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CommunityTennis in Guatemala
Your Club’s News Gala, Keystone, and more
Nº16 - MARCH 2019
N J T CM a g aZ i n e
“The Tennis party of the year”
E.L. Griffey Award Winner for Organization of the YearFind more info at: https://njtctennis.com
SUMMER KICKOFFMAY 25, 2019 10:00AM-1:00PM
*SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER FOR ATC AMENITIES *2 HOURS OF DRILLS WITH YOUR FAVORITE APEX PROS
*WHEELCHAIR TENNIS *KIDS COURTS *FIRST TIMERS COURT *EXHIBITION MATCH *BBQ & BEER
*SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
TENNIS-PALOOZA!SEPTEMBER 26 - 29, 2019
*AT THE FAMED NEW APEX TENNIS CENTER *4 DAYS OF FUN FAST4 TENNIS FOR ALL LEVELS (MEN’S, WOMEN’S AND MIXED) *WHEELCHAIR AND UP/DOWN BRACKETS
*LIVE MUSIC *FOOD TRUCKS *LOCAL BEER *WINE *YARD GAMES *RAFFLES ALL WEEKEND!2NJTC MAGAZINE
NJTC MagazineAddress: NJTC PO box 239 Arvada, CO 80001E-mail: [email protected]
DirectorsJen Stiebeling, Greg Shepherd
EditorsJen Stiebeling, Vilura Haas, Jamal Heydari, Kevin Thistle, Michele Crouse, Jess Mitchell, Laura Pivovar
Websitehttps://njtctennis.com
The President’s Report3 - 4
S U M M A R Y
14
7
5
Apex Programming10
League Coordinator11
Tennis in Town6
VP Report12
Upcoming Events13 - 15
Tennis Facility Award5
Tennis in Guatemala7 - 9
A new year brings a new list of exciting opportunities. To draw
your attention to a few:
{ There will be no dues increase for 2019. Our relationship with the Apex Parks and Rec District, and by extension the Apex Tennis Center, remains strong and supportive. Our organizations are working together to ensure the ATC is THE place to play!
{ On Saturday May 25th we’ll be holding a Summer Kickoff Event. This day will be filled with fun drills, food, beverage and opportunities to raise money for enhancements to the ATC. See page 13 for details.
{ NJTC is honored to pilot Colorados first USTA 18 & Over 7.0 Mixed Up/Down League!! In collaboration with the Colorado Wheelchair Tennis Foundation this new League will play at the ATC June 1 - August
Oh what a night…..oh what a year to come!!!
T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T
Jen StiebelingPresident
10 on Saturdays at 10:00am. We are actively looking for 3.5 and 4.0 women who would be interested in partnering with a male wheelchair player. This is a competitive league, but also tons of fun!!! Please email Susan Bolton with interest or questions at [email protected]
{ Our Annual Keystone weekend is always popular and fun! Last year the trip sold out in 7 days! Be sure to secure your spot early. See page 4.
{ Last years 4 x 4 Tournament has been renamed. It’s now Tennis Palooza (catchy, right???)! Although the name has changed it’s still 4 days of fun, fast 4 tennis, beer, food, and entertainment. September 26 - 29. Mark your calendars!!!!
{ In the coming weeks I’ll be meeting with the President of the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation to discuss how we as a club can contribute to their mission of providing tennis as a means to instill skills like self-confidence, sportsmanship and teamwork in Colorado’s children regardless of economic, social or ethnic background. Hope to have some options to discuss soon.
The success of our Club (and events we’ll hold this year) is directly related to the support and participation of our entire membership. We’ll gladly welcome anyone who would like to volunteer to help out with any of the opportunities listed above. “It takes a village…..” as they say!! Please send me a quick email if we can count on your support in any way.
