We held our end of season awards banquet on Thursday May 20 to conclude the 2009 boys tennis season. It was great that all the boys were there and so many parents and siblings were able to attend.
I went over summer tennis available in the area. There were three things I highlighted:
1) Interscholastic League - Mrs. Schroeder & Mrs. Cassidy are going to spearhead the USTA's Interscholastic league. If you are interested in signing up, please make sure you are a USTA member and let one of those two ladies know. I would like to have Northwestern be able to field at least two teams this year. That will require 12 boys to participate.
2) Rock Hill Tennis Center Camps & Clinics Summer 2009 - I had brochures available for the boys to take home. Please contact the tennis center with any further questions. You will want to sign up soon to reserve a spot
3) The Northwestern tennis courts will be open this summer June 8 - July 23 Mon-Thu from 9am-12noon. If you simply want to play in the mornings this summer, please make a check payable to the school for $20 and have a new physical completed. I will be working with a small group individually during this time so this is not where you would go for instruction. This would be open for you guys to meet up with each other and have open play amongst yourselves. I will not be pairing people up or keeping track of any wins and losses.
We then recognized our non letter winning participants:
Jacob Schroeder, Caleb Guyton, Christopher Cassidy, Jonathan Patton, Phillip Yommer, Ben Leppard, Jacob Page, Collin Schroeder, Key Barkley, Michael Baldwin, and Matthew Pettitt
Letter winners were then introduced:
Seth Russell (4th letter), Drayton Wade (2nd & captain pin), Hunter Love(1st), Brian Fitzpatrick (2nd), Jordan Beaver (2nd), Jonathan Clark (1st), Duncan Foy (1st), Collins Mauldin (1st), Alex Antezana (1st), Tyler Leonard (1st), Ahmad Sheffield (1st & captain pin), and Tyler Hutson (1st)
The All State Academic Team representatives were then introduced. The following boys hold a GPA of 4.0 and above and were recognized with a certificate from the South Carolina Tennis Coaches Association:
Jordan Beaver, Michael Baldwin, Tyler Leonard, Collins Mauldin, Matthew Pettitt, Drayton Wade, Key Barkley, Brian Fitzpatrick, Benjamin Leppard, Jacob Page, Jonathan Patton, and Alex Antezana
We then handed out awards in four categories:
1) Coach's Award - Awarded to the player who stands out as displaying a strong work ethic, strives to make others around him better, and works hard to become better every day. It was my honor to name Jonathan Clark this year's recipient of the Coach's Award.
2) Best Practice Player - The boys voted on who they felt was the player that worked the hardest in practice day in and day out to make himself better as well as his teammates. The team voted Drayton Wade as the recipient of this year's Best Practice Player award. This is the second straight year that Drayton has won this award.
3) Most Improved Player - The boys voted on who they felt had either (a) improved the most from last year to this year or (b) improved the most from the beginning of the season until the end. The team voted Collins Mauldin this year's Most Improved Player. Collins improved his team standing from #12 all the way up to #8 by season's end and it is no doubt that his teammates recognized this.
4) Most Valuable Player - The boys voted on who they felt was most responsible for the success we experienced this season not purely based on talent, but also by working hard to make the team as good as it can be. The team voted Seth Russell as Most Valuable Player of this year's boys tennis team. Seth played 1 singles from beginning of the season to the end. Seth is currently the 90th ranked player in the state in the 16-under USTA rankings. Seth had an overall record this year of 8-6, 5-5 in region at 1 singles and was selected to the Region 3-AAAA All Region Team.
I had a great time working with the boys this year. I look forward to seeing the boys work hard this summer to improve their individual games so that we can improve as a team overall. I don't think it is an unreasonable goal for us to set as finishing in the top 2 of our region next year and having an opportunity to host an opening round playoff match. The amount of work the team puts in during the off season will determine whether this can be accomplished or not.
Go Trojans!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Girls Tennis Meeting Recap
We had an awesome turnout tonight for an informational meeting about the fall 2009 girls tennis season. I was happy to see many familiar faces and am eager to get to know the new faces better. Below is a recap of the information that I went over:
1) Contact list for players and parents. I emailed a list out to everyone that was there tonight. This list will evolve over the summer and I will keep my records updated and provide a final draft the second week of practice.
