits due to familial, work, or other obligations, what do you hope to explore at college with your additional free time?
What choices have you made for yourself? Why?
Are you a late bloomer?
How open are you to new ideas and people?
What about your maturity, character, leadership, self-confidence, warmth of personality, sense of humor, energy, concern for others, and grace under pressure?
Will you be able to stand up to the pressures and freedoms of college life?
Will you contribute something to Harvard and to your classmates? Will you benefit from your college experience?
Would other students want to room with you, share a meal, be in a seminar together, be teammates, or collaborate in a close knit extracurricular group?
*information compiled from CollegeBoard, Harvard and personal counselor meetings
Four Agreements
from Carol
Each time the holidays approach, I am reminded of family gatherings when I was a young child. The beautiful moments of food, frolicking and football were always scattered among a few arguments about God or politics or the best make and model of a favorite car. Things haven’t changed much, and although these conversations are mostly unimportant and inconsequential, they evoke some pretty powerful words and emotions.
CP is a small school and I often {jokingly} say that it is like Thanksgiving… every day. Meaning, that due to the intimacy level, the students often speak and act toward one another like siblings or close family members. On a daily basis, there are students helping students, playing a chess game or two, walking and grooming the animals, and collaborating on a project. There is also the occasional argument. With awareness, these disagreements can be used as excellent learning opportunities.
One such moment occurred recently – some of our students experienced some family/brotherly arguments and altercations. While it is never appropriate to be disrespectful, it does happen.
We took this opportunity to discuss, in small groups, the following items:
1) Our words are as powerful as our fists and both need to be respectfully honored and controlled.
2) Our actions and behaviors have the ability to build up each other and the group, or tear them down.
3) Confronting our shortcomings and speaking our understanding and apologies to one another face to face, and acknowledging our own insecurities can be humbling and provide healing.
Although there are times that behaviors occur and things are said that are not appropriate and certainly not expressing the highest version of ourselves, we learn to be compassionate, patient, and an exemplary part of a larger community.
Let is remember to focus on the long term positive expectations of character that we hold for our children, instead of on the temporary and occasional lapse or regression.
And, of course, let us remember to always model that which we want followed.
I am reminded of the Four Agreements of Toltec wisdom: 1) be impeccable with your word; 2) don’t take anything personally; 3) don’t make assumptions; 4) always do your best.
I encourage you to share and discuss these with your children at your next family gathering. If you are interested in reading the book with your family… it will serve you and your family well… with many giving thanks.