| Official e-newsletter of the Pat Cash International Tennis Academy & The Azzura Tennis Club |
| SEPTEMBER 2007 Newsletter |
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Message
from Chris Steel - Academy Director
Last Month saw the Academy say farewell and good luck to John & Ros Birrell and their two children Kimberly & Cade. John & Ros were a pivotal part of the Academy team and we wish them all the best with their new business venture. We will all miss their dedication and passion! We also say farewell, but not goodbye, to Ashley Berge who has worked in our Pre Academy Program. Ashley has taken up a playing scholarship in the United States at the University of Louisiana. Good Luck and enjoy the experience! This month we had 2 players competing in Fiji in the B2 ITF event. Maverick Banes made the quarter-finals of the singles and the semi-finals of the doubles. Number 5 seed Alex Sanders was also a quarter finalist. Well done to both guys! ITF #15 ranked junior Stephen Donald, has recently been
training with players such as Zach Itzstein at the Academy in his
preparation for the US Open Juniors (photo right). This will be
Stephen's last stand at the Junior ITF level and he was keen to
experience all he could at the Academy, including the Cashy apparel
!! Look out for Stephen wearing the Cashy bandana at the US Open
while Zach (and other Academy juniors) sport the "new look" locally
in upcoming tournaments.
Recent State & National champion Joel Braund continues to outperform every 14 year old in Australia, by winning the 15U singles title at GCA Taylor Byrne Junior Masters event held in Miami GC. Following her Queen of Clay success a couple of months ago, Monika Weijnert continued her undisputed domination of the QLD Open Tournament circuit by adding the opening leg of the Australian Money Tournament (AMT) series to her list of achievements. Monika won the Hope Island event without the loss of a set. The following weekend Monika was awaiting an opponent in the final of the second event of the AMT series in Caloundra, when bad weather caused the final match to be cancelled. The Academy would like to welcome two new staff members; Former Tennis Gold Coast President Rose Cox is now on board as our Operations Manager, while Matt Cox has been taken on as our new Player Liaison. See you next month! Chris Steel Academy Director |
 Stephen & Zach | ||
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SPECIAL
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations once again to Academy juniors Monika Weijnert & Joel Braund. Regulars to this column for their recent stellar results, Monika has once again stamped her dominance on the local scene by winning the first AMT event on the hardcourt circuit held at Hope Island 2 weeks ago, and followed up with a final in the Caloundra AMT event last weekend. (she made the finals however the finals was washed out - preventing her from potentially another victory). Joel has followed up his State and National 14U titles with a 15U title at the local Junior Masters Series event last weekend. Well
done Monika & Joel ! |
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UPCOMING
JUNIOR EVENTS
2
& 9 Sept : Junior Masters Circuit - Gold
Coast
8-9
Sept : Gympie Age - Gympie
15-16
Sept : Mooloolaba Junior Age Classic
22-25
Sept : Head QLD State Age Champs
26-28
Sept : Bundaberg Open Age
29
Sept-1 Oct : North QLD Junior Champs
1-3
Oct : Junior Master Circuit - Gold Coast
2-4
Oct : Pine Rivers Age - Brisbane
5-7
Oct : Nambour Age Champs
6-7
Oct : Miami Grass Open Age : Gold Coast |
UPCOMING
OPEN EVENTS
15-16 Sept : Innisfail Open Champs 6-7
Oct : Rocky Opem - Rockhampton
3-14
& 20-21 Oct : Beenleigh Open - Gold
Coast
9-10
Nov : Caloundra City Open - Caloundra
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PLAYER OF THE MONTH - August Zach Itzstein West Australian native Zach, has been training at the Academy for the last 2 months. His game has shown some real improvement and is fast becoming a real threat in local open tournaments. Still only 17 yrs old, Zach’s game is still developing with the help of Chris Steel and Ben Mathias. Recently Zach was awarded 3 wild card entries into the QLD AMT Tournament Series. He had impressive wins making it to the Rd of 32 in both the Hope Island and Caloundra events. Zach will be competing in the third AMT event next week. Zach
is a very determined and well mannered young man who contributes to
the Academy both on and off the court. Pauline and Mitch are
delighted that Zach is staying with them at the Academy House
although he continues to eat them out of house and home. There is no
doubt that Zach has a bright future ahead of him, and the Academy is
delighted to have the opportunity to help develop him into the best
player he can be. Keep an eye out for this youngster in the future !
