State of the Program Address Swing N` Splash

Issue No. 02 | July 2014
GRIP N’ REPORT
The SOURCE for all the latest on Grip N’ Rip Junior Tennis
www.GripNRipJuniorTennis.com | Facebook.com/GripNRipTennis | Twitter: @GripNRipTennis
Inside this issue...
‘Performer of the
Year’ Recipients
Gripper & Ripper
Player Profiles
Tournament
Table
Kay Tanaka
John-Michael Chamakoon
George Tate
Page 3
Page 2
Page 4
State of the
Program Address
Swing N’ Splash
Craig Johnson, Director of Grip N’ Rip
Swing N’ Splash Report: School Is Out For
Summer!
Attention private school the courts at NBTC during
students!
While public the first week. However, all
school students were still in that changed the week of
session studying for tests June 23rd, as public school
and grinding away on
students finally turned
homework,
private
in their books,
school students were
grabbed their racwhacking
tennis
quets, and joined
“No more
balls and laughing
the fun.
The
pencils
in
with friends in the
camp has taken
9th annual Swing
off running, and
hand — only
N’ Splash summer
now, it’s open
racquets!”
camp held June 16
to everyone. No
- 19. Life is so unfair!
more pencils in
If you were between
hand—only
racthe ages of 5 and 10, atquets! No more school
tended private school, and shoes on feet—only tennis
live locally, there was a good shoes! Life is good for evchance you were one of the eryone!
75 happy campers to hit
Summer Ripper Team Training Academy Report:
Ripper Academy Teams Now Forming!
Hitting with topspin. Hitting with proper net-clearance. Hitting with aim and
accuracy. Hitting the right
shot at the right time. Finally, hitting with power. That,
along with some great activities, such as the Wednesday ‘Beach Tennis’ and a
Friday competition against
juniors from the Coto de
Caza Racquet Club, was the
weekly curriculum for the
first week of the Summer
Ripper Team Training Acad-
emy, which began June
23rd. Twenty-four aspiring
tennis stars came to NBTC
with great anticipation and
left with a newfound knowledge and love for the game.
Ripper Academy teams are
still forming for the weeks
remaining in July and August. If you’ve got the skills
to compete, we want you to
play for us! Babolat prizes
and an exciting and structured week of professional
training await you!
Swing N’ Splash Week 1: June 16th- 19th
Swing N’ Splash Week 2: June 23rd - 26th
Summer Ripper Team
Training Academy
SRTTA Week 1: June 23rd - 26th
Copyright © 2014 Kay Tanaka. All rights reserved.
2
Newsletter Issue n. 45, January 2016
Grip N’ Report Issue No. 02, July 2014
Gripper Player Profile
Ripper Player Profile
Ashley Packard
Mack Packard
John-Michael Chamakoon
John-Michael Chamakoon
This month, I’m interviewing Ashley Packard, a shining
star in our Gripper Developmental Program.
For the Ripper profile, I chose a player with amazing
potential: Mack Packard.
Having lost my beloved tape measure, I used the next best thing:
raffle tickets. Ashley is a whopping thirty-one raffle tickets tall. Her
stick of choice is the Babolat Pure Drive Jr 25 (pink and black). She
rocks Wilson shoes for kicks. When she’s not smashing forehands,
she’s jamming to Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” in her giant new room.
Born June 6, 2005, Ashley has only been “cereal” about her tennis
since October 2013, but she is already hitting the tournament circuit. Like many of us, her biggest fear going into her first tournament was the dreaded serve. Now that she has a few tournaments
under her belt, she’s no longer afraid of the serve, and I quote,
“Matches are my favorite part of tennis.” She particularly loves
battling her buddy, Jane Paulsen, in Gymnastic Tennis, where
players have to do a cartwheel between every shot. Caution: you
might get a little dizzy.
Her talents don’t stop at the baseline, though. She loves to dance
just about anywhere. I think I caught her Dougie-ing and Cat-Daddying her way down Vista del Oro.
