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NYSPHSAA Delays Start of Fall Sports Season New plan has both boys and girls tennis played in spring
he New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) created a COVID-19 Task Force to discuss potential scenarios for the return of sports beginning this fall. That task force released its plan for the upcoming season recently, which was to delay the official start date of the Fall 2020 sports season, while also cancelling the Fall 2020 Regional and State Championships. The goal of this plan is to implement a condensed season schedule in January 2021, if it’s ruled that high school sports cannot return in 2020. “As the state considers reopening, it is unrealistic to believe athletic seasons can start on August 24 as originally scheduled,” said NYSPHSAA President Paul Harrica. “The priority will continue to be on the educational process and a return to learning in the safest way possible.”
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As part of the decision, the NYSPHSAA’S plan includes: l Delaying fall sports start date until Monday, September 21 l Cancel fall regional and state championship events l Waive seven-day practice rule l Maintain current practice requirements l Encourage geographic scheduling for games and contests l Schools would have the option, if permitted by state officials, to offer offseason conditioning workouts “We recognize this is challenging for everyone, but the decisions made at the State level are based upon data and statewide infection rates all in an effort to stop the spread of COVID and reopen responsibly,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, Executive Director for NYSPHSAA. “At this time, Department of Health guidance presented on July 13 prohibits
interscholastic athletics across the state. The Association will continue to follow state guidance and will work collectively with State officials to ensure high school athletes will start up responsibly in the future. As an association, we must be willing to be flexible and continue to explore all options with students’ safety as our main focus.” The proposed new schedule would move both boys and girls tennis to “Season III”, which would run for 10 weeks from April 5 through June 12. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we live in a world where things are ever-fluid and change day-to-day. With that, these proposed plans can change as time goes on, and the NYSPHSAA Task Force is working constantly to ensure that all sports are able to return in 2020-2021, and can return in a safe manner for all involved.
LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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Long Island Tennis Magazine 1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-4444 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: www.litennismag.com
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JULY/AUGUST 2020 • Vol 12, No 4
Table Of Contents
A Tournament Like Never Before 2020 US Open has already secured its place in history books See page 18
Photo credit: Getty Images for USTA
Highlights 1 8 22
Features 3 4
Emilie Katz Assistant Marketing Coordinator
Sidney Beal III Staff Photographer
Lee Seidner Staff Photographer
Senior Interns Rena Zervakos Tyler Cohen Kimberly Liao Sarah Schwartz Phoebe Warshauer Stefen Rosner Junior Interns Alexa Brecher Joanne Salloum
NYSPHSAA Delays Start of Fall Sports Season Tennis Re-Opens on Long Island What To Watch For At The 2020 U.S. Open
6 12 14 16 17 26 28 32 34 35 36 38
Advertising To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines, and requirements, call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com.
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Article Submissions/Press Releases To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month preceding the target issue.
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USTA-U College Course Returns This Fall Across Long Island … News and Notes From Across the L.I. Tennis Community Adult League Wrap-Up By Kathy Miller Tennis Is More Than a Sport, It’s Medicine By Aki Wolfson McEnroe Brothers and Tennis Legends Set for Sixth Annual JMTP Pro-Am A Nurse’s Perspective By Heidi Cifelli Tennis Bubbles: A Grand Slam Victory Over the Elements USTA Eastern Long Island Region Update Look Beyond the Numbers By Steve Kaplan Using Visualization Skills to Better Your Game During COVID-19 By Adam Lee The Art of Tennis I Need More Power, Coach By Mike Puc Mastering the Mind: Mindfulness at 125 MPH…Part Four By Rob Polishook Why Traditional Spanish Methods and Philosophies Are Important For Junior Development By Chris Lewit Mythbusters: The Differences Between Playing NCAA Divisions 1, II, and III By Ricky Becker The Tennis Guru: The Ring By Dr. Tom Ferraro Only One Excuse Left By Barbara Wyatt Tennis More Than Ever By Lonnie Mitchel Enjoying Time With Friends, Family and Tennis By Luke Jensen Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, VelveTop Begins Selling Disinfectant Sprays
Subscriptions To receive subscription information, contact (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com or check out our Web site: www.litennismag.com. Fax subscription changes to (516) 409-1600. Statements of fact and opinion in Long Island Tennis Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of United Sports Publications Ltd. Long Island Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any July/August 2020 •2019 LITennisMag.com Long Island • LITennisMag.com 2 information articles, or data.Tennis Magazine • January/February Long Island Tennis Magazine is published bi-monthly by United Sports Publications Ltd. • Copyright © 2020 United Sports Publications Ltd.
USTA-U
College Course Returns This Fall If you are interested in a career in the tennis industry or in advancing your career in that industry, you should take a close look at what Queens College-CUNY is offering. On November 2, and running through mid-February, the USTA/Queens CollegeCUNY Professional Tennis Management will commence its’ second semester. This adult education certificate program consists of three semesters and includes online and Monday evening classroom learning, on-court workshops, experiential learning with internships and guidance for job placement. There are two tracks: a coaching track for tennis pros and a management track for those seeking offcourt careers. A student may enroll at the start of any one of the semesters, and will secure their certificate after successful completion of all three. The tuition cost is $1,575 per semester. A major new feature this fall will be the incorporation of remote learning for a limited number of students for whom classroom attendance is not feasible. All students will be required to attend, in person, a two-day weekend tennis workshop, but may otherwise attend via a Zoom classroom. The program is directed by Skip Hartman and features as its’ primary lecturer Robert Friedman of Stress Solutions, Inc., a nationally respected lecturer on management techniques and issues. Hartman has been an owner/developer of tennis facilities and programs in the New York City area for many years. In the first semester, the students completed 33 hours of USTA modules on a variety of subjects including coaching youth tennis, tournament planning, high school tennis, racquet services, entry
level coaching, Net Generation, player standards, communication, and large groups and teams. A similar number of online study hours and USTA modules will be required in the second semester. With respect to the lecture sessions, the inaugural class completed successfully on Monday evenings a 13session first semester from February-May 2020. The classes were held at the Queens College Campus until the middle of March when the virus Shutdowns resulted in the balance of the classes being delivered remotely via Zoom. Friedman delivered 10 different threehour sessions on personal development. This fall, he will focus on Customer Service. His sessions will cover basic service skills, communication skills, listening skills, anger management, time management, accountability, dealing with difficult situations, and generational and cultural differences among customers.
In the first semester, Hartman covered, in three sessions, various tennis management subjects including starting a business, managing to a business plan, leveraging your assets, and strategic alliances. This fall, the course will cover facility development, construction and maintenance, and technology in tennis operations. There will be guest lecturers to be determined. Hartman noted that he had planned to have guest lecturers in the first semester but the virus disruption made that plan difficult. A person may enroll at any time until November 1. For more information, or to enroll, contact Diane Gahagan, the Director of Professional and Continuing Studies at Queens College at diane.gahayan@qc.cuny.edu, check out www.qc.cuny.edu/pcs, or contact Skip Hartman at skiphartman@aol.com or call him at 646-884-9647.
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Across Long Isl Tennis Camps Return on Long Island
Kingsley Named ITA National Rookie of Year Ohio State freshman and Northport native Cannon Kingsley was named the ITA National Rookie of the Year, the final accolade on what was an outstanding first season competing for the Buckeyes. Kingsley, the first Ohio State player to earn rookie of the year honors, received the award during a special virtual awards ceremony. In addition to being named National Rookie of the Year, Kingsley was named an All-American in singles, won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the first team All-Big Ten. Photo credit: Ohio State University Athletics
Tennis has returned to our lives after a multiple monthhiatus, and that means that summer camps are back in session as well. The local clubs and programs have done an excellent job of running the camps while maintaining social distancing and other safety guidelines.
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
sland
… News and notes from across the L.I. tennis community
Wriedt Wins Independence Day Open Alexander Wriedt, who trains out of Glen Head Racquet & Fitness, captured the title at the L6 Sportime Quogue Independence Day Open in the Boys 12s Singles division. Wriedt was the tournament’s top-seed, and went through the draw without dropping a set.
JMTA Creates Virtual
quarantined. Each week, the coaches hosted online sessions ranging from fitness workouts to technical exercises so that players remain engaged, and when they returned to the court recently, were ready to get right back into the swing of things.
RSTA’s Friedman Earns Prestigious BJK Leadership Award
Ross School Tennis Academy's Ally Friedman received the prestigious Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award. The Academy award honors high school and Throughout the college-aged pandemic, the team students who at SPORTIME and the use sports to John McEnroe Tennis Academy made sure improve their community, and Friedman was honored for her “The Ball Program”, a learning and mentorship program she that its customers created to help young girls help foster their passion for sports. and students were Friedman was honored during the annual ESPY awards on ESPN. able to continue improving and remain active despite being
www.inphormnyc.com LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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By Kathy Miller
Well, it has been an interesting 2020 to say the least! I hope everyone, along with their families, is doing well and we can all put this behind us soon. As you all know, we had to suspend the USTA Mixed Doubles, and Women’s 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 TriLevel seasons. Since the Tri-Level only had a match or two left and we had four teams in a very close tie, we were able to play the playoffs recently: The winner was the Glen Head Racquet Club team captained by Gigi Banks and Dawn Schosberg. Congratulations ladies! In the 18 & Over Mixed Doubles League, teams had played a full firstround and we decided that we would end the season and declare the first-place teams from the first round of play. Below are the winners: l 6.0 – SPORTIME Lynbrook captained by Jamie Devine
l 7.0 Nassau – SPORTIME Lynbrook captained by Donna Healy l 7.0 Suffolk – Eastern Athletic Melville captained by Paul Schnabel and Jenn Jaeger l 8.0 Nassau – Point Set captained by Paul Schnabel & Jenn Jaeger l 8.0 Suffolk – Eastern Athletivc Melville captained by Mitchell Low & Gabe Moreira l 9.0 – Deer Park Tennis captained by Roz Chua-McAlonie Congratulations to all teams! The 40 & Over Mixed Doubles League did not have all teams play the firstround of their season, and the majority of the captains opted to simply end the season at that point. All of the Regional, Sectional and National Championships have been canceled for the 2020 season. I was able
to put together a small league which will play on just the local level. We have the 18 & Over League at the 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 levels for both men and women. The 55 & Over League has the 8.0 and 9.0 divisions for the men and the 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 divisions for the women. The league is just getting started and the feedback regarding the steps clubs have taken to make all players feel safe is remarkable. Thank you to all clubs for doing all can to accomplish this! Next up will be the 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 TriLevel League for men and women along with the 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 Tri-Level League. I am looking to get that started as early in September as possible. We will also get the 18 & Over Mixed Doubles league started the beginning of November and the 40 & Over Mixed Doubles starting the beginning of January 2021. I will be in touch with all of last year’s captains around midAugust. If you are interested in starting a new team, please e-mail me at miller@eastern.usta.com. Again, it’s been a very surreal and challenging time in all our lives. I have missed the hustle and bustle of the full season of USTA players this summer and hope we will have some normalcy soon. I wish everyone good health and hope to see everyone back on the courts! Kathy Miller is manager of Carefree Racquet Club and is also the adult league coordinator for USTA/Long Island. She may be reached by e-mail at KathyM65@aol.com.
