ATA, AGOH partner for major water project, latest step in pattern of giving back

The Austin Tennis Academy (ATA) and A Glimmer of Hope Foundation (Glimmer) recently completed a project that provides the largest solar powered water supply development in the entire region of Tigray. The project, unfolding over about 3 years, delivers 9 water points and 3 cattle troughs to the Ethiopian villagers of Gonok who previously spent hours daily collecting only contaminated water.

This is the latest from a longstanding partnership between ATA and Glimmer. Since 2005, the ATA community has contributed more than $500,000 to AGOH towards a $1 million pledge.

Above is a picture of the solar panels that power the submersible pump that pumps the water that is 90 meters below the earth up to the reservoir.

“One of the founding principles when laying the framework for the Austin Tennis Academy was that students would be exposed to a series of life lessons,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “One of the most important life lessons is giving back to your community and giving to those less fortunate than yourself.”

Above is the Gonok reservoir that stores and distributes the water that is pumped from the deep borehole.

The latest water supply project made an immediate impact on the lives of the local community members in Gonok. Abeba, pictured below, used to spend approximately two hours per day fetching contaminated water from an unprotected spring at the bottom of a gorge. Now, one of the 9 water points is less than 100 yards from her home where she lives with her husband and children.

Above is a photo of Abeba (“Flower”) at her water point that is located 100 yards from her home. Abeba helped Breck Spencer on his “Walk for Water” in Gonok in the summer of 2010.

Another access point brings water to the Gonok Complete Primary School (Grades 1-8).

“The water point at the school is a game changer,” said Eric Schmidhauser, Director of Philanthropy at Glimmer. “Instead of students having to bring small water containers to school filled with dirty water from the unprotected spring about 1.5 kilometers from the school, they now have clean water available at the water point with its six faucets to accommodate hundreds of thirsty students.”

Beyond clean drinking water, the students are also able to practice proper hygiene that they learn in school at the hand washing station. In addition, female students now have more time for school since they no longer have to join their mothers on the walk for water to the bottom of the gorge and back in the mornings or afternoons.

Overall, the ATA community contributed about $150,000 to this project, with nearly 2/3rds coming directly from the ATA business. While that money could have gone towards any number of upgrades in the facility, ATA’s dedication to those founding principles makes giving back a continues priority.

Above is the exterior wall of the Gonok School, which has been decorated by paintings made by the teachers to serve as educational tools.

“The most powerful way to teach someone something is to show them,” Newman said. “By making a donation to A Glimmer Of Hope we not only talk the talk but also walk the walk of that life lesson of giving back.”

For Newman personally, much of the inspiration behind this value of giving back comes from a couple of trips to Ethiopia, one before starting ATA and one a few years after.

This is the handwashing station in front of the building that houses toilets on the Gonok School campus.

“Each of those trips resulted in a greater appreciation for all of the material and immaterial benefits that I enjoy being a citizen of this country,” Newman said. “It struck me as the greatest luck of the draw to have been born here rather than there. By making a commitment to Glimmer and by helping our students understand they’re lucky place in the universe, I hope to be a part of the balancing of the universe. By helping those with the least amount of resources, basic things like water, education and basic health care, it resonates with me that I am doing what I can.”

Many ATA students have felt compelled to contribute to this and other Glimmer campaigns, starting with Josh Hagar’s launch of Playing For Glimmer in 2008. More recently, Breck and Katherine Spencer raised awareness and funds through the Walk For Water and Bake For Gonok campaigns, while many other student-athletes continue to raise money and offer support in their own creative ways.Newman is currently preparing for his third trip to Africa in the coming weeks, when he will have the chance to visit the

Newman is currently preparing for his third trip to Africa in the coming weeks, when he will have the chance to visit the Gonok village and see first hand the global change to which ATA has contributed. Fittingly, he will travel with Ryan Berber and Santiago Montoya, both ATA alums who were there over 10 years ago when the founders set this lofty goal, and who are now past tennis and focused on their own ambitious goals.

The elevated pipeline in the photo is the beginning of 8 kilometers of pipeline that brings the clean water from the deep borehole well to 9 different water points that are spread out in the communities that make up Gonok, as well as 3 cattle troughs.