2) Physicals and Eligibility. In order to participate in any sport, all athletes need to have an updated physical on file in the athletic office. If you have not had a physical after May 10, 2009, your physical has expired and a new one is required. Before I allow anyone onto the courts this summer or fall, I will require that the player has a physical on file. Also, a player needs to be academically eligible to participate in sports. Please check with your guidance counselor and/or the athletic office if you have questions about being academically eligible.
3) Summer Tennis. By far, the most crucial part of our team is the amount of work you all do over the summer. Once August 3 rolls around, I will be placing girls into pairings in order to play off against one another for roster spots. August 3rd is not the time to learn how to play, I will expect that players know how to play, keep score, and have a respectable grasp on tennis rules.
I have many friends involved at the Rock Hill Tennis Center and have worked clinics there in the past. I handed out clinic and camp brochures to everyone in attendance. If you have not played tennis before, I highly recommend their camp program. If you have played (notably last year's varsity team), I would recommend their clinic sessions.
Also, I have heard many people complain about the high school's courts not being open to the public. This policy will not change - it's a long story, but trust me that it is not going to change. However, I will be out at the NHS courts Mon-Thu from 9AM-Noon from June 8 - July 23. If you simply need a court to play and have had a physical done, I will ask for a $20 donation to the school to use the courts all summer. I will provide balls for the guys and girls to play with, but this will not be an instruction session or anything structured. Come out if you have a teammate to play with or want to meet someone,. Please do not expect me to pair you up.
There are many facilities in and around metro Charlotte and by no means am I going to require these as your only options. Learn as you wish, just be prepared to start competing full time come August 3rd.
4) Try outs 8/3 - 8/7. Our first five days of the season will be used as competition against one another in both singles and doubles. You should expect to play 5-6 sets of tennis against a variety of opponents. I will use this entire first week as a try out to see who will be on Northwestern's 2009 Girls Tennis team.
I have never cut anyone from Northwestern's program, but I feel that it is to the benefit of the team as well as players that are cut for me to do it. I had a very large boys team this spring and I felt that players at the top of the lineup could have gotten much more if I could focus more on them. At the same time, it's not fair for me to neglect those at the bottom. Some at the bottom may have been better served playing through USTA programs.
My experience tells me that a player can generally improve 3-4 spots at most during a season after our initial try out rounds. SC High School tennis consists of a varsity team of between 4-7 players. I plan on crafting a team that consists of between 14-18 players. I want to give opportunity fairly to any player that may rise up to play at the varsity level.
A general measure to determine our team that I will use is that if a player displays good sportsmanship and rank on the try out roster is:
12th grade - top 10
11th grade - top 12
10th grade - top 14
9th grade - top 16
8th or 7th - top 20
they should earn a spot on the team. This is a rough outline, but I think it gets the point across that younger players may get to make the team at a lower rank than older players.
The girls returning from last year will start at the spot they held last year. The girls will be grouped (group a) 1-4, (b) 5-8, (c) 9-12, etc and play mini sets, tiebreakers, and sets in either singles or doubles formats. The player that wins the most matches will be bumped up to the next group and the bottom player will fall down to the lower group. Head to head results will settle tiebreakers and the second tiebreaker is total games won in the group. Therefore, every game, point, or shot will matter in determining your try out rank.
5) Practice Schedule - before school starts and after school starts. We will be on the courts Mon-Fri the weeks of August 3-7 & August 10-14 from 9:00am-12 noon. This is to avoid the heat of August as best as possible. I will have water jugs out, but I will expect the girls to bring large water bottles to carry to their assigned court of play with them. Once school starts, we will practice from 4:00-6:00 (give or take) based on the schedule I handed out.
**Important - All girls need to have their own racket, water bottle, and tennis court shoes to participate in practice. Absolutely no running shoes should be worn to play tennis. They are dangerous and put the player at risk for an ankle injury. They also scuff up the courts with their marking soles. I also encourage shorts with pockets be worn at practice.
I understand that the tennis players of Northwestern are among the elite at the school. These kids get involved in many activities and asked to help with lots of stuff. That is awesome and is fantastic for building college resumes. However, if you are involved with too many activities that will conflict with the schedule that was handed out, I would ask that you not try out for tennis. I always will play players that are at practice in working hard over those that are not. I prefer to avoid those situations.
