Friday February 7th GPTA LL.pdf
Congratulations to the 2019 GPTA Award Winners!
It's that time of year! The 2019 GPTA Awards Nominations are open and ready for your submissions. Please take a few minutes to review the available awards. Consider those in the tennis community who help make Georgia a thriving and supportive professional market. Click the link below to review the awards and make your nominations today! The deadline for submitting your awards is Friday, November 15. https://form.jotform.com/92944611369162
It's that time of year! The 2018 GPTA Awards Nominations are open and ready for your submissions. Please take a few minutes to review the available awards. Consider those in the tennis community who help make Georgia a thriving and supportive professional market. Click the link below to review the awards and make your nominations today!
GPTA Award Nominations
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), is pleased to announce the kickoff of its new Mentor Program. The program honors the legacy of PTR Founder, Dennis Van der Meer, who recognized the need for industry leaders to help guide, shape and foster earnest professionals in the areas of community, business and athletic development, as well as club management.
PTR gathered 50 highly qualified mentors, who were selected from the organization’s top experts and International Master Professionals, based on their expertise and knowledge in specific areas, and their willingness to take part in the program. The first mentor training was conducted earlier this month by the founder of Growing Champions for Life, David Benzel, who was selected for his expertise in leadership, communication and character development.
To find mentees for the inaugural stage of the program, PTR emailed an open application to all certified members in the USA. Fifty were selected and, based on their goals, matched with a mentor.
“A lot went into the pairing process,” said Marc Stingley, PTR Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator and staff liaison for the program. “In addition to matching the specific goals and aspirations of the mentee with the expertise of the mentor, we also tried to ensure they were as close geographically as possible.”
For the first year, the PTR Mentor Program was kept to the 50:50 ratio for manageability. Through quarterly evaluations, surveys and reports, success will be monitored, and if necessary, adjustments made to expand the program in 2019. Currently 27 states are represented by mentees, with 41% coaches of color, and 39% women.
“We recognized a gap in the industry that can make career advancements difficult for someone who doesn’t know the ropes,” explained Stingley. “The PTR Mentor Program is about far more than on court coaching. The program is a two way street; mentees network and learn, while mentors give back by sharing their knowledge.
PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals and coaches with nearly 16,500 members in 125 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying and serving tennis teachers and coaches around the world in order to grow the game.
Many GPTA members supported the USTA Net Generation Workshop on Friday, March 23. It looks like they all had a great time learning, networking and discovering how the Net Generation program can complement their teaching and engage new players!
On Friday, May 4th, Dunwoody Country Club will host Special Olympians for a day of tennis, fun, instruction, play and great food! If you would like to donate your time, talents and expertise to this event, please contact Maria Dreaden (mdreaden@dunwoodycc.org) or Geoff Browne (gbrowne@dunwoodycc.org). The team needs help from 1pm-4pm.
Congratulations to GPTA members Ben Hestley and Lamar Scott for winning PTR Awards! Hestley was named PTR Clinician of the Year, and Scott received the PTR Volunteer of the Year award. We are proud of the work of both of these professionals and all of our members supporting their communities and tennis in Georgia. Well done!
Ben Hestley, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been named PTR Clinician of the Year. A PTR member since 2004, Hestley is a Clinician in the 10 & Under, 11 to 17 and Adult Development education pathways. He is also certified as a PTR Master of Tennis - Performance. A PTR member since 2004, Hestley is a Clinician in 10 & Under, 11 to 17 and Adult Development education pathways. He is also certified as a PTR Master of Tennis - Performance. In 2017, Hestley conducted seven workshops, certifying 50 coaches.
For the past decade, Hestley has served as the Director of Tennis at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta. In that time, the club has won several state and local team championships for both juniors and adults, including six Atlanta City Championships in 2017. Three times during Hestley’s tenure, the club has been recognized as GPTA’s “Georgia Peach” for most outstanding facility and programs, and just recently was named Member Organization of the Year by USTA Georgia.
Hestley is a Net Generation Coaches Ambassador and Trainer, is currently the Chairman for the USTA Georgia Junior Team Tennis Committee and has served on USTA Georgia’s Junior Competition and Tennis Professional Committees. Since 2015, he has been a Board member for the Atlanta Youth Tennis & Education Foundation, an organization focused on programs for underserved children.
Hestley played collegiate tennis at Central Alabama Community College for two years then went on to play at the University of North Alabama where he graduated with a Sociology degree in 2004. While baseball was the main focus much of his junior career, Hestley did compete on the 1998 Alabama Junior Olympic Tennis Team.
Scott has been an active member of PTR since 2001, and holds Adult Development and 11 to 17 certifications. He is a tennis professional at Universal Tennis Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, and coaches men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles ALTA and USTA teams, as well as conducts group and individual lessons for adults and kids.
Giving back to the community is important to Scott, and he serves on the executive side of the Atlanta Lawn and Tennis Association (ALTA) and as the Overall Coordinator for Men’s ALTA, for all the AA and A levels. Scott volunteers every year at the Georgia Special Olympics Summer Games as an umpire, solicitor and facilitator of volunteers, scheduling and training all volunteers to serve as umpires, ball gathers, scorers.
He also volunteers with the Atlanta Youth Tennis & Education Foundation as coach and mentor for Volley Against Violence, an initiative designed to use tennis to bring youth and police officers together for physical activity, informal mentoring and relationship building. At the Laureus Foundation ‘Sport for Good’, Scott volunteers as tennis coach and mentor to the athletes. He also volunteers at the BB&T Atlanta Open, the PTR Wheelchair Championships, and is an organizer for his local ‘Toys for Tots’ Campaign.
The National Football League took notice of Lamar Scott’s community service and volunteer efforts. In August 2017, Scott was chosen by the NFL to be featured in a episode of Tackle My Ride, a television show that salutes a deserving fan, in this case Atlanta Falcons, who symbolizes the spirit of giving back and helping others with complete vehicle makeover. You can watch the transformation of Scott’s vehicle on YouTube.
The United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) is pleased to announce the dates for the 2018 USPTA Surface Championship Series. Now in its 13th year, the USPTA Surface Championship Series gives USPTA-certified professionals an opportunity to showcase their playing skills and earn prize money. The tournaments are open to all USPTA-certified professionals in good standing. Both USPTA Indoor Championships and the USPTA Hard Court Championships will both be held at new venues. The USPTA Indoor Championships will be held at the Overland Park Racquet Club in Overland Park, Kansas, while the USPTA Hard Court Championships moves to Onion Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas. The USPTA Clay Court Championship will return to the Academia Sanchez-Casal Academy, while the Grass Court Championships will be held at the International Tennis Hall of Fame once again. 2018 USPTA Surface Championship Series Schedule USPTA Indoor Championships, April 12-14 Overland Park Racquet Club, Overland Park, Kansas USPTA Clay Court Championships, May 18-20 Academia Sanchez-Casal, Naples, Florida USPTA Grass Court Championships, June 7-10 International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, Rhode Island USPTA Hard Court Championships, Oct. 26-28 Onion Creek Country Club, Austin, Texas
