About Deb

Deb Cahill is Austin Tennis Academy’s Chief Operating Officer.  If you have a question about any aspect of the Academy operations, she is your go-to person.

As one of ATA’s Founders, Deb used her education, wealth of experience and tremendous organizational skills to write the ATA Business Plan back in 2002. She was instrumental in the initial branding and positioning, and leads all business operations at ATA. She is responsible for all administrative operations of the Academy, including the billing, sales, accounts receivable, payroll, etc.  She has over 20 years of business organization experience. In addition, she assists Jack Newman with all planning related to  the academy program.

Like the Academy’s tag line says, Deb is Living the Sport of Tennis!  She loves tennis, is an avid player, and, in fact, her family won the 2010 USTA Texas Family of the Year. Deb has chaired the Spenco Texas Cup, assisted with other tournaments, as well as fundraising efforts for ATA’s annual Shootout pro-am tournament since its inception.  She has assisted with the Maureen Connally Brinker National Little Mo Tournament, and acted as Tournament Director for the Austin Women’s Tennis Association Mixed Doubles Tournament for the past 21 years.

Deb has been involved in Austin community tennis for over 20 years. Her three daughters – Claire, Kate, and Meg – were in the ATA Academy program.  Claire graduated from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, where she fulfilled the ATA goal of playing for her team, becoming the Captain of the team and achieving All American status.

When she isn’t glued to her phone or computer, Deb volunteers her time walking dogs at Austin Pets Alive and travelling to Grand Slams and wineries with her husband, while always raising her four kids, no matter their age!

Deb earned a BBA degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from the University of New Orleans while working for Conoco in New Orleans. Deb received a paralegal certificate from Tulane and worked for Conoco legal department in Houston and for Fulbright and Jaworski law firm in Austin, specializing in commercial and personal injury litigation.

You can reach her at deb.cahill@austintennisacademy.com, on her cell – 512.680.8057 – or via Twitter @debCahillATA.

About Brian

Coach Brian Notis serves as ATA’s Tournament Director running dozens of the top events in Texas and the US, while at the same time serving as primary coach to some of ATA’s most accomplished players.  His primary students have recently earned 4 USTA balls including a gold ball as well as the #1 ranking in B18 doubles and the #4 ranking in B16 doubles in the country. He has also served as a math teacher at ATA College Prep.  Coach Notis combines a passionate enthusiasm with a disciplined approach to fundamentals, creating an ideal environment for player development.

Respected throughout Texas as a premier coach,  Coach Notis received the Capital Area Tennis Association’s Junior Coach of the Year award in 2004 and the USTA Texas Section’s Lloyd Sessions Educational Merit Award in 2008.  He gives back to the game of tennis and our Texas juniors as a USTA Texas Section volunteer; serves on the Junior Tennis Council and is the Vice Chairman of the Junior Team Tennis Committee.

Coach Notis continues to compete on the court at a national level.  Over the past two decades, Coach Notis has earned 28 USTA balls, including 6 gold ball national championships, and recently helped his USTA men’s team reach the national final.

Accomplishments:

• At Tyler Junior College, both the men’s and women’s squads each earned two NCAA National Championships under his three-year tenure and leadership
• Led the tennis team at Houston’s Clear Lake High School to a #5 state 5A ranking, including a win over 5A powerhouse Austin Westlake.
• Earned All-American honors all three years he played at the University of Texas Tyler, with an NAIA team National Championship in 1994.
• Managing Director at Faulkner Tennis Center in Tyler, Texas. He was also the Director of Juniors at Westwood Country Club.
• Coach Notis graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a B.S. in Mathematics. He grew up in the Bronx, New York.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view the video, A Conversation with Brian Notis.

About John

Coach John Schoenmakers has worked with and developed many different levels of players, from beginners to top level Superchamp and National players, as part of the team at Austin Tennis Academy. He says, “Kids make me laugh and I truly enjoy their humor.” And believes making a genuine connection with the player is vital to being an effective coach.

One of the highlights, so far, in Coach Schoenmakers’ career was getting the opportunity to work with and coach under Emilio Sanchez and Sergio Casal at the Sanchez/Casal Academy in Barcelona, Spain. While there, he worked with their ITF-level program, coaching players ranked Top 300 in the world.

A key position at Midtown Athletic Club in Weston, Florida, enticed Coach Schoenmakers to return to the U.S. His role at that facility entailed managing adult programs and coaching in the junior academy comprised of more than 200 players.

