ATA Member Dues

Dear ATA members,

DUES ARE DUE!

ATA annual membership dues are due Jan. 1, 2013. Dues remain a bargain at $15/individual and $29/family! Dues will be accepted from now to Feb. 1, 2013 and can be given to John Genta or mailed to ATA, PO Box 684, Alamogordo, NM 88310.

“Why should I pay my dues when I can get all the information about tennis on the web site?” you might ask.   Yes, we have a great web site (alamogordotennis.blogspot.com) that gives updates on tennis in the area.

So why might you want to pay your dues?

1. Dues support ATA which is the only organized tennis club in Otero and Lincoln Counties

2. Paying dues gets your name on the roster so others can contact you. This roster will be revised early next year and non paying players will be deleted

3. Paying dues allows your name to remain on the ATA email list where continuous emails are sent to inform and remind players of upcoming events. This list will also be revised early next year.

4. Paying dues makes you eligible to play in monthly PLAY DAYS and other events.

Also, please note: after July 1st ATA charges half price for NEW MEMBERS only. This is an incentive for new members to join, not a discount for old members who prefer to join for only 6 months. It simplifies record keeping to only add new members to the roster and email list, so please don’t ask for a 6 months membership.

Thank you for your continued support for ATA.

  Happy Holidays from your ATA Board.

December Play Day

It was a little chilly at first, but with hot coffee to warm your insides, then the warm sunshine. Thanks for coming out to the courts and playing. 

December's winners! Congrats and thanks for showing up.

Some more photos:

Battle of the Clubs

Okay folks, it's official, for the new poster is out.



Currently, Sintra has offered to Captain a 3.0 team and she already has players, please contact her if you are interested and/or helping her captain the 3.0 team.

Joe & Janet have volunteered to Captain a 3.5 team and have 7 players.

It appears we have enough interest, so it's possible that there will be (2) 3.5 teams, if you are interested please send an email to the ATA and someone will be in touch with you. We've asked someone to captain this second team, and are awaiting their response.

The ATA board is looking for potential ATA members whom are looking to hit with the high school students. We are trying to organize interaction of the two groups when the season starts for the high school. The goal is to have the students get experience by hitting with the more experienced members and have the members hit with another generation and pass on skills and tips as well as having a good time. If you are interested in the idea, please contact Janet at the number (575-415-3634). The season starts at the end of January to the beginning of February, so you have plenty of time to think on your decision. The ATA board thanks you for your help.

What's happening in December

December 5th - Board Meeting, 12 noon at Premiere Fitness conference room

December 7th - Christmas party at the Sampath home - 6:00pm - Potluck & RSVP

December 14th - Christmas party at the Nicholson home - 6:00pm - Potluck & RSVP

December 15th - Play Day - Joe and Janet - 9am
December 16th - World Team Tennis (this runs til February)

Happy Birthday to all you December babies.

World Team Tennis

It's back, World Team Tennis with modified rules that should eliminate scheduling issues. Looks like we have just (1) 3.5 team participating. Alamogordo's first match is December 16th in Las Cruces. Thanks to those that are playing, it's very much appreciated when Alamogordo is involved in league and non-league tennis. The surrounding towns really like having us involved as it gives them a chance to play with different players and come to Alamogorodo to use the courts, which they say are the best courts in NM.

Super Senior Sectionals

The Southwest Super Senior Sectionals took place this past weekend, Fri-Sun at the Ellis Tennis Center in El Paso. Joe, Virgil and Diane all participated. A fun time was had by all. There was some great tennis and a lot of talk about getting more seniors from Alamogordo playing. Here are a few pictures from this event.

The four south courts are now working but the north courts are still needing an amp that is being obtained soon. I hope that everyone is enjoying the new lights now.

new date for the playday

Since Sintra is having the christmas party on the seventh, the december playday will be held on the the following saturday (December 15). We hope to see you there to have some fun.

christmas party

Host: Ruthven/Sintra Sampath

Time: 6pm or 630pm

Date: Friday 7th December

Address: 2265 Cielo Vista

PS: It is Potluck and BYOB, ATA provides the Turkey & Ham and Utensils. Also, please bring a Tacky gift. 