6) Scrimmages / Matches - I handed out our tentative match schedule for everyone to "stick to the fridge." We have scrimmages starting August 12 and our regular season runs through October 21. The state playoffs start October 27th and I plan on this team qualifying. Frankly, 4 out of the six teams in our region (Nation Ford, Fort Mill, York, Clover, Gaffney and us) qualify. Teams that finish 1 & 2 host their opening round playoff matches. Number 3 & 4 have to travel - usually far - in the first round. I would hope this team finishes in the top 2 and hosts our first round match and advances deeper into the playoffs this year.
The match schedule is tentative at this point. The school district may be making large cuts to budgets across the board and travel is generally the first thing to go. If so, I will update everyone on any changes to the schedule the moment I know about it.
7) Team Rules / Parent Rules - I have a very simple theory on rules. Players should:
1- Show up to practice on time & work hard while at practice
2- Be respectful and polite to teammates, coaches, and opponents
3- Notify coach in advance of any emergencies
4- Be a positive example in school and in your community
But, I also want to make sure parents are all aware of some requirements I have of them:
1- Please support the whole team, not just your child
2- Do not talk to the players during matches while they are on court (unless injury)
3- Encourage your child to talk to the coach first about any issues they have
4- Respect the coaches decision on playing time as it is given fairly to players that earn it
8) Uniforms. This is my least favorite part of coaching. However, the girls looked great last year on the court during practice and matches. Returning girls from last year can wear the same uniforms we had last year (purple & white). If a returning girl needs a new one, they cost $23 each. I will purchase uniforms for new team members from the school's budget. I may also be able to purchase a purple & white tennis skirt for the team members - we'll have to see what our budget is after the school board finalizes everything.
I will also select some Nike clothing items for practice clothes and warm ups. I anticipate a package that includes a sweatshirt, a long sleeve tee shirt, 2 dry fit tees, and 2 cotton tees. I will get pricing on this shortly, but I anticipate the cost around $95-100 per player. I will also have some parent items available if there is enough interest.
As you can see, I'm fairly brief and to the point (yes, I'm joking). If you have any other questions, please email or call me.
Go Trojans!
1) Contact list for players and parents. I emailed a list out to everyone that was there tonight. This list will evolve over the summer and I will keep my records updated and provide a final draft the second week of practice.
2) Physicals and Eligibility. In order to participate in any sport, all athletes need to have an updated physical on file in the athletic office. If you have not had a physical after May 10, 2009, your physical has expired and a new one is required. Before I allow anyone onto the courts this summer or fall, I will require that the player has a physical on file. Also, a player needs to be academically eligible to participate in sports. Please check with your guidance counselor and/or the athletic office if you have questions about being academically eligible.
3) Summer Tennis. By far, the most crucial part of our team is the amount of work you all do over the summer. Once August 3 rolls around, I will be placing girls into pairings in order to play off against one another for roster spots. August 3rd is not the time to learn how to play, I will expect that players know how to play, keep score, and have a respectable grasp on tennis rules.
I have many friends involved at the Rock Hill Tennis Center and have worked clinics there in the past. I handed out clinic and camp brochures to everyone in attendance. If you have not played tennis before, I highly recommend their camp program. If you have played (notably last year's varsity team), I would recommend their clinic sessions.
Also, I have heard many people complain about the high school's courts not being open to the public. This policy will not change - it's a long story, but trust me that it is not going to change. However, I will be out at the NHS courts Mon-Thu from 9AM-Noon from June 8 - July 23. If you simply need a court to play and have had a physical done, I will ask for a $20 donation to the school to use the courts all summer. I will provide balls for the guys and girls to play with, but this will not be an instruction session or anything structured. Come out if you have a teammate to play with or want to meet someone,. Please do not expect me to pair you up.
There are many facilities in and around metro Charlotte and by no means am I going to require these as your only options. Learn as you wish, just be prepared to start competing full time come August 3rd.
4) Try outs 8/3 - 8/7. Our first five days of the season will be used as competition against one another in both singles and doubles. You should expect to play 5-6 sets of tennis against a variety of opponents. I will use this entire first week as a try out to see who will be on Northwestern's 2009 Girls Tennis team.
I have never cut anyone from Northwestern's program, but I feel that it is to the benefit of the team as well as players that are cut for me to do it. I had a very large boys team this spring and I felt that players at the top of the lineup could have gotten much more if I could focus more on them. At the same time, it's not fair for me to neglect those at the bottom. Some at the bottom may have been better served playing through USTA programs.