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LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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Tennis Reopens on Long Island
As we conclude the 2020 summer, the Long Island tennis community is beginning to return to a sense of normalcy as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a difficult few months for everyone in the industry, from local tennis professionals to the facilities themselves, but it seems as if, as a community, we have come out on the other side. “Not being able to play tennis for the last two months has been the greatest adjustment I’ve had to make in my life since elementary school,” said Tyler Cohen, a Miller Place native who plays collegiate tennis at Johnson & Wales. “Returning to play has been invigorating to say the least. It almost feels as if it’s the beginning of a comeback from an injury, except everyone has the same anticipation and excitement to reestablish a routine. There’s been a universal energy at courts everywhere that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before.” Kimberly Liao, a former player at Commack High School who is headed to MIT in the fall, added: “It’s definitely great to get back on 8
court more regularly. I was able to find courts here and there for awhile, but it was extremely difficult and many closed after a few weeks. So with more courts open now and the weather being better, I’ve been taking advantage of this time to get back in shape and prepare for college tennis.” Outdoor tennis returned in mid-May, and slowly but surely, as Long Island and New York State as a whole opened, the camps came back as did indoor tennis. In the lead-up to these milestones, the clubs and facilities that make up our community made the necessary preparations to safely welcome back customers, and are pleased to see familiar faces once again. “Carefree is so happy to be open again and to see our Carefree friends and family that we missed so much. We have taken all precautions with everyone's safety as our first priority,” said Kathy Miller, General Manager of Carefree Racquet Club in Merrick. “We have installed hand sanitizers throughout the club along with disinfecting wipes, we have all foot traffic going in one direction to avoid contact with others in the alleys, we installed a
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
five-minute warning at five-to to the hour and 25 minutes after the hour, so players know to finish up their point and vacate the court to avoid contact with the next group. Masks are required in all non playing areas of the club along with special precautions being taken by all pros when giving lessons. We hope everyone is well and hope to see everyone on the court!” At Bethpage Park Tennis & Education Center, the facility put up an outdoor tent as part of its expansive safety measures: “We installed outdoor tent and recommending that customers enter the clubhouse only when necessary. We have a sneeze guard at the front reception desk and we will require all staff, visitors and players to wear face coverings and only remove them while playing. Most importantly, we are limiting our summer program to only 24 students at any one time on our eight indoor courts to ensure that we can easily manage social distancing. We have also hired a certified safety director to manage our protocols and we are lucky to have two four-court air structures which have an extremely
high air-exchange rate which enhance safety according to studies.” For Sportime Clubs, most of its clubs were able to re-open in mid-May, with Sportime Randall’s Island, the company’s flagship New York City location, opening its doors in late-June: “The good news, in addition to that most of us are safe and healthy, and that New York has done a great job fighting the virus, is that the outdoor tennis business, at our sites, and generally, has been robust, virtually from the day courts were allowed to open in New York,” said Sportime Clubs CEO Claude Okin. “The pent up demand for tennis and recreation is reflected in levels of tennis play and programming during the month of June, and continuing into July, that are substantially greater than in 2019. This is very promising, and it does seem as if tennis, outdoors and indoors, is and will remain a safe ‘go to’ during the pandemic and in its aftermath.” Many country clubs throughout Long Island have welcomed tennis players back onto the courts, and have put in place their own safety measures to protect their players and staff. "Safety and tennis are our two passions right now," said Ricky Becker, Director of Tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club. "We have over 30-safety guidelines in place right now including 15-minute buffers between reservations, using every other court, spraying disinfectants on any
potential touch points between use, and of course following Nassau County guidelines such as singles only, as well as all other state directives. The board and I meet weekly via Zoom to review where we are at and the members have loved the fact they can feel safe at our courts." Being able to operate summer camps is a crucial aspect of the tennis industry here on Long Island, and in this climate, ensuring that it is done in a safe manner is something that the clubs have taken very seriously. “Our camps have also been busy in these early weeks of our ‘new normal’, welcoming almost 1000 campers a day across our sites. Our camps, and all camps, are different this year, with smaller
camper groups, often referred to as "pods", of no more than 15 kids, and with social distancing between groups, and no large group activities,” Okin added. “Despite some challenges and restrictions, we are so happy to be running camps and summer programs for kids, and I know that our campers and camp families, and all of our young athletes, are thrilled to be enjoying tennis, sports and friendships. All of our campers and junior program participants undergo a daily health screening and temperature check, which process is working smoothly. Our indoor courts opened for tennis play and programming on July 6 and business immediately started to return, including USTA Team play in the first week that the clubs were open. There is much hard work still to be done for Sportime to be able to say we have beaten COVID-19, but we are working very hard, are as many across our industry, to make sure that tennis and sports, and all of their health and emotional benefits, can be safely enjoyed by our players and members.” From the beginning of the process, the USTA Eastern Section and the USTA Long Island Region were at the forefront of providing up-to-date information, as well as laying out guidelines and protocols that both players and programs could refer to and ensure tennis returns both in a timely continued on page 10
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tennis re-opens on long island continued from page 9
and safe manner. “The USTA has been very active in providing information to stakeholders and players in the industry about returning to safe play with COVID-19 in mind,” said USTA Long Island Regional Director Jonathan Klee. “The USTA National Medical Advisory Group has provided player tips and recommendations as both competitive and recreational players ease their way back into competition. USTA Eastern has had conference calls and provided much needed educational material on clubs applying for a USTA Facility Recovery Grant, Teaching Professional Recovery Assistance, a USTA Support Hotline and Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines. They have also provided Participant and General Facility Release Waiver templates to be used in consultation with counsel and local laws.
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Locally, we have emphasized how our indoor clubs are in better position to monitor the return to safe play than some of the outdoor facilities that have been allowed to open, and trying to educate politicians and the public as to their economic plight here on Long Island.” The tennis industry was just one of many that were drastically impacted by the global pandemic, but the Long Island tennis community once again demonstrated its resiliency and togetherness to navigate this crisis. By enacting safety measures and protocols, the clubs and programs that comprise our industry are looking out for the health of both its staff and clientele, as well as helping to create a sustainable way forward. The summer will conclude with the US Open in Queens. While it will be a unique
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
installment of the tournament, with no fans and limited player entourages, being able to wrap up the summer with one of the world’s premier sporting events right here in our backyard will help bring a sense of normalcy to our community.
COMING IN SEPTEMBER
Distribution scheduled for 09/15/20
This edition will feature: • 2020 U.S. Open • LI Tennis Magazine Challenge Recap • 2020 French Open Preview • 2020 Girls' High School Preview • A Look at Fall Tennis on Long Island • And Much More!
Distribution across Long Island at 300+ locations: • Indoor tennis clubs • Country clubs • Tennis camps • Retail stores • Gyms • Restaurants and health food stores • Supermarkets and • Many more!
Don’t miss the advertising opportunities in the next edition of Long Island Tennis Magazine September/October 2020! Facebook-www.Facebook.com/LongIslandTennis Instagram-@NYTennisMag • Twitter-@LITennisMag Submissions for both advertising and editorial are due by2020 September 1, 2020 LITennisMag.com • July/August • Long Island Tennis Magazine 11 For more information, please call 516-409-4444 or e-mail Advertise@LITennisMag.com
Tennis Is More Than Sport, It’s Medicine By Aki Wolfson I have taught tennis to people of all ages, from five-to-85-years-old, maybe even older, and one of my specialties is teaching wheelchair tennis. I am also Tournament Director for the annual Jana Hunsaker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for 20 years, and would like to share with you stories of three courageous people who played tennis, where tennis became a form of medicine. A college student who played tennis
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for his school had a tragic accident and became paralyzed where he ended up in a wheelchair for life. He is quadriplegic, which identifies players with limited mobility, power and strength in at least three limbs. His coach at the time wanted him to continue playing tennis and introduced him to wheelchair tennis. He came to class in a motorized chair and was, understandably, quite distant. He explained he was right-handed and had very little mobility, but could grip with his left. I told him that he needs to get in a manual chair and tape his right hand to his racquet. He played each week and eventually he competed in the
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
annual Jana Hunsaker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, and he couldn’t believe that he was actually competing again. That was the first time I had seen him smile! A woman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis which is defined as chronic and a progressive disease which leads to damaging nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Since she learned about this, her world started to spiral down. She told me she had been an athlete all her life and to think now that she was wheelchair-bound, she totally lost her will to live. When she discovered she could play tennis in a wheelchair, her outlook became bright. Her first day in class, she was elated because she was sweating and couldn’t believe she was active again and playing a sport. She also came out each week to play and competed in my tournament. I had her playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium where she had a team of friends and relatives come watch her play. She told me that was the most memorable moment in her life and cried with joy. A player in his 20s was paralyzed from a skiing accident. He did not think there was anything left to do when it came to sports and being active. When he discovered wheelchair tennis, he became obsessed with it and told me that he was determined to be a world class ITF open player and set that as his goal.