ThanksJen Stiebeling
Front row: Amy Travin, Kathy Peterson, Wanda Shepherd, Lee Duhl, Mitzi Bare, Susan Bolton, Crystal MesserBack Row: PJ Travin, Greg Shepherd, Vilura Haas, Jen Stiebeling, Helen Hock, Caryn Moller, Jason Bolton
On Saturday February 9th thirty of NJTC’s closes friends attended the
Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame Gala to watch past President PJ Travin accept the E.L. Griffey Award (Organization of the Year) on behalf of our club. The award honors an organization for outstanding contributions to its tennis community. While this award recognizes our efforts in 2018, we are hoping our contributions in 2019 will be just as important.
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KEYSTONE3 R D A N N U A L W E E K E N D
A U G U S T 2 0 1 9
Save the DateFor our Annual Keystone Weekend
Friday August 16 - Sunday August 18
This year we are adding an Island themed Opening Receptionand a Bump/Up, Bump/Down format for tennis on Saturday.
Registration opens June 1 at 8:00amAlways a lot of fun
Mark your calendars!!
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In 2018 there were 15 tennis and 2 pickleball project winners in the Tennis Industry Magazine and American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) Facility of the Year Awards program. Each year the ASBA selects outstanding tennis and pickleball facilities that meet the standard of excellence in design and construction determined by the judging committee. While the panel of judges deemed 17 projects to be worthy of special recognition, three of the tennis winners were chosen for Outstanding honors, and our very own ATC was one of them.
This just confirms what we already know. We are lucky to have such a wonderful facility we can call home!
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Apex Tennis Center Receives HonorOutstanding Indoor Tennis Facility of the Year
A N N O U N C E M E N T
Kevin ThistleSocial Coordinator
z Punxsutawney Phil forecasted an early Spring, so, if he’s right, we will be in tall cotton for the start of our tennis leagues here in Arvada and the Denver Metro Area. Our USTA weekend mixed leagues start Sunday April 7th, then on Monday April 22nd we start the women and men’s leagues on week nights. If you want to play, register ahead of time. For more information go to njtctennis.com and look for the tabs at the top of the page.
z The high school girls have begun practices with matches starting March 12th and running through May 25th with most matches being on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That will give us all a chance to go out and support our junior players and watch some good tennis. Our local teams include Arvada West, Ralston Valley, Arvada, & Pomona High Schools. For more information go to maxpreps.com
z On sunny Saturday mornings @ 9:30 am there is always TANS Tennis @ the ATC. Register ahead of time with Julie Gall <[email protected]>. Its only $8/person; what a deal! If it looks like snow, call or go online to register for drills on the indoor courts: 303-420-1210 or apexprd.org. The drills are just about every day. The pros and drills are very popular which means if you want to play, you have to sign up ahead of time and not wait ‘til the day before.
z The monthly Saturday Night Socials have been filling up too with both new and returning players. The next 2 events are set for St. Patrick’s Day Weekend on March 16th then on Easter Weekend April 20th. Our NJTC club will provide adult beverages and most of us bring a dish to share. Again, register ahead of time @ njtctennis.com and at the top of the page find the Evets Tab. We have been filling up with only 32 spots available with waiting list.
As always, call/text/email your social guy anytime
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Tennis in Town
I N F O R M A T I O N
CU on the courts! Kevin your Social Guy
As a tennis coach, my goal in Guatemala was to introduce a new sport and to spark interest for the students, and then, to find someone who could continue teaching tennis after I left. I was able to teach tennis for all of the grades, 2nd through 9th, for at least 30 minutes, with some classes getting more than two hours of instruction over the last three weeks. Yet, I knew that my time was limited, so another aspect of bringing tennis to Guatemala was connecting with a local coach who could continue working with the students who wanted to play.
When we met with the manager of the private club, I was disappointed. He resisted providing tennis for the children
“Connecting with local tennis coaches”
T E A C H I N G T E N N I S I N G U A T E M A L A
Autumn JonesContributer
because the club was only for members. He was open to letting me use the courts when they were not busy, but we would have to provide all of the instruction, equipment and a hefty, though discounted, price. The day we met with him, there was a tournament at the club. Most of the players were expats and flaunted their gear, skill and English language. The manager agreed to ask his supervisors and did so via email, but we never received any response or follow-up after that. He suggested we go to the government sports federation because “they provide lessons for Guatemalans,” which I now realize that he was talking about the indigenous
people, not the wealthy expats and Guatemalans the club serves.