“When we started the Austin Tennis Academy we made a pledge to raise $1 million over 20 years on behalf of Glimmer. Big, hairy, outrageous goals like the million-dollar pledge also says something to our students about their own goals: SHOOT HIGH.”

To those who know him best, Newman displays a steadfast focus on what is best for his students and lives that out in every aspect of his life. Maybe nobody on the planet knows him better than Donna Berber, CEO and Founder of A Glimmer Of Hope.

“Coach Newman’s continued dedication to supporting the needs of the most vulnerable in our world is integral to the community he has built at ATA emphasizing the importance of giving back. Jack’s focus on giving has been steadfast since the early years of ATA, inspiring his students to become global changemakers who have compassion for those living in abject poverty in rural Ethiopia.”

Benzel: Teaching Kids to Manage Their Thoughts

Check out the latest from our friend David Benzel! And, take advantage of his upcoming webinar!

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Invitation to a Growing Champions for Life

Live Webinar – hosted by David Benzel

Teaching Kids to Manage Their Thoughts

Thursday

February 16, 2017

9 p.m. Eastern

45 minutes plus Q&A

Register Now to reserve your spot for this FREE event

Your child’s brain is very busy. It’s cranking out thousands of thoughts per day at lightning fast speed. Perhaps you’ve learned how to control your thoughts as an adult, but most children find themselves reacting to thoughts minute by minute and suffering needlessly from their own negativity. We must teach them that they are capable of managing those thoughts. This webinar is designed to help you teach some fundamental strategies to your children on this important topic.

You will learn how to:

Become the observer to your thoughts
Understand the relationship between thoughts and feelings
Replace unwanted or unproductive thoughts with healthier ones
Teach your children to choose powerful thoughts for sports and school

David will connect the key life skills of the lesson with winning on the field, and in life. The PowerPoint materials are loaded with practical information worth saving for future reference.

Do you know someone who could benefit from this webinar? Feel free to forward this invitation on to them.

Thank you for participating and for helping Growing Champions for Life promote a healthy environment for growing confident principle-centered competitors.

David Benzel, Founder
Growing Champions for Life

(352) 267-5344

www.growingchampionsforlife.com

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David Benzel PO Box 632 Groveland, Florida 34736 United States (352) 267-5344

Rifkin Discusses Impact of Nutrition, Hydration and Sleep

Yesterday during Academy practice, ATA’s Josh Rifkin discussed the basics of how nutrition, hydration, and sleep give players the energy needed for training and recovery to be able to reach peak performance more consistently.

“It’s simple, if the physical and mental demands of your body are not met with the proper fuel, hydration and recovery to support what your asking of it, your energy and functioning will suffer which consequently has a major impact on the level of your tennis performance,” Rifkin said.

Take a look at his presentation below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ATA-Nutrition-Presentation.pptx” download=”none” viewer=”microsoft”]

Help ATA’s Georgia Wright Contribute To A Great Cause

Georgia Wright has served up hard work around ATA for years as she has set and reached goals in her development as a high-level tennis player. Now, Georgia is hard at work towards another goal: contributing to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The South Central Austin Chapter of the LLS recently nominated Georgia as a candidate for their 1^st annual Student of the Year fundraising challenge, and she happily accepted.

“I could not be more excited to make a difference in the lives of patients across the country by raising money with family and friends like you for LLS!” Georgia said. “This cause is very close to my heart because my cousin Wendy is a survivor of Hodgkin’s disease.”

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is an amazing non-profit organization whose fundraisers help provide research for blood cancers (Hodgkin’s disease, myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma). LLS offers support for patients, survivors, their families, and even helps to advance the science behind other cancers through its research. LLS has funded over $1 Billion in research towards a medical cure.

100{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of each dollar donated goes to LLS and is also a vote for Georgia and her team, which is comprised of ATA’s – Callie Creath, Brennan Foreman, Hannah Harrod, Kristin Kerrigan, Steffi Pitts, and Avery Schiffman.

Go to this link to read more about it.

Go to this link to donate and see her campaign page.