Even though he was born in Austin, Coach Schoenmakers grew up in San Antonio, and that’s where he first started playing tennis. As a junior player, he ranked in the Top 15 in B18s. In college, he played singles and doubles at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1997. He also played at Temple College where he led the team to the National Championships with a record setting 27-5 dual match win/loss mark.

After graduating college, Coach Schoenmakers worked at McFarlin Tennis Center where he coached 5 out of the 6 female varsity players on the Alamo Heights Tennis Team. He became the Head Coach at Saint Mary’s Hall, where he coached his team to a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the state championships, defeating rivals, St. Stephens, to advance to the finals in 2004. Coach Schoenmakers also was the director of S.E.T. Tennis, a High Performance academy at Saint Mary’s Hall.

Coach Schoenmakers graduated from Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) with a B.S. in Exercise Sports Science and a minor in Health Education.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With John’ video.

About Brandon

College: Coach Davis was a valuable asset to the Illini Men’s Tennis program all four years at Illinois. During that time, the team made the Sweet 16 three times, as well as an appearance in the finals in 2007.  His freshman year, he won his first ever USTA Pro Circuit event, winning the doubles crown at the USTA/Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Tournament with his brother, Tres.

Juniors: As a sophomore in high school, Coach Davis was the top-ranked player in Texas and reached as high as #13 nationally in Boys 16s. In the Boys 18s he was ranked #1 in Texas and #20 nationally while reaching the doubles final at the prestigious Easter Bowl Junior Tournament in both 2002 and 2003 and winning two, ‘Silver Ball’ trophies. Coach Davis captured the state singles title in Texas in Boys 16s in 2002 and Boys 18s in 2003. He was awarded the John McFarlin Award, which goes to the most outstanding male Texas tennis player. Brandon was also a Four-time Texas sectional champion.

  

About Vince

Vince Segovia is a well-respected and experienced developer of junior tennis talent in Texas.

Coach Segovia moved to Austin in 1998 and began working at the St. Stephen’s Tennis Academy. His main focus was working with top 12-14 nationally ranked players. Several of his players reached top 10 sectional rankings and top 50 national rankings.

He was one of the founding coaches of the Austin Tennis Academy. During his first three years at ATA, he coached two players who won Texas Sectional titles in 2005. He coached Zack Nichols who reached a top ranking of #30 national in boys 16. Coach Segovia was also awarded the “Coach of the Year” at ATA in 2004-2005 when he was recognized for his unique ability to help provide guidance and life lessons to his students as well as coach them to reach their full potential in tennis and beyond.

In 2006, he founded and directed the Barton Creek Tennis Academy. His star pupil, Russell Bader was ranked as high as #24 nationally in Boys 16. He went on to be an All-American and captain of his team at Penn State.

Coach Segovia was also Co-Director of the Advantage Doyle Tennis Program where he coached one player that is top 5 in Texas and three others that are top 20 in the state.

Coach Segovia has been back at ATA since 2013 and works within all programs at ATA, including being the director of the adult/ladies program.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Vince’ video.

Bio coming soon!

About Dio

Dio Miranda is an expert on human movement and strength development. His experience as a professional athlete, educator, and lifestyle coach has helped him develop a fitness mindset program optimizing ‘the whole person’.  Dio trains both the mind and body resulting in complete fitness both on and off the court for our junior players here at Austin Tennis Academy.  His approach to fitness is the inclusion of all elements of one’s life in the road to healthier living, to keep habits simple and streamlined for achieving the most effective results.

Originally a Puerto Rican national, Dio was recruited by the University of Memphis (Lambuth) in Jackson, Tennessee, to play college baseball and went on to play professional ball. As an athlete, Dio found himself more and more intrigued by what gives the ordinary person incredible health. He went on to study metabolic nutrition, specialized massage therapy, and became a Level III fitness trainer through the prestigious CHEK Institute.

Dio is a graduate of the Florida College of Natural health, a certified massage therapist, a high-performance exercise Kinesiologist and holds dual B.S. degrees in Physical Education and Special Education. In 2011, he was nominated for national recognition as the CHEK Practitioner Of The Year.