I also realized what the owner of Jocofut was talking about when she said that tennis was only a sport for the rich. It’s not, but there are people who will perpetuate that idea.
I sat with frustration and fury for a few days before I was ready to try again. Thankfully, around the same time I landed on a quote from Abraham Lincoln in the book The Hole in Our Gospel (a worthwhile read for anyone interested or active in service abroad):
“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”
Time for plan B. Lauren and I went to the sports federation Monday morning to try to talk
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to someone who could answer our questions about tennis opportunities for the children. The woman in the office said to bring the kids any day at 3 p.m. and they could meet the coach and start playing. Easy as that? Not quite, but we at least had a good lead.
We went back to the school and asked the principal about the opportunity. He said to give him a list of students and he would create permission slips. We sent six permission slips home, got five back and had four students actually show up on Thursday at 2:45 ready to go to tennis. When we got there, the coach said the Thursday class was actually for more advanced students, but that I could use the adjacent court to teach a lesson for the four kids. He gave us a ball hopper, tennis balls and hope.
After he was done teaching, we told him about the school and the kids’ interest in playing. He said the kids were welcome any Wednesday or Friday as long as we gave him a list of who wanted to play and he had room in the class. He is the only coach there. If the kids don’t have racquets, they can borrow one from him for the class. The best part? It
only costs 100 quetzales for an entire year of tennis. That’s $13.34 according to the current exchange rate. For the entire year!
I was ready that afternoon to sign up to help him teach as a volunteer next summer, which I told him, and to bring more equipment to support his efforts. His heart is as big as the entire country, and he does everything he can to inspire the youth to
play tennis.
Yesterday, I taught my final three sections of tennis. The first hour was an optional/open hour for any 8th and 9th graders who wanted to play. I barely had enough racquets. The second hour was split into two 30-minute sections, one for 5th grade and one for 6th grade. The fourth graders had P.E. at the same time, and the smallest girl in that class came running up to me to tell me how much she loved tennis. I worked with her 1-on-1 the week before, and she is ready to play for years to come. That in itself confirmed everything with regards to bringing tennis to the children of Escuela Integrada.
-The Faithful Writer
Interested in financially supporting tennis for the
children of Escuela Integrada? Email the author at
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Did you know it only costs $13 for a child to play tennis for an entire year in Guatemala?
C O M M U N I T Y T E N N I S
Yes, you read that correctly—only $13 for a year’s worth of lessons with a local tennis pro in Antigua. After the introduction of tennis last summer, many of the
children at Escuela Integrada want to continue learning the sport.
Support tennis in Guatemala today by sponsoring a student’s lessons.
Visit https://graces.reachapp.co/campaigns/tenis-for-middle-school
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1. If someone slice a ball at you, hit UP on it, but stay low. If someone hits topspin at you, step into the ball with a short backswing and drive through the ball.
2. Start your match by hitting lots of angles. Your opponents will start to cover the outsides of the court, thus opening up the middle. Now the rest of the match is yours to mess with them!
Jam’s Tennis Tips of the Month
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T O P I C
APEX TENNIS CENTER
PROGRAMMING
Jamal HeydariHead Tennis Pro
Michele CrouseTennis Coordinator
Tennis season is just around the corner, and we’re excited to see the courts full of league players! This is a great time to prepare your racquet for the season. Racquet stringing is available for $20; purchase our string or bring your own. We also have grips, overwraps, and head tape available. Turnaround time is generally 2-3 days, based on volume of stringing jobs.
Mark your calendars for the annual Glen Hines Tournament, May 6-11. This is an age division tournament, which can be very exciting and humbling, at the same time. More
information available in the Big Book of Tennis and tournament fliers will be out soon. Hope to see you there.
The summer activities guide will be available the end of March; registration goes live April 1. Youth and adult classes and the ever popular Tennis Nature Camp will fill up quickly, so spread the word to your tennis playing friends and family.