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TIP
OF THE MONTH - by Wes Pope Playing Doubles (Pre-Academy) I am a big believer that if you are going to play tennis, then you should play both singles and doubles. If you look at the way a lot of people practice, they hit only ground strokes and not much of anything else. Therefore some of the most neglected shots in tennis are the volleys and smashes since they are the least practiced shots. In most of my coaching sessions, I try to incorporate a series of singles and doubles situations that accurately reflect real point plays in a real game. Firstly, when serving in doubles it is appropriate to start a little wider on both sides so that you can more easily cover returns in the doubles alleys, create more angle on the serve and so that you youngsters have perhaps less chance of hitting your partner in the back of the head – only kidding ! If you are a teenager or older I would recommend serve/volleying to gain the upper hand in the match through aggressive play, and to try and end points quickly through hitting winning volleys and smashes. Also when returning, try to keep the ball either low down the middle or cross court if the opposition is serve volleying. Try deep cross court if they are staying back. At the first opportunity, attack and come to the net yourself (especially if your opponents are hanging on the baseline). My advice - lots of volleying and smashes in practice sessions to gain a degree of comfort when venturing forward. Have fun and enjoy your doubles. |
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FITNESS
TIP - By Nick
Ankle Braces Tennis
shoes are designed with a flatter broader sole than the average
sport shoe. This generally aids in stability, and minimizes foot
roll. However, occasionally momentum will take our ankles past the
shoes design range and result in soft and hard tissue damage to the
body.
Ankle
braces are designed to allow acceptable ranges of movement of the
ankle, but resist the extreme roll of the ankle. It is fair to
assume that sometime over a tennis career we will stand on a tennis
ball or lose balance. The wearing of an ankle brace turns this
incident into a moderate pain episode rather that a potentially
career ending saga.
Do you wear a seat belt? |
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BEEP
TEST LADDER - September 1st
1. Jarred Easton : 17.3 2. Mav Banes : 17.1 3.
Alex Sanders : 16.9
4. Stephen Donald : 15.8 5. Tom Price : 15.1 6. Nathan Helmes : 14.6 7.
Tristan Stayt : 14.2 8. Zach Itzstein : 13.2 9.Daniel Grauel : 13.1 10.Corey Shepard : 12.7 |
RALLY
SPEED LADDER - September 1st
1. Alex Sanders : 2:29 2. Jared Easton : 2:29 3. Mav Banes : 2:38 4. Tristan Stayt : 2:38 5. Zach Itzstein : 2.39 6. Corey Shepard : 2.40 7. Tom Price : 2.41 8.
Daniel Grauel : 2.50
9.
Elena Ivanova : 2.51
10. Athena
Nathalia : 2:55 |
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PRE-ACADEMY NEWS
SIGN
UP FOR GOLD COAST JUNIOR FIXTURES
2007/8 Summer Fixture Nomination Forms are out now. Entries close Monday 10th September. Entry fee is $20 to enter a team. Please contact Wes on CURRENT SATURDAY FIXTURE RESULTS as at 4.8.07 Teams
likely to make the September 15th Semi-Finals
SECTION 3 – Hope Island Competitors – 104 pts, 3rd SECTION 6 – Hope Island Heroes – Tied 4th SECTION 14 – Hope Island Stunners – 98pts – Tied 2nd SECTION 14 – Hope Island Girls Rule – 4th SECTION 15 – Hope Island Space Cadets – 107pts, 2nd PIZZA MATCHPLAY (Every Monday 5-7pm) With all players receiving 2 full sets of singles and doubles each week and some yummy pizza at the end of the evening, it is a popular way to entertain those budding young fixture players. Cost is only $10 each. Current Top 10 as at 20/08/07. 1st Hayden Shaw – 32pts 2nd Michael Li – 32pts 3rd Jackson Blacker – 31pts 4th Braedyn Hibbert – 28pts 5th Kerryn Gifford – 24pts 6th Bailey Sands – 24pts 7th Ivan Karzihalov – 24pts 8th Rachel Li – 23pts 9th Alex Demeshko – 22pts 10th Nicola Chase – 21pts DATES TO REMEMBER Term 3 – (10 Week Term) Monday 9th July – Saturday 15th September. Please note: there is a 1-week interval between the end of Term 3 and the start of the Spring Camps. Spring Camps Camp 1 – (Please Book) Monday 24th – Friday 28th September Camp 2 – (Please Book) Monday 1st – Friday 5th October 9am-3pm - $50/day or $195/5 days. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS – WE STILL PLAY ! Parents and players remember that we are still coaching on Public Holidays. The Gold Coast Show holiday on Friday August 31st does not affect coaching. TERM 4 - COACHING Starting Monday 8th October – Saturday 15th December. 10 week term – 1/2hr group classes ($80 per term), 1hr ($140 per term), 1˝hr ($220 per term), 2 ˝hr ($350 per term). Please book at reception. |
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Copyright 2007 Pat Cash International Tennis Academy |