Hear what the coaches have to say:
“Sweet girl with a great work ethic on the court. Not to mention, a
monster forehand!” – George Tate
“She brings amazing effort and passion to the court. It’s a gift to
work with Ashley. A player like her inspires a coach to want to be a
better instructor.” – John-Michael Chamakoon
He registers at a total of 33.5 raffle tickets. The Babolat Pure Drive
combined with some sweet Adidas Barricades make up his tennis
necessities. Mack began his tennis journey back at the ripe age
of six.
Reuniting with his passion for tennis last October, Mack has been
unstoppable. Reflecting back on what has changed for him during tournaments, he quips, “It’s about the nerves. It isn’t that I’m
not nervous, but it doesn’t bug me. I just keep playing.” Wise
words from an 11-year old. This summer, he is attending a Nike
Tennis Camp hosted at Pepperdine University with several fellow
Rippers, including Camp and Lenox Schillereff and Bradley and
Jonathan Amor.
Tennis isn’t the only thing on this guy’s mind, though. He thoroughly enjoys a quality nap and isn’t afraid to throw down a bag
of tootsie pops, while dabbling in a little Halo3 in between.
Hear what the coaches have to say:
“The big brother of Ashley, he has set the bar high for them both.
Goal-oriented and purpose-driven!” – George Tate
“He moves really well and is quick at the net. I have seen a lot
of improvement in his net game during JTT matches.” – Sunil Sipaeya
“He is deliberate and methodical in our lessons, pushing me to
bring my best to the court.” – John-Michael Chamakoon
Players of
the Week
Swing N’ Splash Summer Camp
June 16 - 19
th
(not pictured)
th
Justin Attelsey
Alex Gomez
Charlie Gomez
Dalton Haggard
Thomas Hofer
Sarah McMillen
Oliver Pierzok
Copyright © 2014 Kay Tanaka. All rights reserved.
June 23 - 26
rd
th
SRTTA
June 23rd - 26th
StockInDesign Inc.
3
First-Ever Recipients of ‘Performer of Congratulations
to our graduates &
the Year’ Awards Shine Bright
new rippers
Kay Tanaka
With a crowd of over 40 peers and parents anxiously watching and waiting, our Junior Team
Tennis coaches announced and presented one special player with Grip N’ Rip’s first-ever “Performer of the Year” Award for the USTA Spring 2014 JTT Season.
Burton Miller
Arden Stobart: 10 & Under Division
Everett Poznick: 12 & Under Division
Arman Roshannai
Nicholas Guildenhuys: 14 & Under Division
Shaya Northrup: 18 & Under Division
Shaan Sakraney
(not pictured)
Reminder
Here is an important Grip N’
Rip Junior Tennis reminder!
07 04 14
All of our Junior Team Tennis All-Stars cheesin’ it for the camera!
Drumroll please! After a season of highs, lows,
and everything in between, our four USTA junior tennis teams celebrated a job well-done
at Grip N’ Rip’s first JTT End of Season party on
June 6th. After tennis games were played and
stomachs were stuffed with pasta, salad, and
more pasta, a surprise snuck up on four players who had proven themselves this season
PHoto
Gallery
through their perseverence, commitment, and
positive attitude.
We would like to recognize these four all-stars
with the USTA JTT Spring Season ‘Performer of
the Year’ Award. Congratulations Arden, Everett, Nicholas, and Shaya!
To every single player who participated, awesome job! We can’t wait to see you in the fall!
SRTTA In-Session on July 4th
Happy Birthday, USA! A quick
reminder that the Summer
Ripper Team Training Academy will still be meeting on
Friday, July 4th . Please note
this if enrolled in the week of
June 30th.
A very special thank you to
Mike Hamrock for his photo
contributions to Grip N’ Report.
Copyright © 2014 Kay Tanaka. All rights reserved.
Tournament Table
George Tate
In recent tournament news…
Arthur Ashe after defeating Jimmy
Connors and winning the 1975
Wimbledon singles title.
Craig Johnson (pictured left) back
in his Pepperdine days.
Get To Know
Grip N’ Rip discovers a time machine. The
possibilities are endless, but we can each only take
one trip. Where in time or history would you go,
and why?
