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Here’s The 4-1-1 On Shootout 2021

Shootout 2021, ATA’s annual fundraising event for Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation, kicks off Friday night and will run through Saturday afternoon. We’re thrilled that we are able to hold the entire event in person this year on the grounds at Austin Tennis Academy. Here’s the rundown for Friday and Saturday.

Friday Night’s Player Party
6:00 PM: Cocktails, Hors D’oeuvres and Auction
7:00 PM: Dinner
7:45 PM: Shootout Show

The Players Party is being held in a giant party tent being erected Wednesday in the open ground space adjacent to Court 12. Attendees will park in ATA’s parking lot, follow the sidewalk that goes in front of the pro shop to get to Court 12 and then follow the lights/lit path to the tent. Once inside, you’ll find the bar serving various drinks, including our signature drink for the evening, The Honey Deuce (we snagged this one from the US Open where it’s been the most popular cocktail for the past 15 years), hors d’oeuvres, and tables loaded with auction items for you to check out and bid on.

Dinner will be served at 7 PM and then Coach Jack Newman will kick off the program at 7:45. He’s going to do his best to not only make sure everyone has a great time, but also wrap up everything before too late since many of you will be playing tennis the next morning.

Saturday Tennis
Saturday morning kicks off with breakfast served and warmup on court at 8:00 AM. Matches will begin at 9:00 with eight different teams competing for the coveted Shootout title. Bidding can still be done on the auction items out in the party tent. In fact, that’s where you’ll find Deb Cahill selling those ‘oh so valuable Point Chips’ that players want to make sure they possess on court during their matches; spectators will want to have some ‘Point Chips’ of their own to help spur on their team to victory. Lunch will be ready starting at 11:30. Coach Newman expects the matches to wrap by at least 2 PM when the winning team will be announced.

The Shootout never disappoints! There’s still time if you haven’t purchased your ticket to play or attend Friday night’s party. Click here to get in on all the fun!! For those who can’t attend in person, Friday night’s party will be streamed live on ATA’s YouTube channel. Click here for that livestream link.

Thank You to our Sponsors!
KickStand Communications
Salvation Pizza
Wilson
Coach Kevin Realty
Ron Yates Winery
Spicewood Vineyards

Commendation for ATA College Prep Student Athlete

For the second year in a row, ATA College Prep student Sasha Malysheva is being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. She received a commendation for being one of the 50,000 highest-scoring students in the country on the PSAT.

Get Your Bid In For Shootout 2021 Auction

There are a lot of exciting things happening in Austin coming up in October. One of them is our 21st Annual Shootout raising money for Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation. Another is the final round of qualifying matches for the World Cup between USA and Jamaica.

To kick off festivities for Shootout 2021, we’re launching an early bird auction which happens to be all about one of the hottest tickets in town ~ TEAM USA vs JAMAICA. We’ve got 4 tickets to the match where Team USA competes to stay in the hunt for the World Cup.

This auction item includes 4 tickets to the USA vs JAM match on October 7 at 6:30 pm. Bidding begins tomorrow (Monday, Sept 27) at 6:00 AM and will run through 11:59 PM on Sunday, October 3.

To place a bid, simply click here. Plus, you can get your family and friends to text ‘GIVEAASF’ to 855-202-2100 to get the link to this auction. The highest bidder will be notified automatically. Tickets will be transferred to the winner electronically.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to cheer on Team USA and raise money for AASF.

Junior Team Tennis Is Back!

Junior Team Tennis Fall season is quickly approaching! JTT is an awesome opportunity for players to compete within a team environment, set goals, be exposed to challenging competition, receive on-court coaching and play for something greater than individual merit. Teams are based on age and development level. It is a perfect first competitive experience for JD and QuickStart players (there is even an 8&U Red Ball division) who have never played tournaments and it is a valuable vehicle for more experienced players to work on various areas of their game. League winners in several levels will represent Austin at the state tournament this November.

Tentative start of the season is September 26, and the deadline to register your child to play is Monday, September 13. Matches are played Sunday afternoons and consist of 8 game pro sets (2 sets to 4 in 10U divisions). A typical day begins with a warm-up 30 minutes prior to start time; matches last approximately two and a half hours. Players should plan to stay through the end of the match and support their teammates. Half of the matches are played at ATA and the other half at the opponent’s sites in Austin. For our regular tournament participants, we will be playing a one-weekend event instead of a weekly Sunday afternoon league. Dates for the event are not yet determined.

