Give Back at AHC!

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Club News & Events

At the Aspen Hill Club we love to give back to our community and are always looking for new ways to make a difference. Throughout the year we host different fundraising drives for local charities. Keep an eye out for a 2019 Schedule of Events. In the meantime, here are our current and upcoming drives:

  • Coat Drive for Stepping Stones – We are collecting winter coats, clothing and boots in clean and good condition (no holes or stains) in the Main Lobby through the month of January. Please see the posted Urgent Needs list for other items Stepping Stones is currently in need of.

    Donations you can make throughout the year:

  • Eye glasses & Sunglasses —benefiting New Eyes for the Needy (Short Hills, NJ)
    Provides people in the United States with eyeglasses and sends recycled eyeglasses to needy people overseas.
  • Cell Phones & iPods—via Shelter Alliance benefiting the Spouse Abuse Resource Center (Bel Air, MD) Help raise funds for a local charity while keeping phones out of landfills.

Key to Success: Using Consistency as a Weapon – October 2018

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Tennis

Have you ever played a player who never misses? These are some of the toughest matches to play and can be very frustrating. Use consistency to your advantage to beat majority of your opponents.

In my opinion, you can beat 75% of your opponents just by keeping the ball in play. The other 25% you will need to be consistent and step up and make some shots. The number one way to be more consistent is to take some pace off of the ball. The goal is to hit the ball with 3/4 of your pace. Not too hard but not too soft. You want to find the pace that you will be able to hit in which you will never miss. You take this pace of the ball and move it around the court as your opponent self-destructs. If you play well with consistency, over time throughout the match, this will really frustrate your opponent and may result in them over hitting and trying to win the point too quickly. Once they start trying this tactic, you may start to see a lot of unforced errors creep into their game. As they start missing, then you’ll know that you drew them into your web of errors, therefore, resulting in a very easy match for you to win.

Having a steadily paced ball can be a huge weapon and will help you win a ton of matches.

Keep on Playing!

The Best Exercise Ever

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Fitness, Training

By: Dana Shorb, Fitness Director

Everybody should deadlift. If you can walk unassisted than it would be a benefit for you to start deadlifting. I hear about excuses like general weakness, bad back and knee pain but I’m certain a majority of these issues didn’t arise from deadlifting. Chances those issues could have been prevented by deadlifting. I’m here to tell you that you can fix all of those issues with this one simple exercise. Even with these aches and pains, you can deadlift and with the proper modifications, precautions and preparations, you should. You see, the deadlift is not a lower back exercise! If you feel it in your lower back you are doing it wrong. The deadlift is not a knee dominant exercise. If you feel it in your knees you are doing it wrong. (more…)

Member Spotlight: Ikeda Family

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Member Spotlight, Tennis

The Ikeda family is one that you’ll find on the tennis courts! Yasu and Yoshi moved to our area from Minneapolis, Minnesota and knew it was a priority to find home for everyone to be happy on the tennis courts. How did Yasu find our Aspen Hill Club? They used Google! They saw the GREAT reviews online and stopped by for a tour. Yasu feels that he’s found a special place at The Club, “Everyone is so nice. The pros are great and keep us very happy.”

Mia, 15 years old, is currently involved in our Junior Advanced class, where she plays with other teenagers that are working towards high school tennis and tournament play. She worked on her tennis all Summer, as part of our World Class program. Mia’s coaches stress that she can always be counted on to work hard while on the court—using all of her court time to her advantage. Her focused attitude consistently raises the level of play in the class, and she is a great addition to our program. (more…)

Mindful Tennis Training – Attention, Attention, Read All About It

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Tennis

By: Jeff Klein, Senior Tennis Pro

 

All tennis instruction provides a mixture of technique and tactics. By incorporating mental training skills, you’ll better understand how distractions inherent to the game prevent you from playing your best tennis.

Mindfulness, from the Oxford Dictionary, is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. (more…)

Member Spotlight: Margolis Family – “Our Family’s Secret Weapon!”