John-Michael Chamakoon: I would love to travel back to a time
before North America was discovered by the rest of the world. I
grew up in Montana and have always had a love for the culture of
Native Americans. I would enjoy the opportunity to experience
and observe the untainted way of life they lived.
Jann Dunlap: I often think about what it would be like to have
been introduced to tennis as a youth. I would take my one trip
back to the days of grade school, and then find a program like Grip
N’ Rip. Who knows? Maybe I would have played with Chris Evert
or Tracy Austin. Don’t laugh! With the best program, a lot of practice, passion, and a positive attitude, anything is possible!
Andrea Gonzalez: I would love to go to Alaska and see the Northern Lights with my son. I think it would be fascinating to feel like I
could reach out for the stars!
Craig Johnson: I would go back to 1986, when I was a sophomore at
Pepperdine University. We were playing the quarterfinals against
the Bulldogs at the NCAA’s in Athens, GA in front of 3,000 screaming fans. I silenced them all by coming back from a set down to win
in three sets! Victory never felt so good!
Lille Krukrubo: 2002 when I was in college, travelling and competing with the Marshall University tennis team. I was super fit and
healthy without having to work for it and having fun with friends
and college life.
Sunil Sipaeya: If I could go back in time, I would go to Sydney Australia in 2000. I had such a great time in the Olympics Youth camp
during that time!
Kay Tanaka: I would use the time machine to be a UCLA student
in 1963, when Arthur Ashe was playing tennis there. As a UCLA
alumnus, it would be an honor to meet and perhaps, befriend a
fellow Bruin that broke so many barriers both on and off the court.
George Tate: If I were able to travel to any place in time, it would
have to be on the moon, July 16, 1969. That was the day the USA
first walked on it. Then I would hit the first tennis ball over a mini
net with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
It has been a busy time for some of our Ripper students
since last month’s newsletter. Over at the Anaheim Junior
Satellite Tournament, both Lily Walkow and Arden
Stobart were seen playing valiently in the Girls Divisions,
while Thomas Stobart and Ian Andrews played their way
into the Round of 16 in the Boys 12’s. At the West Coast
Open in Lakewood, Mika Ikemori cruised into the semifinals, but was derailed in a tough match, denying her a spot
in the Final of the Girls 10’s. Alden Mulroy lost a nail-biter
in the Girls 12’s, while Nicole Knickerbocker’s run in the
Girls 14’s was stopped short in the Round of 16. However,
Nicole Knickerbocker was crowned with the Girls 14’s
Doubles title. Great job, Nicole! Old-time Ripper student,
Isabella McKinney, was in action in the Girls 16’s, where
she was a finalist! Meanwhile, RTA students filled the
courts with action in the Gamma Novice in Irvine. Charlie Hawkins, Anya Kennelly, Katie Miller, Kimi Reddy,
Bradley Amor, Mack Packard, Aiden Neshat, Everett
Poznick, and Henry Stewart began their tennis tournament careers with good results. Keep it up, Rippers!
Upcoming Tournaments in Orange County
Thursday, July 10th
t City of Anaheim Junior Satellite Tournament | Anaheim, CA (651751214)
Saturday, July 12th
t Woodbridge Tennis Club Junior Novice Tournament |
Irvine, CA (651734414)
Saturday, July 19th
t OCCTA The Tennis Club July Junior Novice Tournament | Seal Beach, CA (651702114)
Saturday, July 26th
t La Habra Summer Junior Novice Tournament | La
Habra, CA (651730214)
t Nellie Gail Junior Satellite Tournament | Laguna Hills,
CA (651754214)
Thursday, July 31st
t 21st Annual Orange County Junior Satellite Tournament | Anaheim, CA (651754614)
Check out the USTA website for more info!
Grip N’ Report
T h e S O U R C E f o r a l l t h e l a t e s t o n G r i p N ’ R i p J u n i o r Te n n i s
www.GripNRipJuniorTennis.com
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Copyright © 2014 Kay Tanaka. All rights reserved.