RSVP: 430-9989

These are the winners of the 2012 turkey shoot on the first saturday of this month. Congratulations to all. They do look very tasty; to bad not everyone could not get one.

turkey tournament

This years turkey tournament is on November 17th and 18th. If you would enjoy participating in men's doubles, mixed doubles, women's doubles or junior/adult doubles, call Candy at 541-0514 or email the information at alamotennis@gmail.com. Your playing will be much appreciated and enjoyed. We will be seeing you on that day or any other tuesday, thursday, or saturday morning.

Turkey time

The Turkey shoot for this year is held on Saturday November 3, at 9:00am. Ken and Neomi are your hosts, your participation will be greatly appreciated. The prizes of which will be turkey to take home and make for dinner. Following Play Day, is Gumbo at Pat and Nori's place at 2001 Amber Skies, #154, 434-5361.


See you at Play Day.

Tuesday Night Tennis

Due to the lighting situation at the courts, there aren't enough courts that are lit to play just yet,
we will try again in November. Still come out on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if you can.

ATA Closed Tournament Results

Cameron Brace-Emmert of Alamogordo and his double's partner Dennis Johnston of Ruidoso dominated the action in the Men's Open events of the Otero County Tennis tournament, October 20-21. 

Brace-Emmert defeated Johnston 6-1 6-1 in the open singles final, then teamed up with him to win the doubles' championship over Darryl and Cliff Gallent by a score of 6-3, 6-4. 

The Men's Singles 40+ event was won by Marc Wendlinger, who wore down Parish Palmer 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a war of attrition.  Jeff Lazar and Jeff Murray from Las Cruces won both the seniors and senior vets doubles finals, one by a score of 7-6, 6-2 over John Genta and Rick Sotak and the other 7-5, 7-6 over Lee Gustafson and John White.

Cindy Carey and Lois Whitmire of Ruidoso dominated in the women's draw, with a perfect record in the round robin competition.

Husband and wife team Joy and Darryl Gallent won the mixed doubles event with a 6-3 6-1 victory of second place finishers Janet Santackas and Salvador Olayo.

The Alamogordo Tennis Association (ATA) sponsors two tournaments a year, monthly competitions and three drop in play days each week at the Oregon Tennis courts.  They also sponsor competitions against tennis associations from Roswell and Las Cruces.   The next ATA event is a turkey shoot in November. 

The public is welcome to join ATA.  Contact President Janet Santackas at 415 3634 for more information. 

Tournament Reminders

HI, everyone!

Remember that the deadline to enter the ATA Closed Tournament is October 14.
Also, the October 21st  party, 6pm at Desert Palms Community Center, 2000 First St.

It's a Pot Luck and also byod. The ATA will provide a sliced ham.

This will also be an official meeting of the ATA with the election of board members.  

Free Youth Tennis Lessons in Alamogordo!

2012 ATA Otero Closed Tennis Tournament

Hi, everyone!  Please consider entering the Otero Closed Tournament, scheduled for October 20 - 21 this year.  Click here for an printable entry form.

September Play Day

A special thank you to Diane and Lee for sponsoring today's play day.  Joe won a seven point tie breaker to win the #1 prize for the men.  Jeri-Lynn was the top women's player and Janet #2. The weather was great and the play was friendly. 

Thanks

Dear ATA members,
Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, cards, and especially the fruit basket. My recover has been swift, thank the Lord. It is probably due to the skill of my superior surgeon, Greg Richardson!

The Lord Has Blessed Me Mightily,

Nora Sotak

September Play Day

Mark your calendars now for the September 1 play day, sponsored by Diane and Lee Gustafson!

