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
College Prep Students Entered In Children’s Business Fair
JAK’S creates colorful spin art on vinyl records. You can design your own by picking your colors or buy a colorful record that is already made. Also, vinyl record bowls will be for sale. They make great pots for succulents! Come help support Austin Pets Alive and get homemade dog treats!
-Jordan, Abigail and Keana
SCS Designs
SCS Designs makes handcrafted colorful decor for your home. We have a variety of decorated letters that you can hang or stand up, painted canvases with inspirational words and coasters with colorful designs. Come out and help us support A Glimmer of Hope with each purchase made!
-Sasha, Caroline and Sydney
ATA Coach Lucie Schmidhauser Inducted into UTexas Hall Of Honor
ATA’s Lucie Schmidhauser accepted her induction into the University of Texas Sports Hall of Honor last week alongside fellow Longhorn athletics standouts at the Frank Erwin Center.
13 May 1993: Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
“It was my pleasure and honor to attend coach Lucie Schmidhauser’s induction into the University of Texas hall of honor last week,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “Her group of inductees was especially strong and I thought coach Lucie gave a fantastic speech.”
Coach Lucie Ludvigova Schmidhauser (1993-95) was a two-time All-American, 1994 SWC Player of the Year and was a catalyst for the 1995 team that won the NCAA championship.
See her inspirational speech here:
Around The Classrooms At ATA College Prep
We are well into the school year at ATA College Prep! From the first test in Psychology, to presentations in English, vocabulary in Spanish, French and Chinese, to origin stories in History, the ATA CP staff is striving daily to challenge the students academically while inciting the curiosity within each. Here are a few pictures from around the classrooms.
The MS English group worked through a fun creative group writing activity. Each student wrote the first paragraph of a short-fiction story where he or she set the scene and introduced a character, then passed their story to the right. Each student contributed one paragraph with different parameters to each story such that at the end, the class had nine complete short stories with a section from each student to share with the group.
The Algebra and PreAlgebra classes used pennies to test the strength of spaghetti strands (first one strand, then two, etc.). The purpose was to discover a linear relationship through experimentation.
The History students got outside to work on their class timeline projects.
Max and Jack lead a team chant at the end of morning practice last week.
Check back here for more pictures and updates from around the campus and as always, see more on our Facebook page!
David Benzel Article and Sign Up for Webinar Oct 18
David Benzel’s newest article: When a Sport Chooses Your Child is about how your child chooses to start a sport and try it out. “Creative parents find ways to expose their children to a variety of activities, while at the same time having no agenda or preconceived notions about what their child “should” do.” Click here to read more
David Benzel’s Webinar on: How to Discuss Performance Issues with Your Child and Remain Friends
Tuesday, October 18th, 2016 at 8:00 PM Click here to sign up
Pictures From The 2016 ATA Scholarship Shootout
The 2016 Austin Tennis Academy Scholarship Shootout unfolded last weekend with a dinner event on Friday evening followed by a pro-am style tennis tournament on Saturday morning. It was a fun weekend of community and philanthropy that supported the Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation. See some pictures of the action below.
ATA CEO Jack Newman springs into a kick serve during the finals with partner Bailey Forgus at the net.
ATA College Prep student Callie Creath and partner Chad Loup are all smiles after winning a long point.
ATA College Prep student Juan De Dios Abboud and his father teamed up at line 1 doubles.
Academy player Marcus Sweeney joined forces with his father to create a dynamic duo on the court last weekend.
ATA’s Brian Notis joined forces with his student and Academy player Blaine Kanak for the doubles event.
To see more pictures from the event, check out the ATA Facebook page!
A Look Inside The Start of ATA College Prep
The ATA College Prep school year is underway! While barely two weeks in, so much has already unfolded. Beginning with Orientation, the students and teachers of the 2016-2017 school year set off on what is sure to be an amazing journey.
At orientation, students enjoyed team building activities and games to get to know each other a little better. After a shortened version of the class schedule to meet with teachers and get accustomed to room assignments, the group enjoyed a trip to the Austin Panic Room. After, they stopped at local favorite Gordough’s for lunch.