“THANK YOU for your support for a great cause and of both me and my Team in this fundraising challenge,” Georgia said. “PLEASE pass along and also feel free to post link on Social media. Super easy to share with friends on Facebook from the donation page.”

ATA All Stars Set To Dual St. Edward’s Men Tomorrow

A team of the top players in the Academy are set to take on the St. Edward’s University men’s team tomorrow at 4pm at ATA. The ATA All Stars will take the court against the Hilltoppers for 2 out of 3 sets of doubles followed by an 8-game pro set of singles.

“Having ATA players get the opportunity to play a college dual match against a real college team is invaluable,” Coach Jack Newman said. “Players can get a taste of what college tennis is really like on their home courts.”

The teams will square off in up to 5 lines of doubles and 10 lines of singles. Come out tomorrow around 4pm to see an exciting college-style dual match! Cheer on the ATA players while they compete against Hilltopper head coach Estevam Strecker, freshman Chase Bartlett and senior Charlie Shin.

What Does Your Child Imagine for this Life? – David Benzel

Check out the latest newsletter from our friend David Benzel, founder of Growing Champions for Life!

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Message from David

What Does Your Child Imagine for this Life?

As far as we know, human beings are the only mammals in the kingdom with an imagination. It makes us pretty unique. We have the ability to “see” something before it actually exists. We can imagine a light bulb before it’s invented, or even a lunar landing module, or an iPhone. Those things are invented…because someone believed it in their mind so the rest of us could see it with our eyes.

We can also imagine situations and circumstances before they exist. We can “see” in the theater of our minds things like triumph or defeat; being included or being excluded; behaving confidently or behaving fearfully. We’re capable of imaging almost any scenario, positive or negative. The manifestation of each scenario into a reality is just as likely, or more so, than the light bulb, lunar landing module, or the iPhone. Do our children realize the power of the brain, or that their imagination is within their control?

The human brain is a powerful tool due to its complexity and billions of connections (synopses), allowing thousands of thoughts per day at lightning speed. The good news is that we are the directors and producers of the movies we run in our head, even if it doesn’t seem that way sometimes. The part your child might not understand is that the sub-conscious mind does not evaluate the imagined scenarios as good or bad, healthy or unhealthy…it just accepts the movie scene and looks for ways to turn that fantasy into fact.

It’s a fact that in the absence of a positive desire, aspiration, or goal, the mind tends to imagine negative outcomes based on fears. The question is, do your children assume there’s no harm in dwelling on the negative or forecasting doom? Are they privately building a thought-life around negativity or “awfulizing?” — the downward spiral of thoughts in which one awful event always leads to a worse awful event, on and on! The bad news, and the good news, is synopses that fire together stay together, thus developing patterns of thinking for all occasions.

To inspire your children to make better choices with their built-in-movie theater, ask them to imagine the kind of thinking that must go on in the minds of people who invent things, or discover medical and technological breakthroughs, or who win academic and athletic scholarships. Thomas Troward once said, “The law of floatation was not discovered by the contemplation of the sinking of things.” If our kids understood the power of the brain, they would never allow themselves a negative thought. It’s our responsibility as parents to encourage our children to imagine progress in sports for themselves; to imagine healthy friendships; to picture a completed project or a successful final exam. They are capable of choosing a mental image of what self-discipline, patience, or forgiveness looks like before they are called upon to deliver it. Challenge your children to visualize what performing under pressure would feel like, sound like, and look like. Given the choice – which we all have – why would we ever imagine anything but victory for ourselves? “As a man thinketh, so he is.” – Solomon

Bonus Video Feature:

To Push or Not to Push

Please click here to watch To Push or Not to Push and complete your weekly Game Plan page so you can develop the skills for creating a natural learning environment.

Watch the video here

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FREE WEBINAR

“Teaching Kids to Manage Their Thoughts“

Thursday, February 16th

9:00 pm EST

45-minute live webinar plus Q&A with David!

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what they have planned for you? Not much.”

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Plan Ahead For Spring Break Tennis Camp At ATA

This Spring Break, your child can take advantage of the Austin Tennis Academy’s tennis camps to progress at a rapid rate. These camps are designed to provide the greatest development of your child’s physical, mental, technical, and tactical performance levels. Sign up now for a full week or a single day!