Pickle Ball

ATA member Ora Marie Templeton has been instrumental in organizing pickle ball in Ruidoso.  They have quite a group going there.  Many tennis players are playing both tennis and pickle ball, while some older players have completely switched to pickle ball.  For more information, check out the link below.

For more information about pickle ball, check out this web site:

http://www.sites.google.com/site/pickleballruidoso

The cake says it all, Laurie and Sabine!  The best of luck to both of you and we hope to see you both back soon!

2012 Senior Summer Olympic results

Congratulations to our fellow Alamogordians on their trip to the Olympics this year. Tho there were only the four of them, they all qualify for the July 2013 National Senior Games that will be held in Cleveland, OH.

Tom Springer won the Men's 80 Singles
Tom Springer and Grady Nicholson won the Men's 75 Doubles.
Grady placed third in the Men's 75 singles
Grady and Nell placed second in the Mixed 70 Doubles
Bob Schreiner won the Men's 75 Singles
Bob Schreiner and his partner placed second in the Men's 75 Doubles

A job well done folks!!!

July 2012 Play Day in Cloudcroft

Pics from today's play day!

Going Away Party!!

Everyone is invited to:

Going away party for Sabine B.  and Laurie

WHEN: Aug 3rd
TIME: 6:00pm
WHERE: 456 Cielo Grande


  This is a potluck party, please RSVP to Janet and include what you plan on bringing so we don't have too much of one thing. It's also BYOB. Feel free to bring your swimsuit as well!
 

Summer Community Tennis

Matty showing some text book form on his backhand.

David is only in third grade but is already showing great form on the courts.  Keep up the goo work, David!!

Denishia showing good form at the Junior Community Tennis program.

More Summer Junior Tennis Pictures

Selena and Daraka are both participating in the Summer Junior Community Tennis program sponsored by ATA and USTA.

Summer Junior Community Tennis

 Coach Cameron Brace Emmert has a total of 16 students participating in free summer tennis lessons sponsored by ATA and USTA.  Here are some of them in action during a Saturday play day.

July and August Play Days

 Remember that  July's play day will be the 21st up in CLOUDCROFT @ 9am - GENTAS AND WAGGONERS will be co-hosting.

The August play day will be the 11th, hosted by the RICHARDSON'S @ 9am. 

Hi Everyone,

It is time to get ready for the Mixed Seniors League. Below are some details.

MUST BE 50 YEARS OLD OR OLDER WITHIN 2012 and a USTA member.
Registration starts 6/25/12 - Minimum 6 players registered by 7/7/12
Play starts on 7/14 or soon after. - All matches must be completed by 8/31/12

SECTIONALS IN ALBUQUERQUE 09/14-16/2012 PLEASE KEEP THAT WEEKEND OPEN.

Divisions: 7.0 (combined 4.0/3.0 and 3.5/3.5) - 8.0 (combined 4.5/3.5 and 4.0/4.0)

This is a great opportunity for friendly competition, camaraderie and something fun to do during the summer. Matches will be early Sat/Sun morning to beat the heat and to allow some other fun stuff to do during the weekend. There will also be evening matches.
This is the last year at the 50+ format.  Next year there will be a total restructure of the leagues.

If you are interested in forming an Alamogordo team, let me know. It would be great to get Alamo involved, it would also mean that matches would be played here. Should you have any questions or want more information, you can contact Chantal Spilliaert, SNM USTA League Coordinator, directly at either 575-541-0514 or email her at cspi26@hotmail.com.

Senior (50+) Mixed Doubles League starts next month Registration starts 6/25/12 – Get your teams organized today!


Initial rosters of six players must be registered by 7/7/12.

League play starts 7/14/12 and runs through 8/24/12.To get your team number, or if you have any questions, contact Chantal atcspi26@hotmail.com

July Play Day

Our July play day has been changed to July 21 at 9:00 am.  We will be playing in Cloudcroft to escape some of the summer heat!

The Gentas and the Waggoners will be co-sponsoring this event.  See you there!!!