“In the two days of orientation, I witnessed the following character attributes from the CP students: kindness to others, respect for others’ ideas and opinions, willingness to try new things, excellent abilities to work together in a group, and an eagerness to learn.”
The group starts each day with tennis and fitness before transitioning to breakfast and classes. Below, Mac locks in on a forehand volley during a game of ‘105’.
ATA’s Dio Miranda discusses the importance of nutrition with the group and offers some tips on how to improve.
Mrs. Linda and her math class pause for a quick picture.
Psychology students begin work on a self-awareness project.
Students have ample time throughout the week to collaborate and receive additional support during daily group Study Halls.
To see more pictures from the beginning of the year at ATA College Prep now and throughout the year, check out our Facebook page!
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’s Lucie Schmidhauser To Be Inducted Into Longhorns Hall Of Honor
ATA’s Lucie Ludvigova Schmidhauser will be one of 13 esteemed former University of Texas student-athletes to be inducted into the Men’s and Women’s Athletic’s Hall of Honor later in October.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling for me to be selected into the University of Texas Athletic Hall of Honor,” Schmidhauser said. “I remember the excitement I felt when I first represented UT as a collegiate athlete. I was so proud to just be a part of UT’s tradition of excellence in athletics, so being selected into this elite circle of athletes is the ultimate honor.”
13 May 1993: Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
The induction banquet for the 2016 women’s class is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14. The luncheon ceremony will start at 11:30 a.m. in the Lone Star Room of the Frank Erwin Center.
Below is the bio of Coach Lucie from the TexasSports.com:
Lucie Ludvigova Schmidhauser, Tennis (1993-95)
(Pronunciation: lewd-vih-GO-vah SHMID-how-ser)
A two-time All-American and the 1994 Southwest Conference Player of the Year, Lucie Ludvigova was among the catalysts who led the Longhorns to their second NCAA team title in 1995. Ludvigova joined the Longhorns as a junior during the 1993-94 season. She played her freshman season at Midland Junior College and her sophomore year at NCAA Division II Grand Canyon University, where she won the NCAA singles title. Ludvigova made an immediate impact upon her arrival at Texas, and commenced an impressive stretch of tennis that she carried through the end of her collegiate career. In her first semester at Texas, she became the first Longhorn to win the singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships, as she knocked off Georgia’s Angela Lettiere in the final, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. She went on to claim a second individual national title that semester, as she won the singles crown at the ITA National Indoor Championships. Ludvigova finished the 1993-94 campaign with a 34-6 overall singles record, a mark that still keeps her at No. 5 all-time at UT in single-season winning percentage (.843). League coaches selected Ludvigova as the 1994 Southwest Conference Player of the Year after she helped the Horns win the SWC regular season and tournament titles. Ludvigova helped carry Texas to the semifinals of the team competition at the 1994 NCAA Championships. As the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Championships singles draw, she automatically earned All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). She also earned a berth into the NCAA doubles draw with Farley Taylor in her junior season. Ludvigova starred on the 1994-95 Texas team that saw six Longhorns earn ITA All-America honors. Once again, UT rode into the NCAA Championships on an upswing after winning the SWC regular season and tournament titles. With Ludvigova at No. 2 singles throughout the NCAA Championships, Texas advanced to the NCAA title match for the second time in three seasons. The Longhorns edged Florida, 5-4, in the final and Texas, with help from Ludvigova, won its second national team title in three seasons. Ludvigova earned All-America status once more with her 9-16 seed in the singles draw at the 1995 NCAA Championships, where she won a pair of matches and advanced to the Round of 16. Ludvigova played two years of professional tennis and returned to UT as an assistant coach from 1998-2001. Today, she is a coach at Austin Tennis Academy.
Ashley Weinhold Earns Spot In US Open Doubles Main Draw
Austin Tennis Academy student Ashley Weinhold earned her way into the main draw of the women’s doubles at the 2016 US Open Tennis Championships in New York City with her partner Caitlin Whoriskey.
“It’s really great to back at the Open,” Ashley said. “It’s always been one of my favorite places to play since Juniors.”
Weinhold has earned 5 doubles titles since the start of 2015, 4 of them with her partner for the Open, Caitlin Whoriskey.