My experience tells me that a player can generally improve 3-4 spots at most during a season after our initial try out rounds. SC High School tennis consists of a varsity team of between 4-7 players. I plan on crafting a team that consists of between 14-18 players. I want to give opportunity fairly to any player that may rise up to play at the varsity level.
A general measure to determine our team that I will use is that if a player displays good sportsmanship and rank on the try out roster is:
12th grade - top 10
11th grade - top 12
10th grade - top 14
9th grade - top 16
8th or 7th - top 20
they should earn a spot on the team. This is a rough outline, but I think it gets the point across that younger players may get to make the team at a lower rank than older players.
The girls returning from last year will start at the spot they held last year. The girls will be grouped (group a) 1-4, (b) 5-8, (c) 9-12, etc and play mini sets, tiebreakers, and sets in either singles or doubles formats. The player that wins the most matches will be bumped up to the next group and the bottom player will fall down to the lower group. Head to head results will settle tiebreakers and the second tiebreaker is total games won in the group. Therefore, every game, point, or shot will matter in determining your try out rank.
5) Practice Schedule - before school starts and after school starts. We will be on the courts Mon-Fri the weeks of August 3-7 & August 10-14 from 9:00am-12 noon. This is to avoid the heat of August as best as possible. I will have water jugs out, but I will expect the girls to bring large water bottles to carry to their assigned court of play with them. Once school starts, we will practice from 4:00-6:00 (give or take) based on the schedule I handed out.
**Important - All girls need to have their own racket, water bottle, and tennis court shoes to participate in practice. Absolutely no running shoes should be worn to play tennis. They are dangerous and put the player at risk for an ankle injury. They also scuff up the courts with their marking soles. I also encourage shorts with pockets be worn at practice.
I understand that the tennis players of Northwestern are among the elite at the school. These kids get involved in many activities and asked to help with lots of stuff. That is awesome and is fantastic for building college resumes. However, if you are involved with too many activities that will conflict with the schedule that was handed out, I would ask that you not try out for tennis. I always will play players that are at practice in working hard over those that are not. I prefer to avoid those situations.
6) Scrimmages / Matches - I handed out our tentative match schedule for everyone to "stick to the fridge." We have scrimmages starting August 12 and our regular season runs through October 21. The state playoffs start October 27th and I plan on this team qualifying. Frankly, 4 out of the six teams in our region (Nation Ford, Fort Mill, York, Clover, Gaffney and us) qualify. Teams that finish 1 & 2 host their opening round playoff matches. Number 3 & 4 have to travel - usually far - in the first round. I would hope this team finishes in the top 2 and hosts our first round match and advances deeper into the playoffs this year.
The match schedule is tentative at this point. The school district may be making large cuts to budgets across the board and travel is generally the first thing to go. If so, I will update everyone on any changes to the schedule the moment I know about it.
7) Team Rules / Parent Rules - I have a very simple theory on rules. Players should:
1- Show up to practice on time & work hard while at practice
2- Be respectful and polite to teammates, coaches, and opponents
3- Notify coach in advance of any emergencies
4- Be a positive example in school and in your community
But, I also want to make sure parents are all aware of some requirements I have of them:
1- Please support the whole team, not just your child
2- Do not talk to the players during matches while they are on court (unless injury)
3- Encourage your child to talk to the coach first about any issues they have
4- Respect the coaches decision on playing time as it is given fairly to players that earn it
8) Uniforms. This is my least favorite part of coaching. However, the girls looked great last year on the court during practice and matches. Returning girls from last year can wear the same uniforms we had last year (purple & white). If a returning girl needs a new one, they cost $23 each. I will purchase uniforms for new team members from the school's budget. I may also be able to purchase a purple & white tennis skirt for the team members - we'll have to see what our budget is after the school board finalizes everything.
I will also select some Nike clothing items for practice clothes and warm ups. I anticipate a package that includes a sweatshirt, a long sleeve tee shirt, 2 dry fit tees, and 2 cotton tees. I will get pricing on this shortly, but I anticipate the cost around $95-100 per player. I will also have some parent items available if there is enough interest.
As you can see, I'm fairly brief and to the point (yes, I'm joking). If you have any other questions, please email or call me.
Go Trojans!
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