Commitment: Teams consist of 4-8 players who must commit to playing a majority of the matches. If an occasional conflict arises, it is imperative to communicate with the coach to prevent a default. For each match, teams are assigned a coach/academy player. There have been times when coaches are traveling and academy players are in tournaments and we may ask the help of a parent.

Cost: $150 for the season. Players must be a current member of the USTA or be willing to register. Become a member online at www.usta.com and click on membership. Junior memberships are free and include access to all USTA tournaments, leagues and a subscription to various tennis publications. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the number of matches per season, because it depends upon how many teams register and how well the team does.

ATA parents please check your inbox for an email from Coach Brian Notice with information about how to register your child to play on one of ATA’s teams. If you have any questions, please reply to our JTT Coordinators, Coach AJ Garcia and Coach Brian Notis @ aj.garcia@austintennisacademy.com and brian.notis@austintennisacademy.com if you have any questions. Coach AJ will be organizing the JD and JA level teams and Coach Notis will be organizing the Academy level teams. Deadline to register is Monday, September 13. Schedules will go out after JTT captains meeting on September 15^th.

The past several seasons have seen multiple ATA teams represented in the state championship as well as the national championships. ATA has won 4 national JTT championships over the past few years and also dozens of state titles!

Deadline Almost Here for Little Mo South Regionals

Friday (August 13) at 11:30 PM is the deadline to get your child registered to play in the Little Mo South Regionals tournament coming up on August 21-23. The South Regionals is open to any USA player (ages 8-12) and will be held at the Arlington Tennis Center. There are already more than 200 players registered to compete.

11:30 PM FRIDAY AUGUST 13 DEADLINE: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Any “Little Mo” player who wins their yellow ball division will receive a special travel grant during the tournament. Travel grants will also be awarded to the 2nd place, 3rd place, and 4th place players in each of the yellow ball divisions.

The top four yellow ball players (semifinalists) in each age division from each of the four Regionals will advance to the Nationals, forming a 16 draw size in each age division. If you advance to the semifinal round (top 4) in your age division at the Regionals and you (and your parent/coach) have followed the Code of Conduct, you will receive your Nationals invitation (with a special code needed for registration) by email from the MCB office following the event. While the green dot players will not be able to advance to the Nationals, we might consider them as replacement players if there is an opening in the yellow ball divisions.

Once again this year, Little Mo Nationals will be held at Austin Tennis Academy September 24-27.

Dates Released For 2021 Shootout

The 21st Annual Shootout will be held the fourth weekend in October. All the fun kicks off Friday evening, October 22 with the Player Party. Then things heat up on court when the actual Shootout swings into action bright and early Saturday, October 23.

Each year, Austin Tennis Academy holds the Shootout to raise money for the Austin Athletics Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)3 created to give back to the community. The AASF is dedicated to serving students in the form of grants for travel, training, and academics; its goal is to identify players who have a philanthropic spirit and commit themselves to giving back to the community.

We hope you’ll not only save the date, but also take part in this year’s fundraiser and shootout!

ATA Player Receives 2021 Junior Sportsmanship Award

USTA Texas announced its annual junior tennis award recipients in conjunction with The Texas Slam, a week-long tournament featuring nearly 1,000 competitive junior tennis players from across the state which kicks off tomorrow morning.

Among the winners, ATA’s Mason Vaughan received the Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award.

Eleven players in total walked away with hardware, as the governing body of Texas tennis honored junior players throughout the state for their tennis prowess, as well as their sportsmanship on and off the court. Awards are presented to outstanding juniors across four age brackets in both boys and girls divisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no awards ceremony was held this year. Instead, players submitted acceptance speeches online, which can be viewed at www.thetxslam.com.

Congratulations to each of the 2021 Junior Awards Winners listed below.

John McFarlin Award: Lucas Brown, Plano
Mary Lowdon Award: Victoria Zhao, Houston
Maureen Connolly Brinker Award: Katie Garofolo-Ro, Houston
Art Foust Sportsmanship Award: Lucas Brown, Plano
Zina Garrison Sportsmanship Award: Victoria Zhao, Houston
Bob McKinley Sportsmanship Award: Ted Gershon, Austin
Barbara Smith Sportsmanship Award: Nadia Valdez, San Antonio
Paul Christian Sportsmanship Award: Qasym Dar, Houston
Emily Schaefer Sportsmanship Award: Ashlyn Burrows, Richardson
Ken McAllister Sportsmanship Award: Mason Vaughan, Austin
Chuck McKinley Award: Ashlyn Krueger, Lewisville

Former WTA Pro and USTA President Katrina Adams Comes to Austin

Katrina Adams will be at Black Pearl Bookstore on Thursday at 6pm to promote her new book “Own the Arena” — and answer your questions! Today is the deadline to order an advance copy and reserve your spot at her book signing. Click here to purchase .