“Caitlin & I have had a lot of success together as a team, especially lately & I believe we deserve to be in this position,” Weinhold said. “It’s going to be her first main draw of a slam experience which is really neat for her. This will be my third time playing women’s doubles here so it’s a little more familiar to me. This one might mean the most, though. I feel like we’re in a great place to play well here. We’re really looking forward to this opportunity. It’s a nice way to cap off our Summer run & an exciting lead into our fall as we try to get into bigger events. Can’t wait to play this week!”
As a junior, Ashley won G18s Nationals in 2007, earning her a main draw spot in the U.S. Open for the first time. That year, she played singles, doubles mixed doubles, junior singles and junior doubles.
Ashley and Caitlin open the tournament against the 10th seeded team of Vania King and Monica Niculescu. The ladies will learn the exact day/time of the match later today. For Ashley, she’s excited to get back into that New York City energy.
“There is a special feeling and buzz you get when you’re here playing on home turf,” Ashley said. “The atmosphere is electric.”
Good luck, Ashley and Caitlin!
20 ATA Players Earn A Spot in USTA National Hardcourts
The USTA Super National Hardcourts tournaments unfolded earlier this month, with a record 20 ATA Academy players earning a spot in the event – a quarter of the entire Academy group.
The biggest junior USTA tournament of the year, the winners in both Boy’s and Girl’s 18 singles and doubles earns a wildcard into the US OPEN Grand Slam in New York City.
“This summer’s nationals has an excellent showing for ATA players,” ATA CEO Jack Newman said. “This was the single highest number of Academy players participating in a super national event since the program’s inception.”
B16&18 took place in Kalamazoo, MI
Leading the way was Erik Kerrigan and Payton Holden, graduates of ATA College Prep for the Boy’s 18. They both ended their junior career with a great last tournament, before heading to University of Chicago and Princeton to start their college careers.
Erik made it the farthest in the tournament of all Texas players, reaching the round of 32 before losing to the #5. Erik then won his 4th rd consolation match.
Payton Holden made it to the round of 64 by taking out the #31 seed 6-0, 6-1 and earning the tournament’s player of the day award. He then made it to the the 4th rd in the consolation.
“Both Erik and Payton finished their junior tennis careers with great playing,” Newman said. “Both hit out on the ball, played their distinctive brand of tennis and competed with poise and vigor.”
Wilson Hamilton, Granville Kaynor and Alejandro Rodriquez all competed in B18 singles and doubles.
Roger Chou was the only ATA player in the B16 singles and he went 2-2.
Harrison Chiu made it the furthest in B16 doubles. Harrison and his partner Harvey Maughan made it to the rd of 16.
“Harrison Chiu created a legendary life story,” Newman said. “32nd alternate, showed up early for sign in hopes of snagging a doubles spot. A boy walks up to the doubles sign in desk and says “my partner broke his toe I need a new one” and Harrison steps up and says “I can play” the boy agrees. And they make it to the round of 16. Legendary.”
B14 took place in San Antonio, TX
Max Schmidhauser competed in B14 singles and doubles. He went 3-2 in singles play.
B12 took place in Little Rock, AR
James Cockrell and Jake Riezebeek competed in B12 singles and doubles. James went 2-2 in singles and Jake went 1-3 in singles.
G16&18 took place in San Diego, CA
Abigail Chiu led the way for G18 in singles and doubles. Abigail made it to the round of 16 in doubles and went 3-2 in singles play. Abigail, a senior this year at ATA College Prep, will attend Dartmouth in 2017. Alex Mjos also played in the G18 singles and doubles where she made it to the round of 64. She will head to University of Southern Florida next fall.
Callie Creath made it the farthest in Girl’s 16s singles going 3-2. Kristin Kerrigan went 2-2 in singles and Georgia Wright went 0-2 in singles.
G14 took place in Peachtree City, GA
Caroline Wernli went 2-2 in singles and 1-1 in doubles play.
G12 took place in Alpharetta, GA
Sasha Malysheva went 1-3 in singles play.
While this was arguably the best ever year for ATA Academy players ever at Hardcourt Nationals, Coach Newman has but one focus in mind: improving.
