Daily Thought

Pepsi Open

 

 

The past eight weeks have been a hard time for me because I had a partial muscle tear in a muscle. I was able to teach and to give everything I had, but I had not been able to play or maintain my strokes because I was limited in my movements. Yesterday at the North Phoenix location, I had the opportunity to finally get back to rallying. I was working with one of the top juniors in the camp.It felt really good to be able to get the body moving again and work out the stiffness that comes with the rest and rehabilitation. The key take away that I had was that my strokes had not diminished. If anything, they were more solid. I think the rest allowed my body to recover and renew the neuron-pathways. I also give credit to all of the hard work and time spent years ago perfecting my strokes.  The time you put in now will benefit you, because it will cut down on the amount of retention time.

Has it Been 20 Years? Really?

Encanto Lessons 2014

Summer has always been one of the most exciting times for ten and under tennis lessons. It is a time when so many little ones take an opportunity to try something new or get better at your craft. I think back to when I first started teaching tennis. Amazingly, it was twenty years ago this June and the amazing part is I have just as much energy and strength now as I did then.
On May 30,1995 I was at my high school tennis banquet and our coach had said that a township parks and recreation was looking to start a youth tennis program. I inquired and ended up getting the contact information.  On May 31,1995 I graduated from high school and a week later I had a great summer job. I was looking for a job exactly like this. It was amazing how when everything seemed stacked against me, the perfect opportunity fell into place. 

To show you how committed I was to the job, I can remember the first week lessons were supposed to start, the temperature in Wisconsin was in the 90's with 70-80% humidity, and I was out there waiting for students to show up. No one came that first week. I stayed the entire time and taught a lesson to myself. I figured, I might as well get some practice and teach like I would to 20. In between that time I would go to the local grocery store and set up a table and recruit. To make a long story short, we ended up getting twelve students that summer and in eight summers in Wisconsin, we grew to fifty students in a summer. It was after some time off that I got my vision back and started teaching ten and under tennis lessons as my primary focused and have been blessed with not one, but three locations, that I never could have imagined I would be able to teach at.I look forward to seeing many more students and parents this summer and serving you to develop your skills.

This was one of our most successful programs in 1999

Nadal High Intensity Training @ Masters Finals 2011

Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day is the official start of the summer vacation season and unofficially the start of summer. We have a lot planned for new and returning students. This is our third summer and we are blessed to be able to serve everyone and see your development. See you all soon and have a wonderful relaxing weekend!

Tennis Classes at Encanto are Open for Registration

Our summer tennis classes at Encanto Park are open for registration. You can enroll online or in person at Encanto Park. We are offering our traditional learn to rally classes and beginner classes. This summer we have added an  advanced beginner class for those students who have been apart of our beginner classes. We are also trying an evening class for intermediate players. 

I am really excited and looking forward to all that is happening at Encanto Park Youth Tennis this summer. Last summer was our first summer and we only met one day per week. We have been able to open up more days and times to accommodate your schedule. Amazing! What a blessing it is to serve all of you!  

 Learn to Rally Ages 5-7
5862     Tuesday        7:30-8:00 am
5863     Thursday       7:30-8:00 am

Beginner Classes
5865      Tuesday       8:00-9:00 am
5864      Thursday     8:00-9:00 am

Advanced Beginner
5866      Thursday     9:00-10:00 am

Intermediate
5861      Monday      7:00-8:00 pm

https://apm.activecommunities.com/phoenix/Activity_Search?txtActivitySearch=youth%20tennis&applyFiltersDefaultValue=true.   

Summer Tennis Lessons

We will be offering several locations this summer for your budding pro's to continue to master their skills. We have a tennis camp at our North Phoenix Location for advanced beginner through tournament players on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8-9:30 am. This camp is through Bill Petersen Tennis Clinics, but Matt will be one of the staff professionals. We will be starting our youth tennis programs at Encanto Park and continuing with lessons in Laveen at Cesar Chavez High School.

Mastering the Serve In Laveen

Partner Practice

Working on mastering the toss.

Mastering the Serve from the 60 foot court using the correct grip.