Katrina has the unique perspective of being a NCAA doubles champion, a touring player, on-air analyst, and the chairman and CEO of US tennis’ highest governing body. She was the first African American to lead the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the first two term Chairman and President of said organization, and the first former player to hold that honor.

If you have ever wondered about the drive it takes to be a successful professional athlete and transitioning to careers in tennis off court, Katrina can answer. Let’s all show her a big Austin welcome!

ATA Alumnus Joins Teaching and Coaching Staff

Liam Leddy, who attended Austin Tennis Academy and ATA College Prep more than 10 years ago, is back, however, this time Leddy takes on the role of an instructor at College Prep. “Liam and my son Josh shared their childhood as close friends in school and in sports,” said Carol Hagar, Head of School. “I have always appreciated Liam’s curiosity, creativity, quick wit, quirkiness, and love of learning, and his pragmatic approach to most topics lends itself to very interesting and entertaining discourse. It is exciting and humbling for him to join his alma mater as a young professional, teacher, and coach and I look forward to our students’ learning with him.”

Along with teaching responsibilities in the fall, Leddy will take on some coaching as well. “There’s nothing better than having someone complete the circle,” said Coach Jack Newman. “Liam started off as a student, went on to be an awesome student at the University of Chicago, has spent some time in the real world, and now is back with us as a teacher and a coach. Nothing better. He knows the culture. He knows what to expect.”

Leddy grew up in the Austin area, and admits he’s excited to be back as a teacher. ”I hope to bring pragmatism, harsh reality, and a lot of dry humor to student-athletes,” said Leddy. “Also knowledge, obviously, or, rather, the tools they need to seek out, vet, and retain knowledge on their own.”

When asked what has stuck with him since his time as a student-athlete at ATA Leddy responded, “I learned a great deal at ATA, but the lessons that have stuck with me the longest are: 1) Not every moment is the right moment to question authority 2) Discomfort is a prerequisite for growth 3) Energy and attention must be focused on what can be controlled, not what cannot be.”

Leddy becomes the sixth student to return to ATA as a coach and/or teacher. Among those alumni: Shane Berber, Tommy Collins, Brandon Davis, AJ Garcia, and Ashley Weinhold. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from University of Chicago, a Master’s in Education from Dominican University (the one in Illinois, not the one in California) and a Master’s in Data Science from the Harvard Extension School.

Austin Tennis Academy Makes The List

How cool is that?! ATA makes the cut and is listed as one of the Top 10 Best Tennis Academies in the USA. That declaration comes from ‘MyTennisHQ’ ~ a site created by tennis athletes who are focused on helping people understand and navigate the sport of tennis.

According to the article, Austin Tennis Academy is probably the most famous tennis academy in the state of Texas. It is located in Austin, and it has 14 tennis courts (12 hard and 2 red clay), a large gym, and classrooms. ATA does not have any on-site dorms, which is slightly different from the other large academies. ATA offers different programs depending on your level of commitment.

Thanks ‘MyTennisHQ’ for giving ATA such high accolades!

ATA Chosen To Host Qualifying Event For ‘Les Petites As’ Tournament

Les Petites As is the most prestigious event in the world for 14U junior tennis players. This competition has witnessed the first steps of many champions such as Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Lindsay Davenport and, recently, Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff. And this year, the road to compete in Les Petites As for American players will begin at the Austin Tennis Academy and five other locations across the country.

The US Playoffs Lacoste series is open to EVERY American player (boys and girls, 14 and under, born in 2007 or later), and will see events happening in California, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. The Series Events will be hosted between June 12 to 28, 2021 and all player selection, seeding and the draw will be based on verified UTRs for each player. The top 32 boys and the top 32 girls will be selected for each event.

The qualifying event at Austin Tennis Academy takes place June 26-28. Registration is now open and will close on June 20 at 12:00 pm CDT.