“In the next few years, we hope to build on both the number of national competitors we send and the distance they go in their events.”
Coach Newman Recommended Article, “How Does Physical Training Increase Your Child’s Tennis Mental Toughness?”
Physically fit players are less likely to feel discomfort than unfit players in the same match. Therefore, fit players are able to place their focus, energy and attention on helpful processes that increase the chances of success. There are other reasons for the link between physical fitness and mental fitness. Physical pain and emotional pain are housed in the same area of our brain. Stronger bodies, stronger brains! Click here to read the full article from Parenting Mentally Tough Tennis by Anthony Ross.
ATACP Senior Abigail Chiu Claims Gold Ball At USTA Clay Court Nationals
The 2016 USTA Clay Court National Championships unfolded last week, with 14 ATA Academy players competing across all age divisions. The standout performance came from ATA College Prep Senior Abigail Chiu, who brought home a Gold Ball for winning 1st place in Girl’s 18s doubles – her 8th National Ball overall.
“This moment in particular was the most special feeling I’ve had after claiming a national ball,” Chiu said. “Between it being one of my last ever super nationals and having my mom witness me winning a gold ball for the first time, it was truly rewarding. The acknowledgment I’ve received especially amongst my ATA peers has made this accomplishment feel even better.”
Abigail traveled to the event, hosted in Memphis, TN, with ATA CEO Jack Newman. Following a tough first-round singles loss, Abigail was able to refocus and earn three-straight wins in singles before her undefeated run in doubles with partner Elysia Bolton.
“I have to give a huge thanks to Coach Newman who played a huge part in this,” Chiu said. “He was so encouraging and gave me great motivation throughout the entire tournament. We had a specific ritual everyday that allowed me to stay calm and focused and I really do credit him in the highest ways. I really believe he is the best at what he does and when you get the chance to travel with him one on one, you come to realize why ATA is so special. Of course I also credit my three main coaches: Coach Doug, Coach Brandon and Coach Dio who consistently take care of me both physically and emotionally.”
Chiu also credited her access to two beautiful red clay courts here at here home Academy; appropriately named The Chiu Family Clay Courts.
“The clay courts at ATA have definitely been nice,” Chiu said. “It’s not so common to have clay courts at your home facility; many of my friends have to travel to Florida or other such places to access them but we’re really lucky here. Not every academy can have such nice clay courts and that’s the reason so many kids across Texas come to ATA for better preparation.”
Newman also credits the courts for the overall success of ATA players on the surface recently.
“We had our best clay court performance this year of any years previously,” Newman said. “Having our players start practicing on clay during the year on a regular basis and exclusively after the summer grand slam for sure helped our performance.”
Beyond the coaching, preparation, and court access, Chiu also credits her partner in this event.
“Elysia is also probably the best partner I’ve ever played with. She is an incredible player and I felt that our games really complemented each other well. The last match was actually our most dominating and confident performance and that’s another reason why winning this has never felt better. It was relieving to finish my last clay court nationals with a title and with a match that I will never forget.”
After spending the week with Abigail and coaching her to a Gold Ball, Newman was clear on how she stacks up against her peers on the doubles court.
“Abigail is the best doubles player of her age in the country (IMHO), for the following reasons–very good serve locations, solid returning from both sides, ability to move forward and control volley height and pace, ability to perform formations effectively without fear.”
The natural step after reaching a goal for Chiu and all ATA student-athletes is simple: set another one. Now, she will focus forward on the next steps in her tennis career.
“The next step for me is getting ready for college tennis. I am planning on tweaking my schedule a little bit so that I can experience some higher level tournaments whether it’s lower lever pro tournaments or more collegiate events. I’ve played junior Texas tennis my entire life and I’m ready to see what it’s like against the girls at the next level!”