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Member Spotlight, Tennis

Katie knew she wanted her older daughter, Lilly, to begin playing tennis. So she did what each of us do when trying to find something new—so opened up the Google search bar! Katie was lead to try the Aspen Hill Club, Lilly quickly got started in our Young Stars program and immediately was having fun. While Lilly was involved in the class, Katie listened to other parents rave about the programs at The Club—so she decided to learn more. Now the entire family—including husband Glenn and 2 year old Emmy are busy at The Club, too.

Katie and her husband Glenn come to The Club multiple days a week and refer to it as their “Parent’s Secret Weapon,” saying “Many days Lilly is enrolled in a class, Emmy is playing in Child minding, and I’m working out or playing tennis. I am able to get three things done at one time due to the help of the Club!”

The kids love their time at Aspen Hill, whether it’s swimming in the pool, hanging out in Childminding or even Kids Yoga. The active and healthy lifestyle that Glenn and Katie have introduced to their kids is now part of their daily lives; 2 year old Emmy can’t get enough of the healthy lifestyle, she brings her yoga mat to The Club every day they come—even on days when there isn’t yoga class! Both girls are kept busy with tennis, swimming, and constant play. The girls are often having so much fun in child minding, they ask to stay longer instead of going home.

While Katie has returned to tennis since playing as a junior, Glenn is new to the sport. “When I first joined Aspen Hill, I thought I was just going to use the fitness center… I was wrong” Glenn explains. When Katie came home from her first group lesson, Glenn was so happy that she had fun he wanted to have that for himself! After receiving his free tennis evaluation, Glenn now has weekly private lessons with Elliott and attends Hit and Run classes with Ilan. Glenn enjoys the fun workout that tennis provides and he sees the improvement in his game; “I’m hooked” explains Glenn.

While the rest of the family enjoys Aspen Hill, Katie enjoys The Club for it’s tennis opportunities most of all, “tennis is my happy place,” she says. She certainly finds lots of ways to stay happy at The Club. She appreciates the family feel of The Club. “Someone always stops to say Hi; it’s so welcoming.” She joins us several days a week, attending weekly private lessons with Elliott and Hit and Run classes with Ilan. Katie and Glenn also enjoy reserving court time to play with each other.

Katie is thankful that her mother introduced her to tennis when she was a child, even though her mom didn’t play tennis herself. Her mother saw tennis as a great activity that 10-year-old Katie could play for the rest of her life and Katie is very thankful for her mom’s foresight. Now the entire family is active with tennis and so much more.

You can find Glenn and Katie at The Club several days a week. The family has found exciting ways to all have fun at the same place AND the same time! They make use of all of the club’s amenities in the fitness center, the pool, tennis courts, and child minding.  The example that Glenn and Katie are setting for their children is remarkable; Emma and Lilly are being exposed to a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis—and this will last them for the rest of their lives.

Katie and Glenn, your family is an important part of our community at the Aspen Hill Club. Thank you so much for letting us be part of your lives!

 

Member Spotlight: Lisa Tuvalo

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Member Spotlight

Our choice to support Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the Bending BarbeLLS powerlifting meet back in May was mainly brought about because of one of our members who not only works very closely with LLS but is a lymphoma survivor.

Lisa Tuvalo became a member of the Aspen Hill Club while she was attending the University of Maryland at College Park, back when there was neither internet nor swimming pool at the Club, but there was a practice ski hill. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1999 and began chemotherapy. Eventually, she received a bone marrow transplant, using her own bone marrow, on August 2, 2000, and she has been in remission ever since!

Lisa takes lessons and works on her tennis skill with other members here at the Club. She credits the research funded by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with saving her life and trains for endurance races with the help of their virtual coaching program, Team in Training. Last June, she competed in the Half Marathon in San Diego and her next race will be the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October.