See you on the courts,
Michele and Jamal
Wow! It is hard to believe that the 2019 season is almost here. We had great attendance at the 2 Captain’s meetings and have already given out many numbers for teams with a number of those being for new teams. If you plan on captaining and did not make one of the meetings, please reach out to us so we can get you all the information you will need.
Important upcoming dates for Minimum Roster Deadlines• March 8th for USTA Mixed 18+• March 15th for USTA 18+• April 5th for USTA 55+ & CTA Women’s Daytime Doubles
If you need a number for a team, please email which league and level and provide a list of the players that will be playing. Don’t forget that NJTC requires the USTA minimum # of players plus 2. Captains will need to verify that their players have registered on USTA before the league deadline. We will plan on getting out schedules 4-5 days before the first match.
We would like to thank everyone in advance for being patient with us as we learn our new role as League Coordinators. We know that we have very big shoes to fill. Luckily, Mitzi and Jen have offered to help us as we learn the ropes. Please feel free to email or call us if you have any questions. We will do our best to answer them the best we can.
Best of luck on the upcoming season.
Jess & Laura
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Laura PivovarDaytime League Coordinator
Jess MitchellEvening League Coordinator
“Teams and Captaining”
L E A G U E C O O R D I N A T O R
Vilura HaasVice President
I would like to summarize/emphasize what has been said in other featured articles this month. We have many opportunities for members to become active/volunteer in YOUR North Jeffco Tennis Club. NJTC has ~386 members and less that 12%/year volunteer when asked.
Event/volunteer opportunities for 2019 are plentiful:• Summer Kickoff Event (May 25)• Winter and Summer Socials (once/month)• Keystone 3rd Annual weekend (August 16-18)• Tennis–Paloosa (September 26-29)• Serving on the Board of Directors (nomination committee begins in November) Never too early
to throw your hat in the ring.• Financial/equipment support for the GUATEMALA children’s tennis program.
Your board needs assistance in: • Promoting events• Securing items for silent auctions • Cooking • Set-up/tear down (this is a BIG need)• Checking in players and putting players on court• Marketing ideas/suggestions• ETC
Please consider donating time and/or money to NJTC during the year. We need everyone’s support to win the EL Griffey Award for a second time! As Jen Stiebeling states “it takes a village”.
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“NJTC Volunteer Opportunities”
V I C E - P R E S I D E N T R E P O R T
North Jeffco Tennis Club (2018 USTA Colorado Organization of the Year) in partnership with the CWTF present
TENNIS-PALOOZA 2019 SEPTEMBER 26TH - 29TH
“TENNIS PARTY OF THE YEAR”
At the beautiful new Apex Tennis Center in Arvada, CO. Spectators encouraged.
Go to www.njtctennis.com to register and for more info.
4 days of Fast4 Tennis
Live Music
Local Beer / Wine and local coffee
Food Trucks
Yard Games
Wheelchair Divisions
Singles, doubles and mixed for all levels
Rafßes
Up/Down Divisions
Food drive for Community Table
Tennis drive for underprivileged youth in Guatemala
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“The Tennis party of the year”
E.L. Griffey Award Winner for Organization of the YearFind more info at: https://njtctennis.com
SUMMER KICKOFFMAY 25, 2019 10:00AM-1:00PM
*SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER FOR ATC AMENITIES *2 HOURS OF DRILLS WITH YOUR FAVORITE APEX PROS
*WHEELCHAIR TENNIS *KIDS COURTS *FIRST TIMERS COURT *EXHIBITION MATCH *BBQ & BEER
*SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
TENNIS-PALOOZA!SEPTEMBER 26 - 29, 2019
*AT THE FAMED NEW APEX TENNIS CENTER *4 DAYS OF FUN FAST4 TENNIS FOR ALL LEVELS (MEN’S, WOMEN’S AND MIXED) *WHEELCHAIR AND UP/DOWN BRACKETS
*LIVE MUSIC *FOOD TRUCKS *LOCAL BEER *WINE *YARD GAMES *RAFFLES ALL WEEKEND!