FALL TENNIS REVIEW AND WINTER PREVIEW

Hey everyone,

It has been quite and interesting fall here at the gazette and at Westside Tennis.. Tennis has picked up quite a bit in the past couple of months and we would like to thank everyone who has come out and played, taken lessons, or joined league play! Without you, our goals would not be possible.. As you may noticed, we have taken a bit of a break from our weekly blogs.. The gazette and the instructors at Westside Tennis have been brainstorming over the past couple months on creating a new and innovative way to bring tennis to the community and will unveil their plans in the new year, so stay tuned!!!! ON TO THE NEWS......

NEWS AND NOTES.... Thanks to some generous donors, Westside now will have internet capability and computers on site to help our customers with payments, balances, court reservations, etc.

***Gift Certificates are available in the pro shop... Give the special gift of tennis to someone that you care about.. It is a lifelong sport!!!

*** Tennis gifts are also available in our pro shop. Stuffed animals, pouches and more are available.. Check out their websites at www.stuffedanimalfarm.com and www.etsy.com/shop/nink1019.

*** We will be doing an online chat forum weekly in late January so we can get ideas from the most important person...YOU!! NOW ON TO THE JUNIOR PROGRAM NEWS.....

JUNIOR NEWS: What a wonderful fall for juniors this was!! Junior Team Tennis has just finished up and two teams from Westside finished in first place!!! The under 12 Intermediate team led by Coach Robert Taylor went undefeated and dropped only 3 individual matches! They competed in sectionals where they would play the best teams from all over the state and finish 4th! A great accomplishment was rewarded as the top 4 teams received an invitation to play at nationals...GREAT JOB KIDS!!! Coach Robert said, "I loved working with the kids and all of their hard work and dedication to the sport showed this weekend. I hope that we can do it again in the spring!" The Under 14 Intermediate team also placed first in their division. Coach Jon Bongiovanni led these young men and women to victory with great chemistry and solid strategy. Coach Jon said, "Having the kids come to clinic and work together really made them come together as a team. They knew each other and so that helps when it comes down to crucial points and crucial matches."

****HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS: Yes it is that time of year again! This year is a little different however because the governing body for Florida High School Sports has made this year the earliest start date for tennis practices. The first official start date of practice is MONDAY JANUARY 17th... To all potential players interested in playing high school tennis, the time is NOW to get on the courts and get ready for the upcoming season! Don't hesitate to call one of our experienced instructors to brush up a few pointers for you, or even set up a match or two. It is important that you get into the best conditioning you can to compete for a position on your team. We at Westside Tennis understand that playing is important so... all juniors who would like to play "challenge matches" will pay no court fees. Stop by for any of our junior clinics during the week as well to get some hitting in!

****JUNIOR CHALLENGE LADDER: Our ladder has been a hit for our younger juniors this fall... We have 25 or so players involved and more keep popping in, just to hit! We were so excited with the response, that we have extended the ladder for one more month, through the end of January! Remember, the top 3 kids get a super prize (1st-racquet/lessons, 2nd-tennis bag, 3rd-gift certificate), so keep playing!!! The rules are listed on our blog, so get those bonus points!!!! We are hoping to extend this ladder to the high school level players to give them more match play and incentive to want to play more. After the end of our fall session, we will have a 2 week break and begin a spring season for the younger junior players and continue it throughout the rest of the academic school year.

****WINTER CAMP: Every year for the past four years, we at westside tennis have done a winter mini-camp for kids to keep them playing while they are on winter vacation. This year is no exception as we will have two weeks of camp this year! The camp will run MONDAY-THURSDAY from 9-12 (off christmas eve and new years eve). Prices and flyers are available in our pro shop or pdf format on our website. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE COURTS!!!

****TOURNAMENTS: As with any budding junior, tournaments are needed to sharpen their skills and become match tough as they begin their journey into enhancing their tennis game. Here are a few tournaments that are near our area that you may want to check out. Remember if you are in the ladder, you get BONUS POINTS for playing tournaments (HINT HINT).... and here they are:

New Year Super Series (Lake Cane, Orlando)- January 1st

New Years Local Kickoff (Tampa)- January 8th

Clearwater Junior Rookie (Clearwater)- January 8th

Lake Cane Winter Rookie (Orlando)- January 8th

Gainesville January Super Series (D.B. racquet club)- January 15th

Tallahassee Winter Super Series (Tallahassee)- January 15th

Fort King Local Tournament (Ocala)- January 22nd

Julington Creek Plantation Local (Jacksonville)- January 29th

ADULT NEWS: This fall showed a dramatic jump in play for adults out at westside tennis. We had USTA combo teams practicing practically every night! Thank you all for your participation in the league and considering us your home site for your matches! We will do our very best to keep our standards of serving you high and providing the best tennis service around! That being said, Congratulations are in order to Libby Smith's 7.5 Combo Team who won their division and did it in style, going undefeated for the season! They will play in sectionals this january at the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach. GREAT JOB LADIES!!!!