You can support Lisa by donating to her team in training fund and learn more about LLS by visiting: https://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps18/LTuvalo

 

Member Testimonial: Kevin Costello

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Fitness, Testimonials

“Dana, I wanted to go public with my high satisfaction regarding the “deep tissue” physical therapy and athletic stretching services which Demitrus Willis has provided to me via Aspen Hill’s expanded services offering. Having played college D1 level athletics at its highest level I have been exposed to and had access to top level athletic and injury treatment support services. It is with this personal history that I say that Mr. Willis knowledge of injury origin and treatment abatement is on par with the high level of support I received while playing for a national champion program. That said, I do strongly recommend Mr. Willis’s services to any individual (male or female) that is currently being afflicted by sport induced pain or injury, and I am quite confident that all who use his services will experience rapid improvement in their sport and athletic injury rehabilitation. If you wish to discuss further do not hesitate to reach out to me.” – Kevin Costello

 

Services provided by Demitrus Willis through Aspen Hill Club

 

Key to Success: Playing in Attack Mode – September 2018

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Tennis

Some players can not take it when they are under a lot of pressure. How do you put pressure on your opponent, you come to the net and force your opponent to make a shot. You will find that if done correctly, some players will succumb to the
pressure and just miss big because they are so focused on what you are doing.  Here are a few ways to put the pressure on by getting to the net.

1) You can look for short balls during a rally. I would say any ball inside the service line and even a few feet passed the service line are ideal opportunities to get to the net. Of course it depends on the height and the pace of the ball. If the ball is coming short and a little slow, go for it. Hit the ball to your opponents weaker side, move up to the net and make them beat you with their weakest shot.

2) Another great way to get to the net is by serving and volleying. Serve the ball right at your opponent or to their weaker side and move in immediately. You could use this play on either a first or a second serve if you are confident enough with your placement. A lot of players are fearful to come in on a 2nd serve because they think it’s weak. If you think of it this way, the slower the serve the closer you get into the optimal volley position. So a nice spin serve could be more effective then a bullet to your opponent. The faster you hit the ball to them, the faster the ball is coming back to you.

3)   Last but not least, you could chip and charge with backspin on the ball off of your opponents serve. Another option is to step up and drive the ball off of a weak second serve to go right in. This shot is typically hit down the line. Both plays can be very
effective, especially when it’s executed when your opponent least expects it. If you do this play well, your opponent may end up double faulting because they are nervous or fearful that you may be coming in and putting the pressure on them.

When you keep the pressure on your opponent and make them nervous or fearful, you will find that half of the time, you will not even have to hit a volley or overhead to win the point. A lot of players will self destruct under the constant heat you put on them throughout the duration of a match. With better players you may have to step up and make some shots, but they too will eventually crack under the pressure and you will break them down.

Hopefully you find these tactics useful during your friendly competitive matches here at the club and elsewhere.

Play well my friends and keep on playing!

Meet Our Team: Maria Stagnitto, Water Instructor

Posted Alex Aleshin-GuendelPosted in Member Spotlight

Maria Stagnitto first joined AHC in the early 80’s and after 30-year hiatus re-joined in 2013. It was Maria’s love of swimming and retirement that called for the return.

In her working days, Maria would swim each day after work (in Bethesda), in her retirement the idea of the drive proved to be undesirable. She says “I realized that I would not want to drive to Bethesda every day to swim, so timing was perfect for us to rejoin the Club”.

Since then, Maria has added Body Pump, Pilates Mat, Pilates Reformer,  Yoga and spin to her list of activities: sometimes doing multiple activities within a given day. Over the past year she has resumed her tennis and has become a pickleball regular, alongside her husband.

You may be wondering where the Aquatic class instruction fits into her interest and schedule. Maria took the advice and encouragement of several of the water instructors and trained to become an instructor. She has set her schedule to teach her classes before her mid-morning swim. “It’s a natural fit” Maria says.

It’s clear Maria is making up for lost time and her return to AHC is proving to be a great way to enjoy her retirement. This past July 4th, Maria swam in a charity meet at her community pool. She proudly boasts she is the only female in the 65 and older category. Maria has won multiple events and holds a few pool records.

We are happy to have Maria on our instructor team and invite you to try her Monday and/or Thursday 10:30am and Wednesday 10:45am water classes.