Category: Tennis

Member Spotlight, Tennis

Member Spotlight: Ikeda Family

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…)

Tennis

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

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, Tennis

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

Katie knew she wanted her older daughter, Lilly, to begin playing tennis. So she did what each of us does 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 Childminding, 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 childminding, they ask to stay longer instead of going home.

“I’m hooked” – Glenn Margolis

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 its 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 at the same time! They make use of all of the club’s amenities in the fitness center, the pool, tennis courts, and childminding.  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!

 

Tennis

Key to Success: Playing in Attack Mode – September 2018

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!

Tennis

Key to Success: How to Purchase the Right Tennis Racquet

buy Tennis RacquetGrowing up, my first tennis racquet was only $15 from Modell’s Sporting Goods. I had gone through a lot of battles with that plastic racquet until the frame completely bent on me during a match. I had truly outgrown that racquet as I was hitting the ball so big that it literally bent and crumbled in my hand. So it was time for a new one, a real one this time.

My dad had a racquet that he had used for a while and he passed it down to me. It was the Wilson Jack Kramer Pro-staff with the orange wooden handle. I had built up quite the callus on my hand due to that racquet but I loved it. I was having great success with that racquet until my dad had the bright idea of switching me to a Yonex racquet. At the time Monica Seles was doing extremely well with that racquet beating Steffi Graf in Grand Slams. (more…)

Member Spotlight, Tennis

Member Spotlight: Abhishek Kolli – “Keep Getting Better, Every Day!”

Abhishek Kolli and his father Satya are both committed to getting better on the tennis court, and the results are showing!

Last December, Abhishek played tennis with Isaac Kritz at a USTA tournament, and the Kritz family highly recommended that Abhishek try the tennis program at our Club. From there, Abhishek is showing great improvement, and his father isn’t far behind.

Abhishek met with our Tennis Director Terrance Scott for an evaluation, and quickly got involved with our program. “I could tell how caring the coaches were, and they provide great instruction,” explained Satya.  Abhishek adds “Mike [Gee] really helps me understand things, and Terrance is so nice.” Terrance placed Abhishek  in our Future Stars program, which is designed for players that are committed to becoming USTA national level players. “Abhishek works really hard, and listens extremely well. When I saw that — I knew we needed him in our program. He makes everyone around him better” explains Terrance. (more…)

Tennis

Key to Success: Serve Like A Pitcher – July 2018

If you follow baseball, you know that some of the greatest pitchers in the major leagues have a variety of pitches that they can execute at any time. They have a fastball, curveball, knuckleball, slider and off speed pitch. The pitcher will use different pitches based on what the batter likes and doesn’t like. For example, if the batter is phenomenal at hitting fast balls, the pitcher would intentionally throw everything but the fastball. The pitcher would also throw pitches that he knows the batter struggles with. (more…)

Tennis

Tennis Etiquette

By: Terrance Scott, Tennis Director

The game of tennis is by tradition one of focus and concentration, which is embraced by all who play the game. During play it is typically silent as observed by those on the professional level. It is important that we strive to embrace the proper etiquette passed on from  generations of the sport. Listed below are some friendly reminders on how we should conduct ourselves as students of the game. Please read every topic to ensure we treat our club and this sport with the upmost respect it deserves. (more…)

Tennis

Key to Success: How to Survive Brutal Outdoor Conditions – May 2018

Cold Weather – On very cold days, it is very important that you layer up. It is better for you to have too many layers on than too few. As you start to warm up, start taking layers off. I would also recommend long tights, shorts or skirt over the tights and then sweat pants on top of everything. That should keep your body nice and warm and loose. As for your hands, try and have pockets with fleece material on the interior. Another option would be hand warmer rocks.

There is a packet that you can buy that will heat up once you crunch up the little rocks. You may purchase that and keep them in your pocket as well. It is very important to keep your hands warm. If your hands get super cold and numb, it will be very difficult to feel your shots and maneuver the racquet the way you would like. (more…)