David Benzel Free Webinar Aug 17
Overcoming Adversity in Sports and Life is the newest webinar by David Benzel and Growing Champions for Life, it is scheduled for Aug 17th at 8pm. Click here to register
ATA College Application & Essay Workshop, Aug 2-5
Dear ATA Seniors:
As the summer leads to its hottest moments, I am sure you are all working toward your end-of-summer goals, making plans for the future, and thinking about what college might look like for YOU. You are about to embark on your last year of high school, and then off to college. This is an amazing time in your life. It is also a very busy time in your life. It is a time of transitioning into young adulthood with new responsibilities. With classes, work, tennis tournaments, college searches, applications, essays, keeping up with responsibilities and chores, you may feel as if you have too little time to accomplish it all during the hours of the day.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, begin your senior year with less stress. Take some time this summer to knock out your college application and essays.
Register for the College Application and Essay Writing Workshop
Aug 2-5, Tuesday-Friday
10:30am-12:30pm
at ATA College Prep
A course fee of $350 will be billed directly to your ATA account.
You will receive personal attention in completing the Common Application and receive advice and guidance on your Personal Essay. You will also research colleges and gain insight into the best matches based on your personal criteria. This workshop is intended for rising seniors, but rising juniors may also benefit from the college search and writing exercises.
Includes:
Introductory Counseling Session
Personalized Interactive College Search
Crafting an Introductory Letter to Coaches
Review of the Common Application
Selecting Recommenders
Brainstorming Session for Personal Statement & Essays
Practicing Interview Skills for phone and on-campus visits
I recognize many of you will be traveling during all or part of this time, but you are welcome to take advantage of the days you are here and then follow up with private or small group sessions available during the fall.
Remember that all of the work you have invested up to this point is going to pay off and that you are going to find the perfect college experience.
Contact Carol.Hagar@AustinTennisAcademy.com for additional information and to register.
Looking forward!
Carol Hagar
ATA College Prep
512.423.1105
Abigail Chiu in the Doubles Final of Clay Court Nationals!
ATA’s Abigail Chiu and partner Elysia Bolton will be playing in the G18 doubles final of the National Clay Courts Championships in Memphis, TN at 3:30 today. For updates follow Coach Newman on Twitter or on Austin Tennis Academy’s website latest tweets.
Newman Leads Group On College Tour and Showcase
A group of ATA College Prep and Academy student-athletes recently returned from a trip that began with a tour of multiple college campuses and finished with a College Showcase in front of dozens of top coaches.
ATA CEO Jack Newman led the group and served his standard role as grand maestro of the college placement and recruiting process for each ATA player throughout.
“Visiting college campuses allows the ATA students a chance to get a feel for the campus, meet the team and coaches, while giving them perspective to compare other schools against,” said Newman. “The major positive is that these kids become real people to the coaches, rather than a name and a ranking.”
The group visited Wesleyan University, Amherst College, Vassar College and Yale University, which also hosted the showcase.
“On a visit you can fall in love with the campus, or the city and decide that that is school you want to go to,” said ATA College Prep Junior Annika Pandey. “When visiting you get an overall feel of what life would be like as a student there, and that can make or break your decision to attend that school.”
The college showcase itself is designed to give student athletes a chance to compete in front of the top college coaches and academic schools in the country.
“Playing in front of coaches is always a lot of fun for me, you get to demonstrate how hard you’ve worked since the last time they saw you, and you get to showcase the type of energy and competitiveness you would bring to a college team,” said ATA College Prep Senior Alejandro Rodriguez. “I also had a lot of fun hanging out with my teammates at the showcase- I think college coaches took note of how close knit our group was and it speaks to the culture of the ATA program.”
Entrants play 3 singles matches against players of similar level and 2 doubles matches with a random partner.
“I really enjoyed playing good doubles in front of the Dartmouth and Brown coaches, and talking to the Harvard, Cornell, Pomona and Johns Hopkins coaches, among others, after the showcase,” said Pandey. “I also liked hanging out with my ATA teammates in between matches, and having them cheer me on when I played, and when I cheered them on when they played.”
While the student-athletes are doing their best on the court to present themselves as desirable recruits, according to them, the most unrelenting, hardest working member of the trip didn’t hit one ball.
