Celebrating Fitness & Tennis

CelebratingFITNESS +

TENNIS

According to an article in The New York Times, playing tennis might add years to your life. Specifically, the social aspects of tennis may “amplify the benefits of exercise.” With that in mind, and in honor of May being National Physical

Fitness and Sports Month, USTA League players shared their stories about how being a part of a local USTA League has kept them fit and active.

BEN SEITZ: TOPEKA, KANSAS

By Kendra Wicks

Topeka native Ben Seitz can be found in the gym every morning before work. He lifts, runs sprints and has lost over 70 pounds in the past year throughout an incredible fitness journey that all began on a tennis court.

Seitz had never considered playing tennis before the spring of 2016 when he and his wife decided to try something new.

“We were really just looking for something that we could do together,” Seitz said. “We didn’t really know what we were getting into.”

For Seitz, tennis proved to be the outlet he needed to shape up his health and fitness.

“For a while, I wasn’t doing anything, until I started getting into tennis. As I started losing weight and getting more fit, then I began adding more things,” Seitz said. “As soon as I started losing weight I was like, ‘You know, this could really be something if I would eat better.’”

Seitz created a diet plan through a local health clinic that jumpstarted the lifestyle he leads today. He plays almost daily, on top of training in the gym and continuing to follow a well-structured diet.

Hitting the courts has become a staple part of his daily routine. Seitz and his wife quickly moved from beginner classes to group drills before being invited onto local USTA league teams. They eventually became captains on their respective teams and have competed in men’s and women’s leagues, mixed doubles and trilevel tournaments. They enjoy having the opportunity to compete at an older age.

“The competition side of it keeps bringing us back, and the fact that you’re always learning. There’s always room for improvement,” Seitz said.

Despite finding his love for the game, Seitz admits that he never imagined he’d end up playing tennis.

“Now that I’ve learned it and discovered it, I feel like there’s a lot more to it than I ever thought,” Seitz said. “Now we play pretty much every league we can get into.”

Looking back, Seitz encourages anyone looking to get into tennis to not be afraid of learning something new.

“Take lessons. We went six months just playing each other and not knowing how to hold a racquet,” Seitz said. “I’d say, if you want to get the most out of it, take some general lessons just to get the technical side down.”

Seitz’s journey throughout the past three years has led him to a healthy new lifestyle and a welcoming community.

“The people we’ve met here are just really good people, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without tennis,” Seitz said. “All of this has come from eating better and playing a ton of tennis.”

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SUMMER SERVE 2019

BILL TOWLER: EDMOND, OKLAHOMA

My name is Bill Towler. I am 59 years old and started playing tennis again, after about a 25 year layoff, 12 years ago. While I had always maintained good physical fitness (i.e., going to the gym and exercising regularly), other than just wanting to stay in shape, I had no real motivation for working out.

I now train to play tennis. I really do not care what my physique looks like. I care about my ability to be the most physically fit player on the court. However, the upside to a regular training regime, eating relatively healthy and staying fit is that you do not put on the extra pounds.

Tennis is my motivation to stay fit. When I train, I am thinking about how will this help me on the court – not what I look like at the beach. The cardio intensity of my training benefits me on the court. If the match is about fitness I always feel like I have an advantage. Now, if it comes down to tennis there is no question I am very often not the most talented. But being fit gives you a strategic advantage – especially in the heat.

Additionally, I cannot emphasize enough how tennis, and the social aspects of the game, keep me mentally healthy. The social community that is wired around tennis is like a big family that always has your back.

There is a reason playing tennis extends your life expectancy more than any other sport. To play tennis you have to be fit. Eating somewhat healthy helps you maintain that fitness, and the social aspects of the game keep you engaged mentally as well as physically.

So go play USTA Adult League tennis, have some fun and stay fit!!

JACKIE GEHRKE & KATHY LOEPP: KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Jackie Gehrke and Kathy Loepp, both USTA League players from Heart of America, have found success staying healthy through USTA Leagues.

Why did you start playing USTA League Tennis? JG: I was in my 20s and needed a way to stay fit and meet people. I loved competitive play so tennis was the perfect sport for all three needs!

KL: I was asked to coach a high school team in 1983 and agreed to do so until the school could find someone more qualified. I began taking lessons immediately and fell in love with the game. A few years later, I began playing on one team. While I was working, I generally played three times a week and felt I was fairly fit, but after retiring, I really kicked it up. In 2018, I played on 10 USTA teams. Fitness is a side benefit of tennis but my main reason for playing is love of the game and the wonderful friends I have made.

Jackie Gehrke (far right) is joined by members of her 1993 team which attended USTA League National Championships.

Tell us how USTA League Tennis keeps you healthy and fit. Has it made a difference in your fitness or health? JG: I play 4-5 times a week preparing for or playing in a league match. By being on a team and having matches that “count”, I am much more motivated to play and drill for practice the rest of the time. It has made a huge difference in my fitness as I don’t really enjoy exercise for exercise, but love exercise that results in winning!

KL: I have wonderful tennis friends and much of my social life revolves around the physical activity of tennis. Because of the wear and tear of tennis, I also participate in stretching, strength training, and core work in hopes of many more years on the court!Kathy Loepp (second from right) is joined by her WorldTeam Tennis teammates.

SUMMER SERVE 2019 5

AMY REDFIELD: OMAHA, NEBRASKA

By Matt Case

Amy was a captain for the 2018 mixed 8.0 mixed doubles national championship team that represented Nebraska last November in Mobile, Alabama.

The higher competition level there helped push them to play even better as they didn’t drop a match in either the semis or finals.

Amy tries to play more singles during the start of the season to get her into shape so by the time of nationals she is physically ready. She explained how important joining USTA Leagues has been to keeping physically fit.

Omaha native Amy Redfield uses tennis to work out in a fashion that doesn’t feel like going to the gym. Throughout the year she also does yoga to increase her flexibility helping reach those difficult shots.

She played tennis casually growing up and in USTA Leagues for the last 10 years. The mixed 8.0 doubles league is one of her favorites, but she has also been part of women’s 4.0, women's 4.5 and tri-level teams. This summer she will be stepping up a level to a mixed 9.0 team and is up for the challenge!

“The league has been a huge help for me because I don’t have to worry about staying in shape. It just happens naturally by playing several times a week. A big thing has been the strength - there was a while before I started playing leagues when I just worked an office job and didn’t have any ways to exercise.”

She believes her energy level would be lower without tennis and loves the social aspect of the team. It has created lifelong friendships through the amount of time they have spent on the road traveling together.

LIZ O’KEEFE: ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

By Amber Dieringer

St. Louis native Liz O’Keefe has been playing tennis for most of her life and in USTA Leagues since 2014 and has used tennis and nutrition to transform her health and fitness in a dramatic way.

O’Keefe struggled with her weight from the time she was just nine years old up until she reached 50. “I would lose the same 20 to 30 pounds every year and then gain it back,” said O’Keefe. “I would commit to a program for a short period of time, but it was never sustainable for me.”

Tennis has been incredibly important in O’Keefe’s life as well as her journey with health and fitness. “I’ve learned a lot about

discipline and using it as an outlet that I could always go back to,” she adds.

Through nutrition and tennis, she has managed to lose all the weight she held onto for years and more, dropping over 40 pounds total and keeping it off for good.

Her exercise regimen consists of tennis three to four days a week and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the days she isn’t playing, but she admits that she prefers tennis over any other form of exercise.

“Tennis is amazing. I get a personal development component that I don’t get in other places,” she includes. “When I know

I’m working on a skill and I’m able to put it into action and see a result, that propels me in a direction to be better and it fuels me in giving even more.”