When Dio is not at ATA, he also runs Dio Fitness in Austin, and travels to work with clients internationally. As a dynamic public speaker, he addresses such topics as the Dio Power Balance System – an integrated approach to extraordinary well- being – and Three Ways To Access Your Inner Athlete For Peak Performance At Any Age. Dio is also a published author: Interior Fitness and Move Your Heart to Reshape Your Life and Your Body

Dio’s credentials include:

C.H.E.K. Practitioner Level III (Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiology)
RacquetFit Level 1 (2019)
Holistic and Lifestyle Coach – HLC II
Metabolic Typing Advisor®
Hair Tissue Mineral Analyst
Therapeutic Massage Certified by Florida College of Natural Health
Performance Enhancement Specialist- NASM
E.L.D.O.A. certified (spinal decompression and myofascial stretching)
Former Professional Baseball Player
B.S. in Exceptional Learning/Physical Education

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Dio’ video.

ABOUT ASHLEY

A native Texan and part of the ATA family from the very beginning, Ashley had one of the most decorated junior careers to ever come through the program. Coach Weinhold finished her junior career by winning Girl’s 18’s National Hard Courts – #1 in the nation in singles and doubles and the top recruit for her graduating class. She was already having success on the pro circuit when she chose to turn pro at the US Open in 2007. She has played 3 of the 4 Grand Slams in Juniors and Professional.

Coach Weinhold played 11 years of professional tennis with a career high ranking of 109 in doubles and 181 in singles. Some of her junior and professional highlights include:
Juniors
– #1 in the nation in singles and doubles
– Girl’s 18’s National Hard Court Champion in 2007, Runner up in singles & doubles in 2006.
– Winner of 11 National USTA Balls
– Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award
– Maureen Connolly Brinker Award
– Member of USA Jr. Fed Cup Team
– National Little Mo Champion

Professional
– Career high WTA ranking of 109 in doubles, 181 in singles
– 17 doubles titles, 3 singles titles
– Played US Open 6 times (qualifying & main draw)
– World Team Tennis Member of the St. Louis Aces
– Hitting partner for USA Fed Cup Team

Coach Weinhold’s parents have been extremely supportive throughout her playing career. Her Dad, Guy Weinhold, was a teaching pro at Holly Tree Country Club in Tyler, TX where she first swung a racquet. Her Mom, Lisa Weinhold, has run the ATA Pro Shop since day one. She is very grateful for being able to travel the world to pursue her dream of professional tennis. Coach Weinhold has always been highly competitive, a student of the game, disciplined and a hard worker. As she transitions into coaching, she is looking to share her high-level playing knowledge and experience with others striving to reach their goals; she holds everyone on her court to a high standard and tries to get the best out of each player.

Fun Fact: You may recognize Coach Weinhold from the big screen. She had the opportunity to be in the movie, Battle of the Sexes, alongside Emma Stone and Steve Carell, released in the fall of 2017. She plays the character of Kristy Pigeon, one of the Original Nine.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Ashley’ video.

About Norm

Coach Norm Houston is one of the longest tenured coaches at Austin Tennis Academy. He moved here from Chicago, Illinois, where he served as coach and board member at Love to Serve Tennis Academy and Foundation. The LTS program shared ATA’s mission of education and character building through tennis; and Coach Houston taps into his passion in those areas to help develop dynamic, successful players.

Some of Coach Houston’s former students have earned tennis scholarships at universities including Butler, De Paul, Howard, and University of Illinois. Coach Houston is a graduate of the University of Iowa. He grew up a talented, multi-sport athlete who traveled the US and Canada playing hockey, culminating in a college scholarship.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Norm’ video.

ABOUT DUEY

Originally from Concord/Lexington, Massachusetts, Coach Duey Evans joined the ATA coaching staff in August 2019 in the role of High Performance Coach. In this role, he interacts with players in the Junior Development, Junior Academy and Academy programs, and also provides private lessons and coaching at various events. Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, he takes on the additional role of Director of Junior Academy.

Prior to ATA, Coach Evans has spent several decades as an entrepreneur within the tennis industry. During this time, he created several tennis programs focused on allowing players to go as far as their talent and desire allow, a couple of non profit 501c3 Community Tennis Associations, a Sports Management company which represented professional players and simultaneously operated a couple of the major City of Dallas tennis centers.

Over his career, Coach Evans has coached players who finished as high as #2 in the United States, members of the Nigerian Davis Cup squad, and the 2017 NCAA Men’s Singles Champion. He has coached players who went on to play college tennis at University of Virginia, University of Georgia, North Carolina State, Yale, Davidson College, and many more.  However, his two favorite accomplishments: having coached a player “from first ball to Gold Ball” and a three-year period where six players in his program only lost one tournament match to someone they had previously beaten.