Out of all of my students that I have encountered, there are numerous stories that have crossed my path on how tennis is almost like a source of medicine. Although tennis plays a significant recreational activity in individuals with disabilities, tennis is a sport that any person can enjoy. It can be a placebo for that adult who had a horrible day at work, a depressant for a teen with anxiety, and therapy for those who are wretched. Over years of observation, tennis has been found to be a source of entertainment and relief. Based on studies, prior knowledge, my personal experience, research, and actual people I’ve dealt with, tennis is not only a sport, but also a drug that I would highly recommend. As an example, if one of my students needed to unleash his or her anxiety, it could easily be done by whacking a tennis ball as well as having a fantastic lesson. Their stress slowly starts to seep out in sweat and eventually melt into a restful night’s sleep at the end of the day. It can be for that five-year-old who is
having the time of her life playing “fruit salad”. Wait a minute, what kind of stress would a five-year-old carry? It could be a medicine for that child’s parent who just had a stressful day. Watching her child having a great time just helps relieve stress. It can be for the teen that has received a grade unsatisfactory to their standards and took a lesson on how to hit a backhand slice. They try and try until finally, they hit a razorblade slice and exclaims, “Coach, did you see that!?” It’s also for that senior, who instead of channel flipping at home watching Jeopardy thinking that this would exercise the mind, goes out and plays tennis. Any individual would feel active with tennis and would have a phenomenal time socializing with their friends and family. Overall, tennis is a sport that could be utilized as a sport, a source of relief, a source of joy, a source of entertainment, and a piece of any individual’s livelihood. Tennis is a sport that is both anaerobic as well as aerobic, which is
essential to the physical well-being of an individual. Tennis has also proven to be a therapeutic sport that is vital towards the mental health of any individual that picks up a tennis racquet and plays. Whether it is hours, days, or years of playing, tennis could make an immense impact on the life of people in any condition, and from any walk of life. I hope that this article made you think a little bit deeper about tennis and how sports can have a significant impact in our lives. Aki Wolfson is a USPTA-certified Tennis Professional and USPTA Wheelchair Tennis Professional who has taught at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for 25 years. She is the Tournament Director of the Jana Hunsaker Memorial Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, a role she has held for the last 19 years. She is the proud mother of two children, and when she isn’t teaching tennis, is an artist who specializes in ceramic sculptures.
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charitable initiatives McEnroe Brothers and Tennis Legends Set for Sixth Annual JMTP Pro-Am The pro-am plus exclusive dinner supports the Johnny Mac Tennis Project Photo Credit: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Tennis stars John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe will be joined by other greats of the sport at the 6th Annual Johnny Mac Tennis Project’s Pro-Am in the Hamptons on Saturday, August 29, 2020. Participants will compete in a roundrobin tournament alongside former WTA and ATP World Tour professionals, current and former Division I College players, as well as top John McEnroe Tennis Academy pros. Tickets start at $2,000. Guests can bid on exclusive items and experiences throughout the day via a curated silent auction. The country’s largest Pro-Am tournament will be followed by an exclusive luxury tented ambiance dinner under the stars with a musical guest and celebrity host. This year’s after party will showcase cocktails, a plated dinner and a musical performance. Hamptons’ elite will mingle with tennis superstars and other celebrity guests. Past celebrities include Chelsea Handler, Jane Krakowski, Alec Baldwin and Alan Cumming. Tables at the dinner start at $2,500. 14
This event raises funds for John McEnroe’s nonprofit Johnny Mac Tennis Project, which changes young lives by removing the racial, economic and social barriers to success through tennis. Tennis Legends such as Arthur Ashe, Serena & Venus Williams and John McEnroe himself faced these tremendous obstacles along their path to becoming world champions. JMTP offers an accessible, funded Pathway for studentathletes and tournament players through competitive tennis, leading to college scholarships, careers in the industry, and for a few, professional tennis careers and perhaps, Grand Slam titles. “It has always been my goal to provide as many opportunities as possible in the sport of tennis to people of all backgrounds and there has never been a more important time to do so than now,” said tennis icon John McEnroe, “Our 6th Annual Hamptons Pro-Am is a great way for tennis lovers to come out and be part of this passion project—to introduce tennis to more young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity, and
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
to help create the next generation of American tennis champions.” If interested in more information, donating or securing a sponsorship or tickets, you can visit www.jmtpny.org/proam2020 or contact JMTP at info@jmtpny.org or 212-7928500. The Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP) transforms young lives by removing the racial, economic and social barriers to success through tennis. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, JMTP introduces the sport of tennis as a life-long health, fitness and social activity to thousands of underresourced New York City area children. For a smaller group of dedicated young athletes, JMTP provides a pathway to success through competitive tennis, leading professional tennis careers and, perhaps, Grand Slam titles. Last year, the nonprofit launched a partnership with BNP Paribas which is sponsoring needbased scholarships for 10 top local NYC young players to receive elite JMTA tennis training, covering tournament costs and travel/lodging for competitive play.
S? LO L OVE TENNIS A CAREER BEGINS B HERE Enhance your caree er with a Professional Ten e nis Management (PTM ) Certificate from Queens College-CUNY
Te ennis Management (PTM) Certificatte The Queens College-CUNY Professsional T Program offffers students the oppo ortunity to hone their tennis teaching, sales, marketing, program administration and facility management knowledge to pursue a care eer in the tennis industry. This three semester program combines on-court workshops with online and cclassroom learning and experiential learning through internships and job placement.
Visit www w..qc.cuny y..edu/pcs to learn more about the PTM Program at Queens College
LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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A Nurse’s Perspective By Heidi Cifelli
have been a nurse for the past 33 years, and currently work at Stony Brook University Hospital. For the last 21 years, I have used playing tennis and competing in USTA leagues as my outlet. I was devastated when the tennis season got put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but even more devastated about the changes that have happened at the hospital recently to try protect me and my patients from the devastating effects of the virus. I’m a labor and delivery nurse, and I’m so tired of the way this specialty is viewed by other people, including even by healthcare workers who work in other specialties. I’m talking about the things I’ve heard since this virus has turned our worlds upside down; I’m tired of family and friends making comments such as, “well at least you just work in labor and delivery.” So let me educate you about labor and delivery. When a woman is pregnant, her entire body goes through many changes. Pregnancy can exacerbate or mask different diseases. When it comes to the coronavirus, most laboring patients are asymptotic during labor and don’t show any signs or symptoms until postpartum. This means that a positive patient can have a negative screening. We can be around positive patients for days and have no clue… that alone is terrifying. But as everyone knows, life in Labor & Delivery is a little different. We can’t always social distance, we can’t always think of ourselves before our patients. We are treating two patients in one body and we have to make sure at the end of the day we have a healthy mom and a healthy baby. When a patient comes in through the Emergency Department and is about to
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deliver, she is quickly brought to us. Because of that, she may or may not have slipped through some COVID-19 triage questions, but when she gets to us, our top questions aren’t, “Have you had a fever? Have you been short of breath (I mean of course she has, she’s pregnant)?” Our questions are, “What number baby is this? Were your other babies vaginal deliveries or C-sections? Were there any problems with those deliveries like bleeding after, any complications with this pregnancy?” Nurses and nurse’s aids rush in to set up a table, warmer, start an IV and do as much as we can in two-to-four minutes. Grabbing our mask isn’t always our first thought. When a 17-weeker comes in and her baby doesn’t have a heartbeat, it may be her first, second or third loss, and her and her husband are crying and want to know why. They want to know what they did wrong. We don’t stay six-feet away; we sit with them, we hold them both and
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
we cry with them. When a baby’s heart rate goes down during labor, we rush into the room, sometimes forgetting about our double mask and PPE. We do interventions to get it back up, but when it doesn’t come back up, we call out for delivery. Nurses rush in, we call the doctor, and everyone is doing what needs to be done to safely deliver the baby and be prepared for resuscitation if needed. We have to stay close to our patients, we comfort them while they’re hurting and waiting on an epidural; we hold their other leg because they now only have one person with them; we take pictures of mom, dad, and baby because there is no one else there to capture these once-in-alifetime moments. We do all of this sometimes, not even knowing our patient is positive with the virus... and we gladly do it because we LOVE WHAT WE DO. So the next time you think it is all baby cuddles, rainbows, and virus-free on L&D, just remember our patients are at risk too! So, to many, it might not seem like I and my colleagues are working on the frontline, but I go to work every shift not knowing what will come through our doors. I have to wear all the protective equipment to protect myself and protect my patients from this virus. I can’t see my patient’s face, because she has to wear a mask, nor can she see mine, during these intimate moments of having a baby. But even under these circumstances, I can’t imagine not going to work and giving it my best every shift. Tennis has been my outlet, where I can leave the work behind and just have fun playing the game I love. Heidi Cifelli is currently a nurse at Stony Brook Hospital, and has competed in USTA Leagues for more than 20 years.
Tennis Bubbles:
A Grand Slam Victory Over the Elements Trying to figure out a way to maintain your tennis training momentum throughout the offseason? Indoor tennis is a lot more viable than you might think. New York’s harsh winters make outdoor tennis strictly a seasonal sport—unless you can move it indoors. And while indoor tennis may seem like an expensive luxury, The Farley Group keeps the game going year-round by manufacturing, installing and maintaining tennis bubbles. Bubbles are the ideal solution for indoor tennis— both economically and practically. Tennis has always been a big deal in New York, which has driven the demand for indoor playing spaces for several decades now. With more than 20 bubbles in New York City and the Long Island area, Farley tennis bubbles have helped solidify New York as one of the top places to train and develop tennis talent. By providing a way to train throughout the winter, tennis becomes much more accessible to those that don’t have the means or desire to travel south for the winter. Compared to other construction methods, bubbles have a relatively short history. Bubbles first made appearances in North America in the early 1970s, and have since evolved into a top solution for sports like tennis. Ralph Farley, founder of The Farley Group, saw how well the concept worked in Europe, and brought it back with him more than 40 years ago. Since then, The Farley Group has built dozens
of tennis bubbles around the world. Stepping into a tennis bubble for the first time can be awe-inspiring. No other structure can provide as much space without any support beams or walls. It’s almost counter-intuitive at first sight: “What’s holding up the roof?” Intriguingly, bubbles require nothing but air to do that. Fresh, filtered and conditioned air flows in, giving the bubble its rounded shape, protecting the playing surface and players underneath. A wonderful added benefit is that tennis bubbles can be either seasonal
or permanent. Permanent bubbles have the advantage of full protection from the weather throughout the year—cold and snow during the winter, and rain or high winds in the summer—while seasonal domes can go up in the fall and come down in the spring. They represent the perfect solution for outdoor courts. And best of all? Tennis bubbles can be installed for a fraction of what other indoor tennis courts cost. To learn more about how Farley tennis bubbles can help your club members practice their swing 365 days a year, visit or call (888) 445-3223.
LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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comeback complete continued from page 20
A Tournament Like Never Before 2020 U.S. Open has already secured its place in history books t’s cliché and has been said countless times already, but 2020 has been a year unlike any other. The world finds itself in unprecedented times due to the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, the effects of which can be felt in every aspect of our daily lives. From a basic trip to the grocery store to visiting family, there is hardly anything normal about the “new normal”, which is why this year’s U.S. Open will be different than all the rest. While the tennis tours were put on hold beginning with Indian Wells back in March, the USTA began planning a way to hold the event ontime starting in late-August, examining an array of creative solutions to make it work. In the end, the USTA announced that the tournament would be played, but without fans, and the Western & Southern Open, normally held in Cincinnati, would also be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the week prior to the start of the U.S. Open. “We are incredibly excited that Governor Cuomo and New York State have today approved our plan to host the 2020 U.S. Open and 2020 Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center,” said USTA CEO & Executive Director Mike Dowse. “We recognize the tremendous responsibility of hosting one of the first global sporting events in these challenging times, and we will do so in the safest manner possible, mitigating all potential risks. We now can give fans around the world the chance to watch tennis’ top athletes compete for a U.S. Open title, and we can showcase tennis as the ideal social distancing sport. Being able to hold these events in 2020 is a boost for the City of New York and the entire tennis landscape.” It was welcome news for both the local tennis community, and the tennis world as a whole. There have been numerous exhibition events
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a tournament like never before continued from page 19 held around the globe, but there is a strong appetite for top-flight competition on the biggest stage. “Of course, holding the 2020 U.S. Open will be good for our sport at every level of the game,” said USTA Immediate Past President Katrina Adams. “Playing the Open will once again shine a spotlight on tennis, and get people excited about playing our safe and healthy sport for themselves. It will also allow the USTA to generate important income to invest in growing the game’s grassroots efforts in local communities all across the U.S. For all those reasons, we are thrilled that the U.S. Open in 2020 will be happening. That’s fantastic news.” At the press conference to officially announce the event would be happening, Adams and Dowse, along with new tournament director Stacey Allaster and NCAA chief medical officer Dr. Brian Hainline, the panel discussed the many steps and factors it considered when deciding on if, and how, to host this year’s U.S. Open. They laid out three guiding principles, the first of which was can the tournament be played safely, both for the players and all the staff involved. The second principle was whether or not hosting the tournament would be in the best interest of tennis. And the third, as Adams said: “Our third guiding principle has been: Does this make financial sense both for the players and for the USTA. I can say that our team looked at a dozen different options on how do we best address these three guiding principles. I can say, and I’m excited to say, the combination of the Western & Southern Open and the U.S. Open here in New York checked all three of those boxes unequivocally.” Dr. Hainline discussed the safety protocols that will be in place, and emphasized that tennis may be the most ideal social distancing sport. 20
“It’s also good for society because sport is an essential aspect of who we are as human beings. Sport does bring us health and well-being. Even to watch sport, it brings us so much pleasure,” said Hainline. “The particulars of bringing back sport for the Western & Southern Open and for the U.S. Open, we really conceptualized that we have different bubbles, we call them tiers. Tier I are the Photo credit: USTA/Jennifer Pottheiser players, and all of those who have very close contact with Open champion. “I feel like the USTA is the players. They will stay in a protected going to do a really good job of ensuring bubble. Upon arrival they will all be everything is amazing and evening is tested, this is with the preliminary chain perfect and everyone is safe. It’s going to reaction test. That testing will be be exciting. It’s been over six months repeated at regular intervals, and there since a lot of us have played professional are strategies in place.” tennis. So the stage is set for the 2020 U.S. I’ll certainly miss the fans, don’t get me Open, and it will certainly be like no other wrong. Just being out there in the New tournament before. And while that stage York crowd, hearing everyone cheer, I’ll will be without an in-person audience, miss that, getting me through some of there will be a worldwide one watching on those tough matches. [But] this is crazy. their televisions, tablets and computers. I’m excited.” There were questions from many top There remains some skepticism from players in both men’s and women’s some of Europe and Australia’s top tennis that raised concerns about the players, a list that includes Novak procedures, especially when the United Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Simona Halep States is seeing another rise in COVID-19 and Nick Kyrgios. There is hope that all the cases across the country. But the world’s best will be in attendance for the tournament got arguably the biggest US Open, but the player field will be endorsement it could when American finalized as we move closer to the Serena Williams announced via video tournament’s start. that she is committed to playing in “We know and we respect that all Queens. athletes are going to need to make this “This announcement has been on my decision on their own,” said Allaster. mind all day. Ultimately I really cannot “There are a lot of questions…there will be wait to return to New York and play the ongoing conversations with athletes to 2020 U.S. Open,” said the six-time US help them understand the plan, and then
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
some will ultimately make their own decision, just as they always do. We are confident that we have a lot of players who want to compete.” While the full player field remains to be seen, the sports world and local community here in New York are thrilled that the U.S. Open will be played on time. It’s disappointing not to have fans, as the energetic nature of the New York crowd creates an environment not seen anywhere else in the tennis world, but it’s exciting nonetheless, and will hopefully bring an added sense of normalcy to a year that has been anything but. The action inside the National Tennis Center bubble begins with the Western & Southern Open running from August 2028, leading into the 2020 U.S. Open which begins on August 31. Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.
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LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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What to Watch For At The 2020 U.S. Open How Will No Fans Affect the Players? The 2020 U.S. Open will go ahead with no fans, which should create a unique atmosphere for the players inside the bubble at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Players are used to having fans watching their matches, and for the players competing on the big show courts, like Grandstand, Louis Armstrong Stadium and Arthur Ashe Stadium, having no people in those seats will be a strange site. Similarly to how a basketball player could be affected shooting at a hoop in an arena with no fans, this presents a challenge to the tennis players. Even on the side courts, where fans normally flock, limited noise and no people will be a new way to play tennis for many of these players. Will Circumstances Open Door for New Champions? It remains to be seen which players will fill out the draws for this year’s U.S. Open, with many high-ranked players expressing doubt or raising concerns about coming to New York. The list ranges from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, to Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu. Roger
Federer already announced he will miss the rest of the year with an injury, and thus this could be a tournament that plays host to a new major champion. The unique situation surrounding the tournament means that there will likely be a new Grand Slam winner, perhaps perennial Top 10 players on the verge of a breakthrough such as Alexander Zverev or Elina Svitolina, could have their moment in Queens. Will Players Adhere to Quarantine Protocols? During the event, the USTA will be instituting strict health and safety protocols that the players must adhere to. This includes regular temperature checks and tests, but it will also depend on players sticking to the quarantine and not leaving the proverbial bubble. Players are only allowed at their hotel or house and at the court, which could present a problem for some players looking to do some New York City exploring. Normally, the players take advantage of the multiple-week stay in the “city that never sleeps”, doing sight-seeing, going shopping, going out to eat and more, all things they will not be allowed to do this time around. With everything going on in
the world, this should not be an issue, and as Long Island native and ATP Tour professional Noah Rubin said: “If you have the opportunity to make four million dollars, you stay in the bubble and shut up. If you have the ability to make this money during a pandemic—we are putting this on during a pandemic—shut up.” Wheelchair Tournament to Be Held The 2020 U.S. Open Wheelchair Tennis Competition will be held in its traditional place on the U.S. Open calendar at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The tournament will run from September 10-13. This decision was made following multiple virtual meetings with a group of wheelchair athletes and the International Tennis Federation over the last week. The 2020 U.S. Open Wheelchair Competition will feature men’s and women’s singles and doubles events and quad singles and doubles events, all with draw sizes similar to past U.S. Opens. Wheelchair athletes will follow the same health and safety procedures as all players participating in the U.S. Open and will be able to access the USTA Billie Jean King
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
National Tennis Center beginning on September 7. Originally, the U.S. Open was going to go ahead without the wheelchair event, but after backlash from top-ranked Dylan Alcott, as well as support from some of the game’s top players on the men’s and women’s side, the USTA made the decision to host the wheelchair event.
“Big thanks to the U.S. Open for reversing their decision—now allowing wheelchair players to compete at the 2020 Open,” Alcott said on Twitter. “And most importantly thanks to you reading this for supporting us and sharing the message—you made this happen. The decision of not allowing us to compete, without communication or consideration, was bigger than tennis…You
cannot be treated differently because of your gender, race, religion or disability. This is a massive sign of progress for our community, and I appreciate all your help. I know there is a lot going on in the world at the moment, and the tournament might not even go ahead, but at least now we have the same right as our able bodied counterparts—like we deserve.”
2020 U.S. Open Schedule Day
Time
Matches Scheduled
Monday, August 31
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 1
Monday, August 31
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 1
Tuesday, September 1
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 1
Tuesday, September 1
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 1
Wednesday, September 2
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 2
Wednesday, September 2
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 2
Thursday, September 3
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 2
Thursday, September 3
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 2
Friday, September 4
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 3
Friday, September 4
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 3
Saturday, September 5
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 3
Saturday, September 5
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round 3
Sunday, September 6
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round of 16
Sunday, September 6
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round of 16
Monday, September 7
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round of 16
Monday, September 7
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Round of 16
Tuesday, September 8
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals
Tuesday, September 8
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals
Wednesday, September 9
11:00 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals
Wednesday, September 9
7:00 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals
Thursday, September 10
7:00 p.m.
Women’s Semifinals
Friday, September 11
12:00 p.m.
Men’s Doubles Final
Friday, September 11
4:00 p.m.
Men’s Semifinals
Saturday, September 12
12:00 p.m.
Mixed Doubles Final
Saturday, September 12
4:00 p.m.
Women’s Final
Sunday, September 13
1:00 p.m.
Women’s Doubles Final
Sunday, September 13
4:00 p.m.