“Coach Newman is the driving force in his players’ college processes,” said Pandey. “He is extremely skilled at his job, and I actually really like watching him talk to college coaches while selling his players. He knows everyone and everyone knows him and regards him with the utmost respect. I truly believe there is no one better than him to help me in my college process. The entire showcase he was talking to me about how to talk to coaches, and introducing me to coaches, hunting them down for me and talking to them about me. I remember after I played my last match, Coach Newman and I went on a mission around the Yale courts for all the schools that are on my list and he knew all of the coaches and introduced me to all of them, effortlessly. I think what makes him good at the college process is his relentless pursuit. From the beginning of the showcase to the end he kept talking to me about getting on Harvard’s radar, and Dartmouth’s radar, which did happen by the end of the showcase, thanks to him. He talked about hunting down the Princeton coach for me the entire showcase, with unrelenting perseverance. He will stop at nothing to sell his players to the schools they want to go to.”
Alejandro echoed Annika’s sentiment about Coach Newman’s leadership.
“Coach Newman is probably the best coach in the country when it comes to placing players at the schools they are dying to go to. He always had at least 5-7 coaches watching everyone’s matches, explaining to them who you are both as a player and a person, and helping to bridge that gap between the player and the coach. He is invaluable because his word has a lot of weight with coaches all around the country, allowing him to really bring ATA players into their radar. There are so many good players out there, but Coach Newman helps you stand out as a player, person, and recruit. So many times I heard coaches say, “we love ATA players”, and he knows exactly how to use that reputation to get the coaches you want recruiting you.”
For Newman, he is not only vigorously working on behalf of each of the players currently on the trip, but also all future ATA players who will soon be in that position.
“It’s very valuable for all the players at ATA, not just the ones who come on the trip because I am constantly talking to coaches about all of our players,” Newman said. “ATA has a very good track record of placing leaders at college tennis programs, coaches know ATA and more specifically they know me very well. My goal has been to build a stellar reputation with college coaches so that my credibility with them is impeccable. That way I can be an honest advocate for our students and help coaches make good decisions in their recruiting process. ATA players are highly sought after by college coaches because of the record of the leadership our students have shown in the past.”
Historically, ATA players have gone on to serve as Captain of over 25 college teams – a number this group and many others are looking to add to soon.
David Benzel Webinar July 21 “To Push or Not to Push”
Join us each month for a live online presentation. The material prepares you for conversations about winning at life, not just sports, with your young athlete. If you can’t join us live, register for the webinar then enjoy the recording when your schedule permits.
To Push or Not to Push – A Parent’s Dilemma
Thursday, July 21st, 2016 at 9:00 PM EDT
Click here to register
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 Players Excel at Summer Grand Slam
Leading every program in Texas, sixty-three Austin Tennis Academy players earned their way into the Texas Summer Grand Slam last week in College Station, including 5 Champ Masters qualifiers.
A number of ATA players stepped up and played their best tennis at the most important state tournament of the year. The impressive results yielded by ATA players included one singles winner, two singles finalists, one third place in singles, one semifinalist in singles, three quarterfinalists in singles, one doubles winner, and five doubles semifinalists.
University of Chicago bound senior Erik Kerrigan won the doubles title and came within two points of winning the 18s singles title. Erik followed up his inspiring performance in the doubles semifinals by an even more dominating and masterful performance in the doubles finals against the highly accomplished team that defeated ATA doubles standouts Payton Holden and Jake Berber in the other semifinals. The morning after securing the doubles title, Erik came within 2 points of capturing the singles title at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set with a devastating attacking style game that was highlighted by blistering serves, crushing groundstrokes and beautiful touch volleys. Although Erik’s remarkably consistent opponent eventually wore him down in the third set, Erik’s performance at Summer Grand Slam was a storybook ending to a fantastic junior career. In fact, after the updated rankings came out this week, Erik moved up to #2 in the state – his career high.
Following his semifinal finish in doubles, Princeton bound senior Payton Holden ended his stellar Texas junior career by winning third place in singles by defeating in straight sets the #1 ranked player in 18s who recently signed with Florida State.
Another ATA senior who shined at Summer Grand Slam was St. Edward’s signee Chase Bartlett, who reached the quarterfinals of singles by upsetting a player who reached the quarterfinals of the National Hardcourt Championships in Kalamazoo last summer. Chase’s professionalism and calm demeanor impressed the ATA coaches, who looked on as he served out the match at 5-4 in the third set. It was a victory that will remain etched in the memories of those lucky enough to watch the match.