Sessions

March 13-17, 2017

Times

QuickStart Camp 9:00am – 10:30am (age 5-8)
Morning Camp 9:00am – 12:00pm
Tournament Tough Training Camp 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Cost

QuickStart Camp $175/week ($40/day drop-in)
Morning Camp $300/week ($80/day drop-in)
Tournament Tough Training Camp $375/week ($90/day drop-in)

QuickStart Camp

9:00am – 10:30am ($175 per week or $40 per day)
The QuickStart tennis format used by the Austin Tennis Academy gives kids the opportunity to rally a ball over the net and learn to play points as quickly as possible – all in a fun environment. Our coaches recognize the importance of starting kids off well, and with success. The ATA was instrumental in developing this groundbreaking nationwide program and served as the pilot program for the USTA. This program uses the appropriate size racquet, court and ball to allow kids to do more – faster! Suggested Age: 5-8 years old.

Morning Camp

9:00am – 12:00pm ($300 per week or $80 per day)
Players will improve their game by learning fundamental skills, practicing game situations, and improving overall movement. Using the latest techniques and international innovations, players learn valuable athletic skills for tennis and other sports.

Afternoon “Tournament Tough” Camp

1:00pm-4:00pm ($375 per week or $90 per day)
Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive game situations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training. This camp is limited to Champ and Superchamp-level. ATA Academy players will be training at this time.

Policies

Registration must be made online.
Payment in advance is required to reserve your slot.
ATA camps are held rain or shine. Indoor sessions are held in the event of inclement weather.
No refunds or make-ups for days missed.
Weekly rate applies to that particular week only (no carryover).
Medical Release and Hold Harmless must be filled out online.
Lunch may be purchased if ordered in advance for $7.
Players may leave credit card on file to cover pro shop purchases, lunch, etc.
Private housing may be available. Email info@austintennisacademy.com to inquire.
Early drop-off and late pick-up is available upon request for $50 per week.

Hagar’s Former Student Named Rhodes Scholar

Mikaila Smith, a former homeschool student of ATA College Prep Director Carol Hagar, member of ATA College Prep in 7th and 8th grade, and a lifetime Austinite, recently earned her spot as a Rhodes Scholar.

“I have been working with (and been a fan of) Mikaila since she was about 8 years old and it didn’t take me long to determine she was my vote for a future US president,” said Hagar. “I always tell children they can do and be anything they decide to put their intention and attention toward, Mikaila always took that to heart and continues to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.”

Mikaila is a Presidential scholar at the University of Texas with majors in social entrepreneurship and nonprofit management and Chinese. She joins 31 other Americans from across the country who earned the Rhodes Scholar designation over thousands of applicants from more than 320 American colleges and universities.

“I take it as an incredible opportunity and responsibility,” Mikaila said. “I am more committed and determined than ever to give back to my communities, to continue to work on issues I am passionate about, and to support the people around me. I feel honored and humbled, and I take this platform and opportunity very seriously as a way to engage with the world around me and work hard to contribute to the advancement of the issues I care about.”

Mikaila has always had a passion for reading, exploring, and helping others. She is multi-lingual, has championed several philanthropic efforts, is a certified yoga instructor, and currently working in New York at the United Nations before departing to Oxford in the fall to continue her studies.

“I am so very proud of this compassionate powerhouse,” said Hagar. “I know that she will continue to develop solutions, make things happen, and positively impact our world.”

ATACP Psychology Students Present Work During Rainy Practice

The rain washed away any hope of hitting a ball this afternoon, but the Academy students and coaches were still hard at work in the fitness center. The coaches led the group through 1 hour of fitness, followed by two 30 minute presentations from ATA College Prep Psychology students Alejandro Rodriguez and Bailey Forgus.

The assignment from CP Psychology teacher Jack Newman was to present an element of positive psychology to the group using a PowerPoint and a handout.

“I thought both Alejandro and Bailey did an excellent job correlating the teachings we have learned in class with tennis, and how it can translate on the court,” ATACP senior Abigail Chiu said. “Bailey focused on happiness, and Alejandro chose mental toughness and both were presented with visual evidence that really brought interest to the entire group.”