ATA Offers Free Tennis Lessons

ATA has received a Community Tennis Program grant from the United States Tennis Association to offer free tennis lessons this summer.

The lessons are offered to youth between the ages of 10 and 17. 

Cameron Brace-Emmert, a certified pro and member of the United States Professional Tennis Association, will be giving the lessons.

For more information, contact Cameron at 725-4230 or Dale Emmert at 505 306 2329

Registration forms are also available in the mailbox at the tennis courts.

ATA Keeps Traveling Trophy

                                       Las Cruces and Alamo players socialize and prepare to do battle.

Alamogordo Tennis Association was able to outscore the Las Cruces Tennis Association 12 sets to 9 and keep the traveling trophy for another year.  Some old friendships were maintained, new friends were made and everyone had a great time!

NJTL Essay Contest Winners

We are pleased to announce that Adrian Agulto, Samira Herber, Vivian Jordan,  and Sarah Jordan are the four winners of the ATA NJTL essay contest.   They will each receive a gift card from Big 5 Sports.

The topic of the essays was "Why do you think Arthur Ashe created the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network and how as your NJTL Chapter impacted your life?”

Click here if you would like to read the essays. 

Dodson/Hainline in the Finals!

Our Alamogordo Tigers girls doubles team keeps on winning.  They play in the championship match today at 4:00 pm!

Geary Wins in First Round

Matty Geary won his first round match at the state tournament, defeating Kishan Patel of Hobbs, 6-4,6-4.  He plays his quarterfinal match at 11:00 today.

News Flash

Emily Dodson and Kelly Hainline won their first round girls doubles match 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the state tournament!

May Play Day

This Saturday May 5 is the May play day sponsored by Wolfgang and Sabine.  See you there!!!

Remember that June play day is now scheduled to be an exchange with the Las Cruces Tennis Association.  Please let Janet know if you will be available to play.

Dodson, Hainline and Geary Qualify for State

The girls doubles team of Emily Dodson and Kelly Hainline  won second place at the district tournament held Saturday in Alamogordo.   Matty Geary finished in third place in boy's singles.  All three of these players are now qualified to compete this week in the state tournament.  Congratulations and good luck!

Tournament Results

Cameron Brace-Emmert of Alamogordo defeated Rodney Ladd of El Paso to win the men's open singles championship of this year's Alamogordo Open Tennis Tournament. Numerous events were played in the two day event at the Oregon Tennis Courts. Here is a list of the winners of the various events:

In men's singles age category events, Rodney Ladd won the 45+, Michael Herrera won in 50+, Kaz Dziamka was the champion in 60+ and Jesse Blough won in the 65 and older group.

In NTRP rated events, Rick Sotak won in the 4.0 category and Raymond Montoya won the 3.0 event.

In men's doubles, the Clint Loest/Richard Vickrey team won in the open championship, Kaz Dziamka and Michael Herrera won in 50+, John Genta/Rick Sotak were champions in the NTRP 4.0 and Joseph Santackas/Raymond Montoya won in 3.0.

Amy Badger won the women's 45+ singles championship and Sabine Berger won the 3.5 NTRP event.

The women's doubles 4.0 NTRP event was won by Cindy Carey/ Lois Whitmire. The Gail Richardson/ Joy Gallent team won the 40+ age group event.

In the open mixed doubles event, Cameron Brace-Emmert and Cindy Carey teamed up for the championship.

Contact: Dale Emmert ATA Vice President
505 306 2329

Support the Tennis Team

Tuesday, April 10th, 3:00pm, Alamogordo vs Mayfield at Oregon Tennis Courts. The kids love our support, so if you can come out and cheer them on, they'd appreciate it.

Tournament Help and Party Reminders!

Just a reminder that the tennis party will be held at the Desert Palms Community Center, 2000 First St., on Saturday 4/14 at 6pm. This is a Pot Luck and a BYOB party.

Also, John has arranged for the courts to be washed on Friday, April 13th at 7:30, volunteers are needed to help the city with this, if you can help, please bring any squeegees you may own, leaf blowers and brooms.