****CLINICS: Westside Tennis has a number of great clinics to choose from. No matter what skill level, from the very basic beginner to the highly skilled advanced player, clinics are available throughout the week. Check our website to see which clinic is right for you. New to our clinic format is Head Pro Robert Taylor's MALE AND FEMALE DOUBLES SPECIFIC CLINICS.. Coach Taylor has designed a 90 min class specifically shaped to help with all your needs on the doubles front. Strategy, technique, positioning, this clinic has it all.. Times are still being determined for our winter/spring season. Please check with Robert at 352-216-9318 or 352-376-8250 for more information. Also coming will be a CO-ED singles clinic and a beginner women's 2.5 clinic. STAY TUNED FOR OUR NEW PROGRAMS!!!!!!

****LEAGUE PLAY: At Westside as most of you know, we have two programs of league play. There is our weekend USTA League that has been tremendously successful. The new season is coming shortly, where it is singles and doubles play. Our other league is a women's day league. It is women only playing in a series of doubles matches against other teams in the area. Matches are in the morning based on the level of play. We are looking for more players to either get back into the game or just learn how to play. Call us at 352-376-8250 for more information on how to sign up for a league.

****MIXERS: That's right!!! Westside Tennis is thinking about YOU!!!!! We are going to begin having monthly mixers for players who just wanna get out and play with some friends and have fun, people who want to get to know new players, or for people who want to learn how to play! So we will have our first annual mixer near the end of January. It will be an open mixer with food and beverage and co-ed.. Signups will be in the pro-shop. We will have different events each month so be on the lookout!!!!

As I have mentioned before, we will be running special ads if you read our blog, so...here's our first couple... 10% off your racquet stringing if you mention the word WILSON when you bring your racquet in.

REFER-A-FRIEND...If you refer a friend who has not played tennis before and they mention this blog, you receive 10% off your next lesson...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND SEE YOU IN 2011!!!!!!!!

GAINESVILLE MASTER SERIES STANDINGS

STANDINGS AS OF NOVEMBER 7th, 2010.......

Here are the current standings...Remember, we are halfway home! Challenges will help and going to tournaments......

1. Madi Sagas 99 pts

1. Kent Carson 99 pts

3. Shaman Marlin 91 pts

4. Connor Donovan 71 pts

5. Zach Brandt 66 pts

6. Hunter Cash 55 pts

7. Michael Neill 52 pts

8. Sophia Marlin 46 pts

8. Marcela Ifju 46 pts

10. Max Portillo 45 pts

11. Garrett Doty 42 pts

11. Daniela Ifju 42 pts

13. Jay Leshan 41 pts

14. Trent Nichola 39 pts

15. Sam Perz 37 pts

16. Kensie Cricchio 32 pts

17. Noah Rodriguez 26 pts

18. Nick Springer 24 pts

19. Emily G. 23 pts

20. Lauren G. 21 pts

UPDATED MASTER SERIES STANDINGS

HERE ARE THE NEW STANDINGS AS OF NOVEMBER 4th, 2010...I added 20 points to everyone's score due to last weeks hectic schedule, so everyone got 20, but some of you played in the tournament this past weekend and the points reflect it...Time to get some challenging done and tournaments played everyone!!!

1. Kent Carson 97 pts

2. Madi Sagas 89 pts

2. Shaman Marlin 89 pts

4. Zachary Brandt 66 pts

5. Connor Donovan 65 pts

6. Hunter Cash 50 pts

7. Michael Neill 49 pts

8. Sophia Marlin 46 pts

9. Max Portillo 45 pts

10. Marcela Ifju 40 pts

11. Trent Nichola 39 pts

12. Garrett Doty 38 pts

13. Daniela Ifju 36 pts

14. Jay Leshan 34 pts

15. Sam Perz 31 pts

16. Noah Rodriguez 26 pts

17. Nick Springer 24 pts

18. Emily G. 23 pts

19. Lauren G. 21 pts

GAINESVILLE MASTER SERIES STANDINGS

Here are the standings as of October 20, 2010...

1. Shaman Marlin 42 pts

2. Kent Carson 39 pts

3. Zach Brandt 33 pts

4. Hunter Cash 30 pts

5. Madi Sagas 28 pts

6. Max Portillo 25 pts

7. Michael Neill 23 pts

8. Connor Donovan 20 pts

9. Trent Nichola 19 pts

10. Daniela Ifju 16 pts

11. Garrett Doty 12 pts

12. Sam Perz 11 pts

13. Jay Leshan 6 pts

13. Noah Rodriguez 6 pts

15. Nick Springer 4 pts

GAINESVILLE MASTER SERIES

Hey everyone,

As promised, we have a junior challenge ladder actively going at Westside Park. It costs only 10 dollars to join and it is ongoing until the last friday before Christmas vacation. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers. Here are the rules on the ladder..

1. It is a 75 minute timed event. The first ball is struck at 5pm sharp... If you are 5 min late, you have a 1 game penalty, 10 min- 2 games, 15 and over- 3 games...