Bailey titled his presentation Be happy with your journey, not your destination. See the slides below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Be-happy-with-your-journey-not-the.pdf” download=”all”]

Alejandro titled his presentation, Pushing Yourself. See the slides below:

[embeddoc url=”http://www.austintennisacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PushingYourselfProject.pdf” download=”all”]

“It was nice to get to showcase some of the things I had learned in class while giving my teammates some information which could help them,” Alejandro said. “It was fun talking to a larger group, I didn’t feel nervous at all and I enjoy speaking to more people. I hope to get to do that a lot in college and professionally. I think people connected with some of the content that I talked about and because my topic had a very direct correlation to tennis, I think they will be able to apply what they learned (if they choose to) pretty straightforwardly. The group was also a great audience which made it very fun to present!”

Check back later in the week to see more student presentations.

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

Hagar Voted Irish Captain, Joins Distinguished Group Of ATA Alums

ATA College Prep graduate and life-long Austin Tennis Academy member Josh Hagar was recently voted Captain of the Notre Dame Men’s Tennis Team. Entering his senior season, Josh joins teammate Eddy Covalschi as co-captains at the helm of a strong Fighting Irish squad.

“Being voted a captain is an accomplishment I’ll remember forever,” Hagar said. “To be voted a leader of the team by my peers is the highest compliment I can think of. It’s one thing to accomplish something on the court or in the classroom, but to be recognized by my teammates, who know me better than anybody, to me that speaks volumes.”

Hagar joins a distinguished group of Austin Tennis Academy alums who went on to serve as Captain of their college tennis teams.

“It’s very humbling to join the list of past ATA players named captain of their team,” Josh said. “They embody the culture of ATA, which translates very well to a college team environment. It speaks to how important character, work ethic, and other off-court attributes are at ATA.”

Here are a few of the former ATA and ATA College Prep graduates who went on serve as team captain:

Trey Phillips – University of Texas

Blake Davis – Florida State University

Claire Cahill – Washington & Lee University

Santiago Montoya – Notre Dame

Brent D’Amico – Notre Dame

Lindsey Periera – University of Virginia

Matthew Bain – Texas A&M

Brandon Davis – University of Illinois

Whitney Waters – Redlands

Brent Werbeck – Boise State

Adam Slagter – Penn State

Jenn Wencel Werbeck – Boise State

Roger Gubser – The University of Texas

Kendall Dabaghi – Duke – Not Captain, but was President of his Class and Fulbright Scholar

Josh Hagar – Notre Dame

“It is exciting to see Josh Hagar named captain of the Notre Dame men’s tennis team,” Josh’s long-time coach and CEO of ATA Jack Newman said.

“Over 25 ATA players have been captains of their tennis teams. This is the accomplishment of which I am most proud.”

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.

_______________________________________________________

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.

Sign Up For Winter Tennis Camp At ATA

2016 Winter Tennis Training Camps

This Winter, your child can take advantage of the Austin Tennis Academy’s Winter Camps to progress at a rapid rate. The camps are designed to provide the greatest development of your child’s physical, mental, technical, and tactical performance levels.

Dates:

December 26th, 2016 – December 30th, 2016

Times:

QuickStart Camp 9:00am – 10:30am (age 5-8)
Morning Camp 9:00am – 12:00pm (All levels)

Tournament Tough Training Camp 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Cost:

QuickStart Camp $150/week ($40/day drop-in)
Morning Camp $275/week ($80/day drop-in)

Tournament Tough Training Camp $375/week ($90/day drop-in)

Quick Start Camp

9:00am – 10:30am ($150 per week or $40 per day)
The Quick Start tennis format used by the Austin Tennis Academy gives kids the opportunity to rally a ball over the net and learn to play points as quickly as possible – all in a fun environment. Our coaches recognize the importance of starting kids off well, and with success. The ATA was instrumental in developing this groundbreaking nationwide program and served as the pilot program for the USTA. This program uses the appropriate size racquet, court and ball to allow kids to do more – faster! Suggested Age: 5-8 years old