You may have seen Duey around ATA with video gear in-hand. A serial entrepreneur, his company also works with ATA to help tell the ATA and ATA CP story. He has three daughters, the youngest (CeCe) was a G16 Super training full time at Lakes Tennis Academy until moving to Virginia with her Mom and stepfather in June 2019. Coach Evans considers “anyone who has lost the ability to dream big and find the help to reach their dreams” one of the saddest things in the world!

ABOUT JAKE

About Carrie

Carrie Kalapala is one of our academy coaches who also works with our Junior Development and Junior Academy programs. She also coordinates the beginner and intermediate Junior Team Tennis teams here at Austin Tennis Academy.

She headed south to Austin from Indiana, where she had been coaching at Indiana University Tennis Center. Prior to her stint in Indiana, Coach Kalapala coached tennis in San Francisco, as well as in Hyderabad, India. While in San Fransisco, she coached a girl, new in tennis to being ranked #1 in Northern California within two years time, who now plays at Stanford University. In India, she started a tennis program for children at Sphoorti – an NGO helping orphans and underprivileged children in Hyderabad.

Coach Kalapala played college tennis at Western Michigan University, a nationally ranked Division 1 team; she played top three singles positions all four years (primarily at 1 and 2). She led her team to three conference championships and two NCAA appearances. In her senior year, she was captain of her team, competed in the All-American qualifier, and was MVP of the conference tournament. She broke the school record for overall wins with 204 total wins, and also broke the doubles record with 112 wins.

Coach Kalapala was an ITA and MAC scholar athlete, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She is currently a Licensed Registered Nurse and a certified USPTA instructor.

Coach Kalapala grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and loves living in Austin with her husband, Harsha and daughter, Asha.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Carrie’ video.

Coach Shaimaa Elsisi joined the team at Austin Tennis Academy in 2017 as one of our Academy coaches. Along with coaching our junior players, Coach Elsisi is also the Volunteer Assistant Coach at the University of Texas in Austin. She’s served in that role with the UT women’s tennis team for the past two seasons.

Coach Elsisi is a native of Cairo, Egypt, where she was one of the top-ranked junior players before moving to the United States to play college tennis. She played her collegiate career at Troy University in Alabama, and helped the Trojans to a winning record each year she played there.

After serving as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Troy, Coach Elsisi moved on to a Head Coaching position at Hillsborough Community College where she stayed until relocating to Baylor University spending a year as the Volunteer Assistant Coach there.

In addition to being an accomplished coach and player, Coach Elsisi is an exceptional student. She holds her Master’s degree in Sports and Fitness Management with a concentration in Sports Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Sport and Fitness Management with a minor in Recreation. She now applies this love of learning to her students here at ATA.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With Shaimaa’ video.

ABOUT AJ

Armando Garcia Jr., known to all of us as AJ, is one of ATA’s Academy coaches who also works with our Junior Academy, Junior Development and Summer Camp programs. He’s also the Director of Junior Team Tennis.

Coach Garcia first came to Austin Tennis Academy back in 2012 from Corpus Christi as a junior player. He received a full scholarship to attend one of ATA’s summer camps. After seeing his infectious passion and drive for the sport, ATA granted him a two-year full scholarship to live, study, and train at the ATA with Coach Newman.

Upon graduation from ATA College Prep, Coach Garcia attended Southwestern University, where he played Division III collegiate tennis while earning a B.A. in Communication Studies. Coach Garcia, along with his fellow teammates and Coach Billy Porter, were able to transform an unranked team into a team that reached as high as 28th in the nation, breaking multiple school records in the process. Coach Garcia is a first-generation high school and college graduate.

AJ’s story speaks to what the Austin Tennis Academy is all about; building one’s character while developing all the tools needed to succeed in college, collegiate tennis, and life. ATA’s philanthropy has had a positive impact on Coach Garcia, the lives of many others, and continues to make a difference.

Click on the ATA Insights graphic just below to view ‘A Conversation With AJ’ video.

ABOUT MILLER

About Lisa

Lisa brings more than 30 years of pro shop management. She has owned and managed her own pro shop in Tyler, TX at the Hollytree Country Club and at the Ponca City Country in Oklahoma. Lisa also managed the pro shops at Riverplace Country Club in Austin and Berry Creek Country Club in Georgetown.

She was certified USPTA and was a assistant professional for Vic Braden Tennis College in Sylt, Germany. Lisa was certified as a stringer and a member of the USRSA with many years of stringing experience. Lisa is married to former tennis professional Guy Weinhold. Lisa has a 26 year old daughter, Ashley Weinhold, who plays professional tennis on the WTA tour.