Men’s Final LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
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LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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U S TA E A S T E R N L O N G I S L A N D R E G I O N
Indoor Tennis is Back: A Message from the USTA Long Island Regional Council
These past few months have been extremely trying times for everyone. The members of the USTA Long Island Regional Council have missed all of our friends and colleagues in the local tennis community and our time together on the courts, and we hope you and your families are healthy and doing well. While we were thrilled to get back to outdoor tennis during Phase 2 of New York’s phased reopening plan, we were even more excited to return to indoor tennis in Phase 3 in early July. We know our Long Island clubs have been working hard these past few months to meet the many new health and safety guidelines they will adhere to as they welcome customers back into their facilities. The USTA Long Island Region has also been working hard, along with USTA Eastern, to ease the path by communicating with the general public and tennis facility owners and providing the necessary information to bring tennis back safely. The USTA has actively provided information to stakeholders and players in the industry about returning to safe play with COVID-19 in mind. The USTA National Medical Advisory Group has provided player tips and recommendations as both 26
competitive and recreational players ease their way back into competition. USTA Eastern has held conference calls and provided much needed educational material to clubs on applying for a USTA grants and assistance, as well as creating a USTA Support Hotline and Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines. They have also provided Participant and General Facility Release Waiver templates to be used in consultation with counsel and local laws. I have no doubt these efforts by all of us in the tennis community were tantamount in getting tennis reopened on Long Island and across the Eastern Section. I know I join with all of you in being thankful for the return to indoor tennis play and getting our juniors, adults, league players, Net Generation kids and everyone else back out on the courts and enjoying the sport we all love. If you have any questions or need information about reopening guidelines, available grants and funding or anything else, please don’t hesitate to email us at ustaonlongisland@gmail.com. —On behalf of your Long Island Council, Jonathan Klee, USTA Long Island Regional Director
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
U S TA E A S T E R N L O N G I S L A N D R E G I O N
How I’m Reopening: Jason Wass, Sportime Kings Park The USTA Long Island Region is thrilled to get back in the swing as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wane. Recently, USTA Eastern spoke to Jason Wass, Director of Tennis and Sports at Sportime Kings Park about his experience reopening and what measures his club is taking to keep staff members and consumers safe in this unmistakably new reality. Following is part of that conversation. The complete interview can be viewed here (https://www.usta.com/en/home/staycurrent/eastern/how-i-m-reopening--jason-wass.html). Many tennis facilities are facing similar challenges as they make preparations to reopen their doors. What would you say has been the most useful or productive measure you’ve taken to stay on schedule? Wass: There have been many changes, but some of the most important details are our communication, new operational plan and staff training. It’s really important to communicate in all directions: To employees, to owners/bosses, to members/players/campers, and to state and local governments. All of this is without face-to-face interaction. What has been the most challenging aspect of reopening your facility? There is confusing information, but also a lack of information. It’s also challenging balancing the needs of the business with the needs of each individual and his or her family. Everyone has had a different experience over the last three months. For example,
some employees do not have child care, or their child care is limited. We have to respect each person’s views and feelings toward reopening as well. Overall, how do you think COVID-19 will change the way players think about tennis? Do you predict any positive changes to the sport that will result from these unprecedented times? I believe tennis has a huge opportunity at the grassroots, community level. Out East, in Westchester and in the Capital Region where outdoor courts have now been open for over three weeks, there has been a steady rise in participation and everyone seems to be exercising caution when in close proximity off and on the court. Most people have said that during play they almost forgot all the negatives and were happy to be playing and moving. I have begun to receive interest from new potential players despite not being fully open for business. If we play our cards right, we could be in a great position moving forward. Tennis is the best sport for social distance—it’s naturally socially distant. Please note: The USTA’s Medical Advisory Committee has established player and facility safety guidelines to be referenced and utilized by all of USTA Eastern's tennis providers. In addition to the guidelines, providers should also follow federal, state and local laws, regulations, executive orders and guidance, including, but not limited to, regulations and guidance from the CDC, OSHA, state and local Departments of Health, and other agencies, which are regularly updated. Our goal is to facilitate an open platform to encourage dialogue and share best practices so tennis providers can make informed decisions relating to reopening.
USTA Eastern Long Island Regional Council Executive Committee l Jonathan Klee, Regional Director l Michael Pavlides, Past Regional Director l Sunny Fishkind, Vice Regional Director l Randi Wilkins, Secretary For more information on the USTA Long Island Region, please visit LongIsland.USTA.com, e-mail USTAOnLongIsland@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook at USTA Long Island and follow us on Twitter @USTA_LI. LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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Look Beyond The Numbers By Steve Kaplan What qualities matter most in a tennis coach? A long, strong record of success is, of course, one trait, but how about considering how a professional coaches above whom and how many they
coach? The defining positive quality of a teacher is rarely service volume, so why then do so many coaches advertise student ranking benchmarks as definitive proof of excellence, and why do so many believe them? It's self-evidently true that if you ask the wrong questions, you will get the
wrong answers, and if you search for a misleading marketing pitch about how many ranked players a coach or club has created you will easily find it. Too often this superficial promotion is a mile-wide and an inch-deep as many players change instructors as often as they change underwear, and coaches have
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
been known to claim credit for every student they have ever spoken to. Some claim to have "coached" more ranked tennis players than anyone in history. With such a fluid definition of the term "coach", I guess YouTube's Charlie is the world champion "coach" of millions of children on how to bite their brother’s finger. Let's further consider for example, the self-anointed title, "High Performance Coach�. Skillful coaches help players improve, but it's difficult to be sure if this claim means that players are ascended to a higher performance or if these alreadyskillful performers are just maintained. Top coaches "develop" players with diverse learning styles by adapting to their student’s uniqueness, and successfully instilling skills and habits that lead to a lifetime of safe and enjoyable growth. Promoters “produce" players by finding a critical mass of talent and performing a Darwinian natural selection experiment that demands conformity. They assume full credit for the winners while taking no responsibility for the uninspired and injured. Ask a prospective coach about their failures. The answer will reveal volumes about their outlook and character. What exactly defines a great coach? I would reduce it to two simple yet profound qualities: First, great coaches mentor and
empower students by fostering problemsolving abilities and skills that are valuable to tennis as well as transferable to life. They do so by holding players and families accountable by teaching them what they need to know, not exclusively what they wish to hear. Such honesty requires courage and integrity as there are more ambitious young families in tennis who embrace sweet little lies above realistic profound truths. Mentors place the long-term growth needs of the student above their own desire to exercise ownership. They understand tennis success is a long-term endeavor and therefore impart a progressive plan that emphasizes skill development, tactical understanding, competitive joy and problem-solving ability. Most dedicated mentors have themselves benefited from caring mentors who have held them accountable which leads to the next quality: Great coaches encourage independence and leadership in their students. Skillful coaches are confident and do not insist on being the sole source of all information. Instead, they encourage students to seek out as much advice as they can, first arming them with the ability to make wise choices on what to value, what to internalize and what to discard. Insecure coaches see others as a threat to their control, instead of teaching students
how to use insight and wisdom to see all input, even misinformation, as clarifying. Enlightened coaches educate and build independent leaders. They don't seek to create more devout followers by demanding compliance. Independence and the foundation of leadership development are encouraged by working with students to clarify their own goals, and then teaching them how to bring their dreams to reality. Such selfless professionalism by a coach is not revealed by numbers. Look beyond the numbers. Steve Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation, and executive director and founder of Serve &Return Inc. Steve has coached more than 1,100 nationally- ranked junior players, 16 New York State high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous highly-ranked touring professionals. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. In 2017, Steve was awarded the Hy Zausner Lifetime Achievement Award by the USTA. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com.
A TENNIS SHOP FOR THE PROS
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Using Visualization Skills to Better Your Game During COVID-19
By Adam Lee Visualization is arguably the most important factor in the mental approach to tennis. The current situation we are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic gives us an opportunity to turn within and hone our craft through improving mental acuity with certain visualization techniques. Strong visualization skills allow players to run scenarios in their heads, getting an edge on the court through meditation, imagery, and interval training off the court. Meditation is a technique used by many athletes who want to train their mind. An athlete meditates in order to find a state of consciousness to focus only on what is necessary for that period of time with undivided attention. Current world number one and 17-time Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic is known throughout the tennis world for his 32
rigorous routines and preparation, which involves meditation, diet and yoga. Meditation improves an athlete’s ability to focus, sharpen concentration and awareness, while releasing negative energy that could poorly impact performance. In a 2019 article from Psychology Today, called “How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation”, Djokovic is quoted as saying, “One of the ways is to kind of meditate but not meditate with the intention of going away from those problems, but visualize.” Doing so, he is able to reflect upon his self and obtain the mental clarity needed to overcome any hurdles he may be facing. Meditation requires significant brain power and many young athletes have not yet developed a sufficient degree of control and willpower to fully incorporate mediation into their program. That said, the sooner meditation is started as part of a young player’s
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
routine, the better, as it may not have an immediate impact, but will certainly pay huge dividends on a competitive level down the line. During COVID-19, I have spent much of my time researching and watching webinars, with one in particular being “Building Character and the USTA Teaching & Coaching Philosophy.” One topic in particular discussed was how players can gain so much knowledge and confidence by using a visualization skill such as imagery, which will help players absorb information through the demonstration of others. Just by watching another compete can offer you so much information, allowing the otherwise new skill to feel more familiar, translating into a more confident attitude. Juniors can use imagery in their homes as a way to visualize and connect with the idea of competing. Watching others compete can give these players a better sense of what a
particular skill, tactic, technique or mindset looks like which will ultimately make it easier to emulate and thus improve the quality of their own game. Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ coach, understands the importance of watching. He believes that is one of the best ways for a player to learn. Many pros watch each other to develop tactics and help them mentally in stressful situations such as break point down at four-all in the third set. For example, Victoria Azarenka studies Rafael Nadal for his mental strength because he is known to make a stressful situation look calm. Lastly, another visualization skill for juniors to use during the COVID-19 pandemic is the ability to use interval training to connect with competing in matches. So what exactly is interval training and how can this help players visualize themselves in a competitive match? Interval training alternates between short and high intensity bursts of activity with a recovery in between allowing the body to train the two energy systems:
aerobic and anaerobic. Briefly, aerobic exercise is any type of cardiovascular training, such as cardio, and the anaerobic system involves short intense burst of energy performed at maximum effort. As any competitive player knows, tennis matches consist of short bursts high intensity points, usually lasting no more than 10 seconds, with pauses up to 20 seconds in between points, and 90 seconds at the change of ends. To simulate this sort of activity you don’t need fancy equipment, just your driveway, a nearby hill, high school track or a treadmill if you have one. You can recreate a match experience mentally by sprinting 10-15 seconds to represent point play, taking 20 second rests to signify the time between points to regroup, gather thoughts, and take deep breaths. Not only can this help you on a physical standpoint but also mentally. By the middle of the exercise, you may be exhausted but have four sprints remaining. This is when it is time to draw back to the visualization you did and
imagine yourself being one game away from winning a tournament after playing an excruciating three-hour match earlier in the day. That visualization will push you to finish the intervals time and time again. During this challenging time where so many of us are unable to continue our normal day-to-day activities, these visualization techniques provide an easily attainable way for you to improve your game and can provide a bit of peace in an otherwise stressful time. Always remember, hard work opens the doors of success, accomplishments and your dreams. Adam Lee is the Director of Junior Development at Glen Head Racquet and Fitness. He was a three-year captain at Wake Forest where he still holds the program record for singles victories, and achieved an ATP ranking. He has worked with Top 500 ATP Tour players as well as top nationally-ranked juniors, and has USPTA, ITPA, Certified Tennis Performance Specialist and GPTCA coaching certifications.