Open Tournament Entry Deadline

Reminder:

Entry deadline for our Open Tournament is this coming Saturday, 3/7, midnight. A drop box will be set up at 401 Sunset Ave. for last minute entries. AND Applications for Senior Olympics tennis are available at the Sr Center. Best time to register is this Thursday, 4/5, 1 pm.

INFO on both events can be found at ... http://alamogordotennis.blogspot.com/

Senior Olympics Information

Here is detailed information about the Senior Olympics:

Senior Olympics Competition
Singles, doubles, and mixed in 5 year age increments, starting at age 50.

LOCAL: Register between April 1 and 13 (main registration day is April 5, 1 pm). Pick up the registration form at the Senior Center. Ask for Jean Duncan (mornings are better). Fill out the form there, or take with you. There is a one time/"cover everything" local FEE of $15 (I think).

Actual competition will occur during the week starting Monday, April 23 (some leeway here). Grady Nicholson will layout the matches, based on the registration.

NOTE ABOUT STATE COMPETITION: Qualifying players from the local play can play at the state competition, but its not an obligation (its really hard not to qualify). State will be held at NMSU, Las Cruces, July 25-29 (tennis is usually the first three days). A separate registration fee will apply to State.

This IS a qualifying year for the 2013 National Senior Games to be held in Cleveland, OH. The competition at State is usually a little better during a qualifying year. Playing at State does not obligate you to go Nationals.

For questions, contact Grady Nicholson, 434-1949,

ATA Adult Open Entry Blank

It is that time of year again! This makes the 38th Annual Alamogordo Tennis Association Adult Open Tournament, scheduled for April 14-15, 2012.

Click here for an entry blank to print out and send in. Entry blanks will also be available at the Oregon Tennis Courts.

March Play Day

The weather was cloudy and cool but the tennis was still a lot of fun. Sabine B. and Allen sponsored this month's play day and surprised everyone by awarding the prizes to the third and last place winners.
More pictures to come.

WTT 3.5 Team

Congratulations to the Alamogordo 3.5 WTT team for winning first place in their league. They will now have the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas, NV to compete in a national event.

We will have more details about this later!

Washing the courts

In preparation for the April tournament, the City of Alamogordo will be washing the tennis courts at 8:00 am on Friday, April 13. We need four volunteers to help with this project. The courts should dry quickly and be available for play soon after they are washed.

See John White if you would like to volunteer for this.

Roswell Exchange

An exchange with the Roswell club is being arranged for March 24 here in Alamogordo. The format for the exchange is changing to a more non competitive format. Roswell players will be paired with Alamogordo players to play. This should make for a friendly and fun day of tennis!

Please let Janet or Dale know if you are available to play on this date.

This has been canceled.

Play Day March 10

Don't forget about play day tomorrow. The forecast is for 40% chance of rain, so we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Muffin Recipe

Here is the recipe for the muffins that Dale shared at Thursday's play day.

Moosewood Muffins

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a 12 cup muffin tin. (I use a tin that makes four giant muffins.)

Streusel topping

1/3 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk
(I use soy milk)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Two cups chopped fruit, and/or nuts and/or chocolate chips

(One batch of the muffins I made had dates, bananas, dried cranberries and chocolate chips. The other batch had strawberries, almonds and chocolate chips.)

Dry ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Sift together the dry ingredients.
For the wet ingredients: cream together the butter and sugar; beat in the egg then the milk and vanilla; fold in the fruit, nuts,etc.
For the streusel: blend all of the ingredients with a fork or pastry cutter until the butter is pea sized or smaller

To assemble: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir. Spoon into muffin cups. Sprinkle streusel topping on each muffin.

Bake 30-35 minutes. Smaller muffins might take a little less time.

March Play Day

Please note that the upcoming March play day is scheduled for March 10, not March 3.

On March 3, please come out and watch our Alamogordo High School tennis team play in their invitational tournament.