The winners of each Series Event (6 boys and 6 girls) will qualify for the USA Playoffs Lacoste along with 20 other players (10 boys and 10 girls, 14 and under) selected for direct entrance (list of players to be communicated soon) for a total of 32 American players (16 boys and 16 girls, 14 and under) who will compete at the USA Playoffs Lacoste in Florida from July 25 to 29, 2021 to qualify.

Out of those 32 players competing at the US Playoffs Lacoste, 8 players (4 boys and 4 girls, 14 and under) will earn a spot to represent the United States at Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste scheduled for September 4 to 12, 2021 in France. Among the 8 participants, that would include the following boys and girls: • Winner of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • Runner-up of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • 3rd place Finisher of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Main Draw) • 4th place Finisher of the USA Playoffs Lacoste (Wild Card Qualifier)

Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste is an international tennis tournament considered as the world championships for 14 and under players. Normally, it takes place each year in January at Tarbes, France, except this year because of the global pandemic it has been postponed to September of 2021.

USPTA RECOGNIZES COACH NOTIS

Coach Brian Notis, a certified member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), recently received recognition for outstanding participation in the association’s continuing education program.

Coach Notis, Director of Junior Academy for Austin Tennis Academy, was awarded a Level 1 Certificate of Achievement for earning 26 credits in the USPTA’s Career Development Program over a one-year period.

“As an association, we know that career development is vital to our tennis-teaching professionals and coaches,” said USPTA CEO John Embree. “Through our Career Development Program, we are ensuring all USPTA-certified members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to enhance their careers. To see our members taking advantage of those educational opportunities and striving to earn more than the minimum education requirement personifies a commitment to personal and professional excellence.”

Coach Notis has been coaching junior tennis players for more than 20 years.

Texas Slam Is A Go This Year

You might want to start making plans now and booking your hotel rooms. The Texas Slam is coming to Georgetown in June. It is the largest junior tournament in the United States with around 1,000 kids ages 11-18 competing in the annual tournament. The Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the event last year. Dates for this year’s tournament are June 19 – 27.

Are you ready?

Join Us For The Last Signing Day Party Of The Year

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the Signing Day Party for Nick Smeltzer. The event will be held Thursday (May 6) at 6:30 PM on Court 6 at Austin Tennis Academy.

Smeltzer will attend Hastings College in Nebraska and play on the mens tennis team this fall after graduating from ATA College Prep at the end of the month.

ATA College Prep Graduation

Five seniors will receive diplomas this year during Austin Tennis Academy College Prep’s graduation ceremonies.

Sydney Marin, Abigail Gorden, Cole Cedar, Hayden Hobbick, and Nick Smeltzer make up the Class of 2021 at ATACP.

Commencement will be held May 26 at Austin Tennis Academy. Kicking off the evening will be an Art Exhibit and Reception at 6:00 PM, with the graduation ceremony beginning at 6:45 PM. There will be a Dessert Reception immediately following the ceremony.

For those not able to attend in person, click here for the webinar link for livestream at-home viewing. The passcode is fC1mw9. While the livestream opens at 6:30, the actual graduation ceremony will begin at 6:45 PM CDT.

Save The Date For ATA’s End of Year Event

Austin Tennis Academy will host its annual End of Year and Academy Awards event this year on the evening of May 27. The party will take place at ATA under a big top tent located on Courts 3 & 4 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

Dinner will be served beginning at 6:30 PM with the Award Presentation starting at 7:30 PM. For those not able to attend in person, here is the link for livestream home viewin g. The passcode is 27ghnz.

Train Your Brain Sessions Begin In June

Looking for ways to keep your child engaged over the summer? ATA College Prep can help with our Train Your Brain Summer Sessions being offered at CP which include several enrichment and refresher courses. Whether your child is looking to get ahead, strengthen foundational skills, or keep their mind engaged during the summer days, ATACP will feed their love of learning.

As with all ATACP courses, they are taught by inspirational and dedicated expert instructors. Classes are limited in size (2-6 students). Each class is $350 for a 4-week, 8-hour session. Offerings vary each session. In addition to these small group sessions, individual tutoring is available in all academic subjects (subject to teacher availability and scheduling). * Note that session dates may vary slightly depending on student registration.

T o see the full schedule of classes for both Enrichment Sessions, simply click here. To register for any of the courses, email Carol Hagar, Head of School, @ carol.hagar@austintennisacademy.com and be sure to include your child’s name, session(s), days, and time in your email.