Abigail Chiu had the best performance amongst ATA players competing in the 18s draw, reaching the quarterfinals of doubles as well as singles, where she lost to her future Dartmouth teammate. With the exception of touring pro Ashley Weinhold, Abigail has thus far enjoyed the most accomplished junior career of any female player in the 13-year history of ATA, and the coaching staff at ATA is excited that Abigail has another 11 months to compete in juniors.
Also competing in the Girls 18s, Alexandria Mjos fought her way to the semifinals of the doubles draw, while earning four wins in singles. Both the University of Houston and University of South Florida coaches watched Mjos’ first two singles matches, both of which she won in straight sets.
ATA players also had a very strong showing in the 14s age group at Summer Grand Slam. Max Schmidhauser followed up winning the singles title at the Level 2 National Selection tournament in Wisconsin last month by winning the singles title in 14s at Summer Grand Slam by defeating the #1 seed in the finals in a hard fought three set battle highlighted by his competitive grit and fight. Max benefitted from a “spot on” tactical plan devised by Coach Doug Davis for the singles finals, as well as four months of twice-per-week extra fitness sessions with Coach Josh Rifkin that allowed Max to have “fresh legs” throughout the tournament. Max also had his best ever doubles performance at Summer Grand Slam by reaching the semifinals. Max also earned a nickname during the event: Max ‘The Warrior’ Schmidhauser, coined by family friend and ATA lifer Philip Berber for his warrior-like spirit on the court.
On the Girl’s side of the 14s draw, Caroline Wernli, for the second year in a row, reached the singles finals of Summer Grand Slam in her age group. Caroline’s ability to step up her game in pressure situations makes her a force to be reckoned with. Both of her quarterfinal and semifinal wins were three hour, 6-4 in the third set battles in which she showed incredible mental toughness, determination and passion to compete on the big stage.
The 16s age group had excellent performances from Callie Creath, Georgia Wright and Bailey Forgus at Summer Grand Slam. Callie followed up her 4th place finish in singles at the Level 2 National Selection tournament last month by reaching the semifinals of both singles and doubles at Summer Grand Slam. Callie’s outstanding results can be attributed to her superior fitness, calm and determined demeanor, professional approach to competition and disciplined patterns.
Georgia Wright had her best showing of the year by upsetting the #5 seed on her way to reaching the quarterfinals of the singles draw. Georgia’s level of focus, calmness in between points and superb movement frustrated her opponents and suggest that her results will only continue to improve.
On the boy’s side of the draw, Bailey Forgus, whose ranking was only #62 before Summer Grand Slam, had an inspiring “breakthrough” performance. In the singles draw, Bailey defeated in straight sets the #17 seed in the second round and then upset the #4 seed in the fourth round with a commanding 6-1 in the third set victory spurred on by Coach Newman’s game plan at the split and a large group of Bailey’s ATA teammates enthusiastically cheering him on to victory. Bailey’s breakthrough in the most important tournament of the year in Texas should be an inspiration to his teammates because he consistently shows excellent focus and a strong work ethic at practice, and he always shows up for fitness at afternoon practice and College Prep workouts in the morning. In addition to his outstanding work ethic, Bailey is one of the most coachable students at ATA and has been willing to stick with his attacking all-court game style in practice matches and tournaments even though it has resulted in some short-term setbacks from a results perspective. Coach Newman believes that Bailey’s “willingness to stick to his guns and play his game in the face of failure and defeat over the past nine months was validated last week at Summer Grand Slam when he was able to put all of the elements of his attacking game into play.”
The best performance by an ATA player in the 12s age group at Summer Grand Slam was by James Cockrell, who rebounded from his loss in the Round of 16 in the singles draw by reaching the semifinals of doubles where he lost a tough 3 set battle to the eventual champions. James is distinguishing himself as a great doubles player, as demonstrated by him capturing 3 SCMZ doubles titles this year with his partner.
The results at the Texas Grand Slam tell a lot about the dedication of the ATA players and coaches. But it is the ongoing competitive spirit, the desire to become even better, and the community team support that continue to make ATA the best place to develop and live the sport!