Saturday Afternoon NJTL

Gabriela, Alicia and Selena participate in the ATA sponsored NJTL program on Saturday afternoons. Their coach is Carl Jones.

More NJTL

Adrian is an enthusiastic, up and coming future star of the Alamogordo Tigers tennis team!

Work Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow at around 11:30 after everyone has finished playing, we need four or five volunteers to help repair nicks and scratches in the court surface on courts 1-4. Also, remember to stay around to watch our 3.5 WTT team play on courts 5-6.

NJTL

Gabriella and Janette are both freshmen at Alamogordo High School. They are active participants in the ATA National Junior Tennis and Learning program and future stars of the Alamogordo High School tennis team!

Pay Your Dues!

To avoid a late fee, please pay your dues by March 31. Dues can be paid to Bernice or any other ATA board member.

If you would like to mail in your dues payment, send it to: P.O. Box 684 Alamogordo, NM 88310

$29 for a family and $15 for single members

Southwest Slam Tennis

We have received last minute information about a new series of adult tournaments in the Southwest Section. It is a series of four tournaments called the Southwest Slam. Each tournament is on a different court surface: indoor, clay, grass and hard court. Details are at http://www.southwest.usta.com/Adults/southwest_adult_slam_series/ .
The indoor event is Feb 10-12 in Santa Fe at Shellaberger Tennis Center.

NJTL Update

The NJTL program is now at full capacity. There are twelve participants currently receiving instruction from Cameron Brace-Emmert and Carl Jones.

The culminating event for NJTL will be a small gathering at which participants will read their essays and awards will be given.

Upcoming Play Days

Don't forget to come to play day 9:00 am on February 4th. Darryl and Joy will be the hosts and everyone is invited to Pat and Nori's house for gumbo afterwards.

The March play day is scheduled for 9:00 am on March 10th.

March 3rd is the date for the Alamogordo High School invitational tournament. Please come out and support the team on that day!

ATA Open Tournament Scheduled for April

The annual ATA open tennis tournament has been scheduled for April 14-15. Grady Nicholson is the tournament director.

Look for more information, including entry forms, here on this blog.

Work Day to Repair Nicks on Courts

There are numerous nicks in the surface of the courts that need to be fixed. John White is organizing a work day at 9:00 am on Saturday March 17th. He will instruct everyone in repair techniques. This is fairly tedious work, so we need as many people as possible to volunteer.

Senior Olympics

This is a qualifying year for Senior Olympics, which means that if a player wins at the state level, he or she can qualify to compete in the national event. Watch this blog for more information specifically about tennis.

For more information about Senior Olympics in general and the sports in which you can compete, contact Ms. Jean Duncan (575) 439-4287.

Mardi Gras in Cloudcroft

Mark your calendars to go to Cloudcroft for the Mardi Gras celebration. Click the image to enlarge it.

ATA 4.0 Team Wins Battle of the Clubs!

Thank you to Cindy for posting this picture on Facebook!

Congratulations to Cameron, Darryl, Dennis, Cindy, Gail, Lois and Joy for their Battle of the Clubs victory. They were undefeated in 4.0 team action and took home wine glass trophies.

Making a "Let" Call

Here are some word of wisdom from the USTA site about calling a "let."

If you have no chance for a ball and a ball rolling onto the court would have made no difference, do the right thing -- give the point to your opponents.

One can always make a case that a player could have made some play on the ball when this happens. Technically, players may call a let if the point had not been completed when the hindrance of the stray ball from another court arrived. However, a good sport knows if they had a play or not, and a good sport knows the difference between a legitimate hindrance and taking advantage of a situation.

Battle of the Clubs

ATA will field three teams this year for the Battle of the Clubs, being held January 28-29 at New Mexico State University tennis courts.

Janet and Laurie will co-captain one 3.5 team, Dale will captain a second 3.5 team and Cameron will serve as captain of the 4.0 team.

NJTL Update

The ATA has received $1,000 to start a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) program in Alamogordo.