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The Art of Tennis The 1978, the U.S. Open marked a seminal moment in tennis history. Not only did the tournament transport itself from the green confines of the West Side Tennis Club to its current home in frenetic Flushing Meadows park in Queens, it transformed to a surface that fit the aura of American tennis; the hard court. Sitting in the top row of the sold-out stadium with 20,000 rabid fans watching the men’s final between Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, a nine-year-old Ted Dimond knew what he had to do. He knew what he was born to be. Eight years later, he was on a plane to France to train and play the summer club circuit and satellite tour in Europe. During the off months he lived in Lyon, putting his off arm to work in art school, where he practiced painting the scenes he’d witnessed during his travels: landscapes, abstracts, stadiums and players. He painted every place he’d been. Everything he’d seen. On the court and off. Intertwining his two loves, art and tennis, Dimond played and painted his way through Europe for a decade before returning to New York to coach tennis and continue his career in the arts. Moving ahead 25 years, Dimond has worked with some of the top players in the country, most recently as a director at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and his art work 34
hangs on the walls in the homes of numerous Grand Slam champions and avid tennis fans alike. One of his most popular series of paintings, his player portraits, are now presented at ATP tour trophy ceremonies and have been commissioned by top athletes and art connoisseurs for their private collections. His latest series of paintings entitled, “New York Tough”, was inspired by the grit and the greatness of his hometown, and its extraordinary place in sports history. To see more of Dimond’s work and to see a list of upcoming shows and charity auctions where he’ll be featured you can
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
find him on Instagram, @teddimond_art, or check out his website at www.teddimondart.com. If you’re in the Hamptons this summer, feel free to contact him for a personal studio tour and see his bold and innovative style of painting, which bridges classical portraiture with a unique synthetic layering technique capturing the power and precision of athletes in motion. And while the U.S. Open will be played without fans this year, Dimond will host his annual “Art at the Open” show where you can meet the artist and see some of the top players in the game.
Enjoying Time with Friends, Family and Tennis By Luke Jensen Jensen Zone fans, we are ALL in this together! We are one big global team getting back up from the latest hit that knocked us down. I am so enthusiastic about the ability to move forward and come out of this even greater as a society. I feel that the greatest learning tool, in anything you do in life, is to listen and watch what is going on in the world around you, both locally and globally. Through hard work, tennis gave me the gift to see the world and meet very interesting and smart people from cultures that some only read about. The quarantine also let me reassess where I am in my own journey, and I feel I made significant progress in finding more time to do things that I deeply value, like spending time with family and friends. I also was able to reconnect with friends that normally I didn’t have enough time for. Many of my tennis friends were finding new ways to work out and stay connected with improving their games. I worked a ton of online classes with my studentathletes on mental toughness exercises as well as tactical sessions that help them use more tools to win. YouTube was a great way to dig into classic matches and spend productive time learning from some of our tennis heroes. I also expanded on the
practice swings that I’m a big fan of for total body coordination and tempo. The practice swings always improves footwork and balance. Even without fans, just watching the pro game during the various live events and exhibitions that took place with the tours suspended has been exciting. But watching live tennis at any level is AWESOME! But I needed to watch a sporting event with pressure, so I even tuned into the National Corn Hole Championships! The tournaments, players and fans will all be slowly coming back, and all with a new appreciation of the game we love. When you do take the court again, be patient. Allow your game to
come back to you and don’t force it. Enjoy the impact of a solidly hit forehand and the creativity of a drop shot… Raised in Ludington, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles. He was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup teams that reached the finals in 1991 and won in 1992. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 mph, earned him the nickname “Dual Hand Luke.” Luke is currently director of racket sports at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. He may be reached by phone at (315) 403-0752 or e-mail LukeJensen84@yahoo.com.
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Mastering the Mind Mindfulness at 125 MPH ... Part Four By Rob Polishook We have all seen Rafael Nadal’s incredible focus during a match. He never gives up and plays each point like it’s his last. Tennis provides us an opportunity to mentally be like Nadal; maybe not at his professional skill level, but certainly in terms of his mental game. Rafa’s on court demeanor is mindful, purposeful and resilient. Clearly, he keeps his focus on what he can control, and he lets go of the rest. Off the court, before or after a match, we can hone our mental game to be like Nadal by using the skills that many other sports’ professionals benefit from, like meditation. In the previous three articles of my “Mastering the Mind” series, I wrote about how top athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Novak Djokovic and Bianca Andreescu meditate, the benefits they derive from it, and how you can create a personal meditation practice to help you relax, reflect, and get yourself ready to play. In this article, Part Four of my series, I will highlight three key principles in addition to meditation that, if cultivated, will help athletes and individuals manage inevitable ups and downs of competition and life. These key principles can provide the emotional resilience for athletes to accept and manage adversity. Impermanence We all know the story about how the slow caterpillar breaks through its cocoon and transforms into a graceful butterfly. Similarly, autumn turns to winter turns to spring then summer, and back again. This cycle of constant change is ever present in life, nature and in sports. Recently, a client of mine had a string of great matches, only to reach the finals where she did not play well. She was angry with the loss, but then we talked 36
about how the matchup had been more difficult than her other opponents, and she’d lost some of the focus she had earlier. She understood that her resistance to these shifts had made her more anxious and tight. After accepting impermanence was part of the nature of the game, she has relaxed, stopped forcing points, and is now playing better than ever. Accepting impermanence allows us to gain perspective and clarity. Optimum performance is less about controlling outcomes than it is about shifting focus to managing momentum, injuries, matchups, and training cycles. Progress is rarely linear. Even the greats like Federer, Nadal and Williams experience impermanence in their careers. Being able to face that impermanence and flow with it is how they became Roger, Rafa and Serena. Equanimity Equanimity means maintaining calm, composure and clarity of mind through adversity or pressure. Especially when things are seemingly spiraling out of control. Staying balanced when you are down a set or your opponent makes a bad call, rather than losing control and being emotionally reactive is the foundation of equanimity. One of my first memories of seeing equanimity at play was during Wimbledon in 1975, when Arthur Ashe placed a towel over his head on changeovers to collect himself. He was calm, respectful and seemingly floated on the court, no matter what was happening. That equanimity was most likely a big factor in his victory
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
over Jimmy Connors. How can we play with equanimity? If we truly listen, our bodies will naturally clue us in when we are moving toward the brink, the point where we might lose our calm. We start rushing, our breathing becomes shallow and we get tight. This is our clue to step back, take a deep breath, and shift the focus to what you can control. Come back into equanimity by just trying to play your best, not necessarily be the best. Gratitude What does gratitude have to do with tennis? Everything! The process of being grateful encourages and empowers you to reflect, be present, and stay in the moment. While grateful, our nervous system tends to settle, and we can enter the next moment from a place of calm. The more gratitude we have, the more moments of calm we will experience. Then, when adversity rears its head (as it always does), we will be able to deal with it from a place of clarity. Nadal always shares his sense of gratitude towards the game and his
opponents by being humble, never taking anyone for granted and never giving up. He knows this doesn’t take anything away from his game, but rather allows him to focus on his game. Going forward I suggest keeping a journal of all three principles, then reflecting on these questions: l Jot down the times you remember experiencing impermanence in your development as a person and an athlete. l Journal about a time that you played with equanimity. l Lastly, what are you grateful for? List three-to-five things each day that you are grateful for. Reflect on how the experiences above made you feel. Answering these questions will help you become aware of patterns whenever you lose your way. Playing your sport is an ongoing journey to being your best, andit includes practice, drills, fitness, tournaments and more. Certainly, we seem to understand
the “doing” part of sport, but the mental part of the game, where we set the conditions of calm, clarity and concentration, sometimes gets lost. Impermanence, equanimity, and gratitude are three great principles to bring to competition and life. Applying them can mean the difference between playing loose rather than tight, staying calm rather than getting anxious, and winning rather than losing. Don’t leave home without them! Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with athletes helping them to unleash their mental edge through mindfulness, somatic psychology and mental training skills. Rob is author of 2 best selling books: Tennis Inside the Zone and
Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, or following on Instagram @insidethezone.
LITennisMag.com • July/August 2020 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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Why Traditional Spanish Methods and Philosophies Are Important For Junior Development By Chris Lewit The modern pro game is typified by shorter rallies and explosive, aggressive tennis. Huge serves and dominating returns are the norm. Rally length data promoted by analysts like Craig O’Shannessy have supported the concept of aggressive first-strike tennis at the top of the game. However, while the pro game is evolving its explosive style, juniors in development need to learn fundamentals of movement and a solid base of consistency. They need to learn a complete game—not just attack—but grinding and defense too. Moreover, they need to learn how to accelerate the racquet with control. The Spanish Method, in the tradition of legendary coaches like William Pato Alvarez and Lluis Bruguera, offers an approach and philosophy that is the ideal training system for building the important concepts mentioned above for young players. Movement Teaching great movement is an obsession in Spain. Spanish coaches love to work on the positioning of the body, the footwork of a player, and stability and balance on the move. 38
When players focus too early on attacking and hitting big shots, they neglect their movement development. Footwork can suffer. Reaction and reading the ball are not trained enough. Fast court indoor tennis in the Northeast makes it very difficult to develop solid movers because of the speed of the courts and the quick tempo of the points. I spent a fortune building European style red clay courts at my club in Manchester, Vermont. Why? Because I wanted slow courts to train my players on. I wanted them to learn how to adjust to the incoming ball, rally, defend and build a tactical game plan. On fast indoor courts, these qualities are often bypassed by players seeking only one objective: power! In New York, I train players on clay as well. The slippery surface challenges the balance of my students. There are bad bounces that challenge the eyes, hands, and feet, and force the players to make quick adjustments. After a few years on clay, my students become more agile. I teach them how to slide. They become more balanced and adaptable. They learn to run and position their bodies well to receive and send the ball optimally. These aspects can be lost when training mostly on fast courts and with a first-strike only philosophy.
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
Consistency Spain has an obsession with being steady and consistent. They believe that control is a priority in junior development. Too often, I don’t see this as a priority for kids in the US, especially in the Northeast. Control means you can hit targets consistently. Control means you can rally 10 or 20 balls in a row with accuracy. Control means you hit with balance and without exaggerated body movements. Control means you have the stamina, patience and focus to keep the ball in play as long as it takes to win the point. These basic values are often nonexistent with juniors that I see coming out of most clubs in the area. In addition, patient and steady players are often demeaned and derided as “pushers” in the US. They don’t have this word in Spain, but being labeled “steady” there is the highest honor a player could have—not a scarlet letter. Now I’m not suggesting that pushing is good (see the topic below on ‘Acceleration’), but at least pushers understand the basic building blocks of tennis are running and getting the ball in play. Making fewer errors often wins matches at all levels of the game. In Spain, to make few errors is a great attribute and highly lauded.