ATA College Prep Student Commended

Every year, more than 4.5 million high school juniors take the PSAT which enters them into the National Merit Scholarship program, a national academic competition for high school students to provide financial aid to attend college. ATA College Prep student Sasha Malysheva is one of less than 5{37ef6ac642fae6f93f343032eb62785d28fa7a25a4a4f0267a12512c541c53a9} of those test takes to receive a commendation. Malysheva’s score ranks her among one of the 50,000 highest-scoring students in the nation on the 2020 PSAT qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholar awards.

“Sasha, this recognition, along with the many other accolades that you have already acquired that honor unique aspects of your being, is a tribute to your long-term dedication to your studies, your work ethic, and your perseverance,” said Carol Hagar, Head of School. “Thank you for being such a heartful and powerful example for your mentees and our entire community.”

Semi-finalists and Finalists for the scholarship competition will be announced in September and if Sasha qualifies, she will be asked to complete an application and essays to compete for college scholarship merit awards. Each year, only about 7,500 students are selected to become scholarship winners.

Rain Pushes Back Party

Rain in the forecast for this evening is forcing Signing Day Party for three seniors to be rescheduled. The event is now scheduled to take place Tuesday on courts 5 & 6 at Austin Tennis Academy. There will be speeches from the guests of honor (of course) as well as others chosen to speak, lots of laughter, probably a few tears, and plenty of cake.

Sydney Marin will be heading to Grinnell College in Iowa, Keana Moon to Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, and Sydney Williams to Midwestern University in Wichita Falls. To be able to play college tennis is one of the dreams each of these young ladies has worked hard over the years to achieve.

The fun and festivities kick off at 5:45 PM and we sure hope you’ll come show your support and celebrate with them.

Registration Opens For ATA’s 2021 Summer Tennis Camps

Summer is just around the corner, and it’s not too early to register your child to attend Austin Tennis Academy’s camps, Summer Semis, to progress at a rapid rate. Instead of our traditional camps, Summer Semis allow for the safest possible environment for players and coaches while still providing the best possible experience. Along with Summer Semis, we are also holding an afternoon Tournament Tough Semis session for Academy-level players. Let’s focus first on the Summer Semis.

Highlights regarding our Summer Semis include:

A professional coach will be on every court working with only 4-5 players with separate resting places in order to maintain recommended social distancing.
There are three different session levels for Morning Summer Semis sessions:
- QuickStart Summer Semis for 5-8 year olds
- Orange/Green Summer Semis for 8-11 year olds
- Yellow Ball Summer Semis for 12-14 year olds
Along with providing an environment that is as safe as possible, smaller group sizes translate into more playing time and more one-on-one attention which yield greater progress in skill development.
And, don’t forget that our coaches make learning and playing tennis F-U-N!

ATA will hold 11 weeks of Summer Semis. The morning session will run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 -11:00 AM each week. Friday is reserved as a rain makeup day.

Summer Semi Sessions (M-Th with Friday as rain makeup day)
Cost: $300 per week

Week 1: May 31-June 4
Week 2: June 7-11
Week 3: June 14-18
Week 4: June 21-25
Week 5: June 28-July 2
Week 6: July 5-9
Week 7: July 12-16
Week 8: July 19-23
Week 9: July 26-30
Week 10: Aug 2-6
Week 11: Aug 9-13

Click here to sign up your child

Summer Semis Policies

Registration must be made online.
Payment in advance is required to reserve your slot.
Players must bring their own water and towel.
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.
Don’t bring players if they are sick in any way.
Pick up players promptly at the end of each day’s session.
Cancellation includes a $50 fee
No T-shirts provided for camps this year.

Afternoon Tournament Tough Semis Session (Invite Only – $450/week M-F)

The Tournament Tough Semis Session is restricted to Champ and Superchamp levels. Tournament players will improve their game by using competitive game situations, technical training and point play, as well as movement and flexibility training.

Anyone interested in registering your child to attend a week, or several weeks, at our Tournament Tough Semis, should email a request to deb.cahill@austintennisacademy.com.

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Summer Semi Sessions (M-Th with Friday as rain makeup day)Cost: $300 per week

Afternoon Tournament Tough Semis Session (Invite Only – $450/week M-F)

Summer Semi Sessions (M-Th with Friday as rain makeup day)
Cost: $300 per week