The purpose of NJTL is to introduce young people to the sport of tennis and also to build character and academic skills. For more information about NJTL, read the previous post that describes the program in detail.

Cameron and Carl have agreed to provide coaching services for this program. Dale is providing academic instruction in writing and organizing a local essay writing contest. Word-of-mouth advertising has produced an overwhelming response of kids so at this time we are not recruiting any new participants.

February Play Day and Gumbo Afterwards!

Don't forget about our play day February 4th at 9:00 am. After the play day Pat and Nori have invited us to their home for gumbo. The gumbo dinner at the Morgan's house has become a tradition with the ATA. We look forward to some good tennis, good food and friendship!

Blog Post Notification

Since all of the information sent out in our monthly newsletter has already been posted on the blog (alamogordotennis.blogspot.com) we are planning to eliminate the newsletter.

When there is a new post on the blog, everyone on the ATA mailing list will receive a notification through their email. This note is a test of that system.

Introduction to NJTL

"Through tennis, lives can be changed and spirits reclaimed."--Arthur Ashe

Please read the following description of the NJTL program that is starting soon! We are now recruiting participants for this program.

The Alamogordo Tennis Association (ATA) is using $1,000 of seed money from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southwest Region to start a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) program.

The three objectives of NJTL are to learn, interact and have fun playing tennis. Our goal with the new Alamogordo NJTL is to introduce as many young people as possible to the game of tennis by providing a coach, equipment and facilities and an educational program that emphasizes character development.

Program Design

Students aged 10-17 who are interested in playing tennis are eligible for the program. Each student must complete an application form which includes parental consent to participate. Every student must agree to participate fully in all aspects of the program, which includes four introductory tennis lessons, tutoring with a writing instructor and participating in an essay writing contest. A $10 voluntary contribution is requested, but not required to participate.

Every participant will receive a tennis racquet. Every student who completes the program will receive a t shirt and a certificate of completion. Winners of the essay contest will receive a prize.

Tennis Instruction

Instruction in basic tennis skills and the rules of the game will be provided by highly qualified and screened instructors. Individual participants will arrange lesson times with instructors. All instruction and interaction between the instructors and the students will take place on the public tennis courts. Parents are encouraged to observe their students during the lessons. The focus of the introductory tennis lessons will be providing a positive experience through building a foundation of the development of proper ball striking skills.

Writing Instruction

Student participation in writing instruction is required by this program. Provided by a highly qualified teacher, it will consist of explaining the requirements of the essay competition, reviewing the rough draft of each student's essay and providing suggestions for improvements. Students will be provided with reading materials upon which to base their essays. All meetings with the writing teacher will be conducted next to the tennis courts before or after tennis lessons.

Essay Contest

Essays may be entered in a local contest and also in the national NJTL Arthur Ashe Essay and Art Contest. Detailed rules will be provided by the writing teacher to all students and parents. The theme of the essay is: "Why do you think Arthur Ashe created the NJTL network, and how has your NJTL chapter impacted your life?"

The ATA plans to serve ten participants in NJTL between January and May of 2011. If we receive additional funding, we hope to be able to continue this program during the summer months as well.

The contact person for this program is:

Dale Emmert
Vice President, Alamogordo Tennis Association
575 415 3927 Cell: 505 306 2329
1700 Monte Vista Corte
Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310

Here is the national web site for NJTL:

http://www.usta.com/Youth-Tennis/National-Junior-Tennis-Learning/NJTL/

January Play Day

We had beautiful weather for the January play day. Twenty four ATA members participated in the event sponsored by Cameron and Dale. Cameron organized play and Dale made the pies!

The day culminated with a play off consisting of a ten point tie breaker. Pictured on the top left are winners Laurie Frappier, Diane Gustafson, Lee Gustafson, and John Bordes along with sponsors Dale and Cameron.

Saturday Play Day

Remember Saturday January 7 play day, hosted by Cameron and Dale!