Defense In the US, I see few players who are proud of their defense and counterpunching skills. Players will jump to play attacking the net games, but they don’t relish passing shot or defending games. Players want to serve all the time but rarely work on their return. Many juniors spend entire careers without learning how to back up in the court, how to neutralize attacking shots, and how to survive in uncomfortable places on the court. In Spain, all the juniors learn these skills. They love to suffer and run. They love to extend rallies, not shorten them. They take great pride in defending, not just attacking. It’s a very healthy approach to junior development to value and prioritize defense and attack equally. Rarely do I have a junior come to me from the US who likes to play a defending game or “no winners” game. In our country, kids are obsessed with hitting winners. Analysts like O’Shannessy really do a disservice to junior development by suggesting that juniors should train primarily the first four shots rather than learning to control the ball in long rallies. Young kids need to learn to be solid and consistent. Then as they grow older they can develop their weapons and first-strike capabilities. Too many coaches and juniors want to skip stages and jump to the pro style of aggression without first building the solid base. It’s like building a house on a weak foundation of sand.
Acceleration Spanish coaches are obsessed with developing acceleration—racquet head speed. Before studying in Spain, I had never seen a system that addressed this area of technical development. The racquet head speed is not just important for power, but also for generating spin. RPM is a big priority in Spain, especially on the forehand weapon, but also on the backhand. Most Spanish coaches have a toolbox of exercises that they use to build acceleration and most of them come from the genius mind of Bruguera. The Bruguera Method has the most famous drills in Spain for developing racquet head speed. In the US, racquet head speed seems to be something people believe is inherited, not trained. Some hit the ball big but often flat and with a stiff arm. Some kids push without accelerating. I make a great living helping juniors from all over the US develop whip and elasticity on their groundstrokes. I have seen countless juniors with stiff arms and flat strokes who are not utilizing their body mechanics optimally to produce power and spin. Conclusion In my academy in Manchester, and with my students in NY, I stress these important foundational Spanish elements: l Movement l Consistency l Defense l Acceleration
As players develop and get older, firststrike becomes important, but I will never progress students along without ensuring that their foundation of great movement, consistency, defense, and acceleration are well refined. From my perspective, this step-by-step approach to junior development is a better way to build a complete player who is solid from the ground and makes few errors, but still has weapons to attack. Too often, especially in the Northeastern US, I see juniors who want to play like the pros do, but haven’t spent the time learning to be solid first. They haven’t developed their movement skills. They can’t defend. And their acceleration is wild. This is a big mistake that parents, coaches and players would be wise to avoid. Chris Lewit, a former number one for Cornell and pro circuit player, coaches in the New York City area and also runs a high-performance boarding summer camp in Southern Vermont. He specializes in training aspiring junior tournament players using progressive Spanish and European training methods. His best-selling book, Secrets of Spanish Tennis, has helped coaches and players worldwide learn how to train the Spanish way. He may be reached by phone at (914) 462-2912, e-mail ChrisLewit@gmail.com or visit ChrisLewit.com.
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MY THBUSTER S
The Differences Between NCAA Divisions I, II and III BY RICKY BECKER
By Ricky Becker Division I, II or III? What is the difference? What is the lifestyle? What is right for me? One thing people are surprised about is that the top teams in a lower division would beat a LOT of the lower teams in a higher division. I asked three people I work with, who are currently playing or just graduated, their thoughts on their Division and to provide some insight into the experience for juniors considering college tennis. Amanda Foo Division I Stony Brook University Full-Time Starter Growing up as a kid, playing Division I tennis has always been my goal. I’ve always dreamed of having the privilege of playing tennis at the highest collegiate level possible and competing against the premier teams. Stony Brook University made that happen. The competition was similar to playing a Super Six every weekend…intense and competitive. I got to play against top tier schools and world 40
renowned colleges such as Harvard & Yale, and I enjoyed feeling like I was playing the best that college tennis had to offer. We travelled across the country for some of our matches and would leave campus early in the week, while classes were still in session. The purpose of this was to have time to practice at our away court to prepare us for our matches throughout the weekend. With these long road trips, a lot of time and energy was spent communicating and meeting with my professors ahead of time to plan logistics since I had to miss a lot of lectures and exams. The result of this was that I often had to take exams at an earlier date than my classmates, and there wasn’t as much time to study. Since athletics is such a high priority and players are given scholarships, it takes a lot of effort to be able to balance both as well as you can. There are advantages to being a Division I Varsity athlete though. While they vary from school to school, one of the benefits of being an athlete at Stony Brook was getting priority class registration over the general student body (an extremely valuable perk). My college put a huge premium on fitness and weight training which arguably can wear college athletes down. We had to wake up as early as 5:00 a.m. and train three-to-five hours a day. From there I would go to physical
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
therapy and then straight to class for the rest of the day which, for me, put myself at a disadvantage academically compared to the general student population. There were times that I would rather have athletics take a back seat to academics. Although I sometimes felt that I was overtraining, I really enjoyed traveling and playing matches. I am so happy I had the privilege to see what D1 tennis was all about. Bruno Faletto Division II St. Leo’s University All-American and National Freshman of the Year Division II is often overlooked as a college tennis option. I feel that the generalized view is that every Division I team is better than every Division II team and that is why those schools are Division II. However, the true factors that determine what division a school competes in are infrastructure, sponsors and the size of the school. Of course, this doesn’t always correlate to athletic ability. Especially in sports like tennis where there is not as much money invested in and revenue generated for the
respective college. In many of the bigger sports there remains a big talent gap between Division I and Division II, especially sports that receive large television exposure. For tennis though, this is not the case. A lot of top players play at a Division II school because D2 has less strict eligibility requirements for those who have tried playing professional tennis. Division I only allows students to have a previous "professional experience" of a maximum of three months after graduating from high school, while D2 allows students a fullyear of pro tennis after high school. Because of this, some players who would have a major impact on a Division I roster are “relegated” to Division II. In my opinion, the Top 10 tennis teams in D2 would probably be inside the Top 40 in D1. What D2 lacks compared to Division I is the depth of talent after the top teams and players. Additionally, while there are scholarships available to student-athletes, they are not as abundant. However, in international sports such as tennis or soccer, the talent gap between the top D1 and D2 universities can be very minimal since many strong international players in these sports simply do not qualify for Division I eligibility-wise, even though these athletes might qualify skill-wise. In my opinion, the differences between a D1 and D2 university in the academic realm are minimal, and students can have that "college experience" at either.
Raj Vohra Division III Brandeis University 2020-21 Co-Captain College tennis has always been regarded as a sport of high endurance and mental toughness. As the sport grows in recognition, competition has grown stronger and divisions have become a lot tougher. More and more top high school prospects are choosing Division III tennis and teams are filling up with strong 4-and-5-Star players. Division IlI tennis athletes not only compete at a high level, but have a college experience that is well-rounded, both academically and socially. Unlike some Division l and Division ll teams, tennis is not the first priority. Athletes are pushed both on and off the court in order to pursue their academic dreams as well as their athletic ones. In fact, the commitment to Division III tennis is quite manageable and athletes can still belong to three-to-four academic clubs, and take a rigorous course schedule without feeling overwhelmed. Additionally, competition among the Top 15 Division III schools has grown dramatically in the last few years. Each recruiting class seems to be stronger than the year prior due to the fact that more parents and students are recognizing the
added academic benefits of a Division III program. In fact, Top Division III schools like Emory, University of Chicago and Brandeis can compete with the higher ranked schools in Division II and midranked Division I schools. It is important for athletes to manage their expectations while choosing their future school and career. In fact, there are 195 countries in the world, all of which have similar tennis programs to the United States. Athletes that are not ranked in the Top 10 in the nation should choose schools based upon academic fit and potential future careers rather than pursue the path of professional tennis. Division III offers that opportunity and still allows ample time to network and have a strong social presence on campus. Therefore, I believe that the popularity of Division III tennis will rise in the upcoming years. Ricky Becker is The Director of Tennis at the prestigious Pine Hollow Country Club for his ninth year, coaches highperformance juniors throughout the year and has been the Director of Tennis at three of Long Island’s biggest junior programs. As a player, Becker was the Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stanford Tennis Team and was ranked top-five nationally as a junior player. He can be reached at rbecker06@yahoo.com, 516-359-4843 or via juniortennisconsulting.com.
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The Tennis Guru: The Ring By Dr. Tom Ferraro This article is the fourth part of Dr. Ferraro’s series, The Tennis Guru. To read the first three parts, visit www.LITennisMag.com or read the previous print issues. As the boat bumped up against the dock, Yin awoke and looked about. He saw Virgil the Turtle standing on the Dock and beyond him was a pathway through the woods and then up the mountain. Yin rubbed his eyes and was about to step onto the dock when Charon touched his shoulder and said, “Stop my young friend, I have something to give you that will be of great use to you on your journey.” With that, Charon handed Yin a golden ring shaped like a skull with the word “courage” inscribed on the inside. Yin blinked and asked Charon why he was giving him this ring. “You will need this ring as you travel up the mountain. It will be a reminder that you now possess courage by virtue of traveling on my boat along the River Styx. Never take the ring off of your finger no matter what happens. There will be some who you meet along the way that may try to steal it from you because this ring has many magical powers. The one who wears it possesses great courage and strength. I grant it to you because you have already shown courage. Best of luck on your journey my friend. You have my blessings.” With that, Yin put the ring on his finger, jumped onto the dock and off he went with Virgil into the woods. The woods were truly dark and deep, and they heard many mysterious sounds from creatures who seemed to be nearby but weren’t visible. They heard birds screeching and animals snarling as they walked along the small path. Ordinarily Yin would have been afraid but each time he gazed down at his golden ring he felt safe and calm. 42
As they walked on, Yin remarked to Virgil, “Boy it sure is taking us a long time to get up the mountain to see The Tennis Guru.” Virgil looked up at Yin, smiled and said, “Yin it is true, our journey has been a long one but think of all you have learned.” “What did I learn?” asked Yin. “I haven’t hit a shot yet and I haven’t seen the Tennis Guru either.” Virgil replied: “But Yin we have already learned three things that you will need in the future. We know you have great passion for tennis. Why else would you even start this journey? We have learned
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
that things cannot be rushed along the way. And you now have the golden ring to protect you. You are well on your way to overcoming all the fear and shame you brought with you.” “Maybe you’re right Virgil,” said Yin. “I do feel stronger now. Hey, look over there. Is that a cave?” To be continued… For consultations, treatment or on-site visits, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., Sport Psychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189, e-mail DrTFerraro@aol.com or visit DrTomFerraro.com.
Only One Excuse Left By Barbara Wyatt It hit me the other day. Not a tennis ball, but a realization. Our tennis pros hung up their racquets and stayed home during the pandemic. These men and women made the same financial sacrifice as personal trainers, physical therapists, restaurant and café owners, bookstore owners, and other small businesses. They forego their income for the safety of their friends, clients, and family. In the last week or so, tennis pros knocked the dust and cobwebs off their strings in order to hold private lessons and perhaps a small drills class, as the numbers of virus infections showed signs of decline. It is time to thank them. Book a private lesson. Throw away all excuses about why we do not take tennis lessons and jump in. Or at least, do a split-step. You are rested. Your knees, wrist, and elbow are in great shape (or so I hope). Maybe you haven’t had a lesson in 20 years. Maybe it’s been three months. It doesn’t matter, book a lesson. Over the years, players have created dazzling excuses on why adult recreational players avoid tennis lessons: “I’ve played tennis like this for years.”…“I couldn’t learn anything new at my age.”…“It’s expensive.”…“I’m out of shape.”…“It’s only for kids.”…“This works for me.” Our pros hung up their racquets for our
safety. We have returned to restaurants, bakeries, and barbers to support our local economy. Our tennis pros deserve us. If you are reluctant because a stroke is embarrassingly flawed, use my excuse: “I’m a little rusty. There’s been a pandemic.” It is the only excuse left. A splash of hand sanitizer and I am back, smashing deep volleys. Not ready? Then pay for a lesson for a deserving youth or a youth beginning class. I might buy a lesson certificate for an opponent and enclose it in a charming “Good Luck” card, with a personal note to work on their backhand. Watch the mind games begin! These associations provide a find-a-pro search: United States Professional Tennis
Association (USPTA) and Professional Tennis Registration (PTR). Thank you to those on the front line: truckers, farmers and food production workers, delivery personnel, grocery and pharmacy staff, police and fire and emergency personnel, medical workers, our military, transportation drivers, and more. You continue to work tirelessly. You are awesome. Barbara Wyatt is a writer, photographer, USTA official, and mobile app developer of iKnowTennis!, the tennis rules app. Her poem, Ode to Tennis, an amusing poem on the joys and frustrations when learning tennis, is available at Amazon. She can be reached by e-mail at BarbaraW@iKnowTennis.com.
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Tennis More Than Ever
By Lonnie Mitchel Let's start by writing about things you may know and probably have to be reminded about, especially in this COVID-19 world we live in. Yes, we have to talk about COVID-19 because it is a reality that has hit us all in the face. The pandemic of 1918 was not in our lifetime and certainly those types of things can never happen to us, right? With the modern world we live in, the technology, entertainment at your finger tips and social media, a pandemic could never happen! It hit us like a slap in the face, and it’s very real. We need tennis to come to the rescue now more than ever to: l Increase aerobic capacities l Lower resting heart rate and blood pressure 44
l Improve metabolic function l Increase bone density l Lower body fat l Improve muscle tone, strength and flexibility l Increase reaction times l Improve mental health and well-being I returned to Long Island from my duties at SUNY Oneonta, coaching the men's and women's tennis teams, and have been on hiatus since March with the hope that I can be reunited with my squads very soon. I want desperately to be on campus to see and feel the energy that college students bring, and certainly the tennis competition. I consider the practice courts and competition days to be my salvation. I am sure you feel very much the same about our precious game. It is precious and as you read on, I hope I will have reinforced that fact. What disturbs me, other than the
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
COVID-19 atmosphere we are forced to function in, is how out of shape our youngsters look. I pondered my article subject for this issue for quite some time, and then when I subbed in as an instructor for the camp at my local club here on Long Island, I observed the youngsters and knew I had to write about what I was witnessing. I saw 10-12-year-olds not being able to focus on the instruction for more than 10 minutes, rushing to their phones at every turn during ball pickups as if the news of the world would stop if they didn't check their technological device. While this trend was already occurring prior to the pandemic, it seems to have led to more youngsters being out of shape and having a hard time focusing. While it might be counter-productive to say, “back in my day, we could run for what seemed like forever, the instructor
knew better and there was not as many distractions.” However, those in my generation probably know this already, but the situation is getting worse. My patience was being exercised to the core and I relied on my coaching instincts to be poised and patient throughout the instruction so the youngsters could learn valuable information despite all the extra hurdles they place on themselves. I asked several of the children if they did any exercise in the last three months. The answer was, at best, very little. We are lucky in the sense that we can get back to playing tennis during a pandemic because tennis, as the USTA says, is the “Sport for a Lifetime". We can play tennis, and we can play golf, but will the other sports like football, basketball, soccer, etc. where there is a lot more close contact ever be normal again? Tennis, with a few tweaks of how you play such as practicing social distancing, can endure. I was at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow recently on a beautiful sunny day and all the tennis courts were
in use. You can bet that football and soccer are on hold at least for the foreseeable future. How lucky we are to have the game of tennis? However, what pains me is the youngsters are so out of shape, and their lack of focus is holding their development back because of a liability of technology. Look what gift we can give to our children...the gift of increasing aerobic capacity, lowering resting heart rate and blood pressure, improving metabolic function, increasing bone density, lowering body fat, improving the muscle tone strength and flexibility, increasing reaction time and improving mental health/well-being. Please, I beg you to not take no for an answer in getting the children out of the house. Get yourselves out of the house...for goodness sakes, play tennis, get your children on the tennis court and I promise when I write future articles I can say that it worked. Tennis, now more than ever! While I commend the parents of the children I spoke about earlier, you got them to the tennis center to play and participate in
camp; you’re ahead of the curve. Now get them away from the computer and use your parental powers. Take a walk daily with your children and have a conversation, go on the tread mill, do some jumping jacks and core work. Your quality of life depends upon it; your health depends on it. If a youngster cannot do basic exercises on the tennis court for just ten minutes, we have really failed our children. Tennis, More Than Ever! Lonnie Mitchel is head Men’s and Women’s Tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta. Lonnie was named an assistant coach to Team USA for the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel for the Grand Master Tennis Division. Also coached for Team USA in Berlin and Chile in 2015 and Team USA Maccabiah for the Open Division working with Division I players and professionally ranked in the Israel Games in 2017. Was also named “Coach of the Year” in 2015 for State University of NY Athletic Conference. He may be reached by phone at (516) 414-7202 or e-mail LonnieMitchel@yahoo.com.
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I Need More Power, Coach! By Mike Puc One of the most frequent requests I hear from my students is how to achieve more power. After a short discussion and acknowledgement of the first priorities of getting the ball in and getting the ball in away from the opponent, the goal of power may be addressed. The two biggest components to execute with power are: l Keep the ball away from your body l Relax the swing. Most players get too close to the ball (on all shots), preventing a full turn and extension. Balls hit close to the body result in a “chicken arm” follow through,
lacking a long finish. While it may be glamorous to hit hard consistently from the baseline, the operative word in this sentence is consistently. The goal should be to hit harder when the situation dictates. Start by working on hitting harder on chest-high balls from the service line. Track the ball by placing your nondominant hand on the forehand in front of your body like a stop sign to maintain distance from the body and promote a powerful swing. Finish by driving your racket out and not around your body. A long swing maintains the kinetic chain of the body, producing power. Secondly, playing with a “spaghetti arm” will generate pace necessary for power and contribute to your rpm’s. Hitting down and covering the ball
with your racket on the finish with your spaghetti arm will build confidence and allow you to try power from a little further back each time. This technique can also be morphed into a swinging forehand volley. To get more power, keep your distance from the ball and swing with a spaghetti arm. Mike Puc, USPTA, has been the Director of Tennis at Gleneagles Country Club in Delray Beach Florida since 1998. A winner of 15 National titles and an ATP world ranking, Mike directs 25 teams with 350 players in 9 leagues while offering the most extensive Calendar of Events in South Florida that includes tournaments, lectures and social round robins.
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Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, VelveTop Begins Selling Disinfectant Sprays The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all live our day-to-day lives, and has created a newfound emphasis on disinfecting areas that are used by numerous persons. As a result of this, cleaning supplies, disinfectant sprays and more have become essential materials both for the home and places of business. It’s because of this that Long Islandbased VelveTop Products has begun selling disinfectant sprays, distributing machines manufactured by Graco, a Minnesota-based manufacturing firm. “For the last 15 years, we’ve been a distributor of the Graco striping machines, which is one of the things we sell to highway departments,” said Bill Walsh, VelveTop’s Sales Manager. “Towards the end of April, Graco introduced these disinfectant sprayers. Since we sell a lot of their products, they asked us if we wanted to come on board as a distributor. We jumped on the opportunity.” Walsh added, jokingly: “Now we’re so busy, I’m not sure it was a good idea.” In the few months since distribution began, Walsh and VelveTop have seen a high demand for these machines, so much so that there is a backorder on
many of them. They have already sold to tennis clubs in the area, including many country clubs, as the machines provide an efficient way to disinfect a large area. “One of the big clubs I sold to, when they first used it, they had a lot of lounge chairs by their pool area,” Walsh said. “They told me they were able to disinfect 10 chairs in 40 seconds, and two of their guys can disinfect the whole area in less than an hour. They bought two machines and are waiting for more.” The machines are incredibly efficient to use, and come with an array of spray tips to be used on different surfaces or areas. There are small, fine tips if you want to disinfect your office, and large tips that you can use on a large outdoor area. In addition, there are models designed strictly for use in the home “The company has done a great job with this,” said Walsh. “They have created five different models of the machine to address all markets, and they actually came out with one last month that is designed for stadiums. You can spray with eight guns at once, to do something like the National Tennis Center or Citi Field. Every place that needs to re-open needs something like this.” The “new normal” protocols won’t soon
be going away, so it’s imperative that businesses, including tennis facilities, create a safe environment for their customers to come in and out of. Finding the right product to do that can be challenging but a necessary endeavor. “I think there are a lot of people that think this problem is just going to go away. I’m not one of them,” said Walsh. “I wish it would. But I don’t think that’s the reality of the situation. I think for a lot of places, these cleaning protocols are going to be in place for quite awhile. It’s not something we ever thought about doing as a company, but there is certainly a need for it now.”
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