2. It is a 6 game set, if you go to 6 all, play a 7 pt tiebreaker. All games count as points toward your total score for the series.

3. Round Robin format- If you finish your set before time limit is reached, you will play another opponent based on court availability and matches that need to go on..

4. Challenge system and bonus points: You can challenge people that are ahead of you on the leader board. Bonus points will be awarded for challenges and other incentives...Here is the breakdown of bonus points.......

5 pts for signing up for junior team tennis

5 pts for "challenging" a higher ranked opponent

10 pts for challenging a higher ranked opponent and winning

7 pts for the higher ranked opponent winning a challenge match

15 pts for playing in a local tournament in the state (rookie included)

25 pts for playing in a super series or designated tournament in the state

Challenging is a two way street...you can always challenge but if you lose the challenge you give your opponent bonus pts as well, so be careful who you challenge...

5. Standings will be posted every sunday afternoon...

Questions? Feel free to email me at rt4tennis@gmail.com. The signup sheet is online at www.gainesvilletennisacademy.com Hope to see more of you on friday afternoons!!!

FALL TENNIS PREVIEW AT J.O.T.C. at Westside Park

Welcome to the Fall Tennis Preview for the Joyce Oransky Tennis Center. As you may have read, we have new programs starting for both kids and adults. So enough buildup! On to junior news.....

JUNIOR NEWS.....

Junior Team Tennis is starting again... We are currently forming teams to have a start date of September 18th. If you are interested, please call 376-8250 and ask for Robert Taylor or Jon Bongiovanni who will get you the information needed to get your child onto a team. Matches are on weekends and most teams have a team practice as well. WE NEED MORE PARENT VOLUNTEERS FOR JUNIOR TEAM TENNIS!!!! Our coaches can not be at every contest for each team. Last season we had 8 teams so coaches coming to each match was very difficult. We need your help parents!! Either becoming a parent/captain to email match dates and what kids are available, writing down scores, and helping on court with matches would be a tremendous help!! Please ask Robert or Jon if you would like to volunteer.

Westside News: Clinics are now forming. Please check out our website at www.gainesvilletennisacademy.com for more info.. These clinics are geared for our beginner players and new players only, except for the high school excellence clinic which is for our high school players and solid younger intermediate players. If you do not know your child's level, please call 376-8250 to set up an appointment with one of our instructors to asses their level.

Gainesville Open Series: To help create more match play for the juniors, we have established a challenge ladder for the kids to play in. It will be a 12 week ladder where kids will have 45 min to play matches with other kids. There will be 3 divisions, (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and each will play at their respective times.. beginner 4-4:45, intermediate: 5-5:45, and advanced from 6-6:45.. The matches will ONLY be on fridays unless you challenge someone. Each game you win counts as a point toward your cumulative score. At the end of the 12 weeks, the top 3 in each division will win a prize. Top prize in each division will be a new racquet donated by Mike Oransky and a series of 3 30 min private lessons with an instructor of your choice. There will be a small service fee of $10 because we will have the points chase online.. We will have a trial run of the program on SEPT.10 and start play the following week, SEPT. 17.

Tournaments: We will have a local tournament at Westside this weekend, SEPT.4th. You can click this link: www.usatennisflorida.com and check out junior tournaments in september to register online or you can come to the pro shop and fill out an entry form. Other tournaments that are near the area this month are:

Sept. 17- Leon Local Classic- Tallahassee

Sept. 18- DB Racquet Club Fall Junior Super Series- Gainesville

Sept. 19- Quickstart Tournament (under 10 beginners)- Jonesville (gainesville)

Sept. 25- Lake Cane Rookie- Orlando

Sept. 25- Seminole Fall Bash Super Series- Seminole

Keep in mind that rookie tournaments are designed for kids who don't have much experience tournament wise or have a low state ranking. Locals are usually for beginner tournament players and some who have experience and Super Series are for experienced tournament players..

ATHLETE of The Month: Every month we will do an athlete that demonstrates abilities on and off the court.. We will accept any nominations through email (rt4tennis@gmail.com) and at the end of the month, we will do an interview during our live video blog with some highlights of them playing and some interesting facts about them...We will start accepting nominations SEPT.1 and will announce the winner SEPT. 26 at our live blog show.

ADULT NEWS::::::::::::::::: Day League Practice has begun and WE NEED YOU!!! Our 3.0 and 3.5 teams need players. If you know of anybody who does play tennis and can play on Wednesday or Thursday mornings, please let Mike Oransky know at 376-8250 or email him at oranskym@bellsouth.net.

COMBO LEAGUE: Our USTA Fall season is starting to form! It is called combo and if you are not familiar with it, it basically just "combines" the ratings of two players that will play doubles together. It is only doubles play and matches are on the weekends.. If you do not know your rating please call 376-8250 to set up an appointment to get rated by our wonderful staff. They will inform you of the other information you will need in order to join a team.

DOUBLES NIGHT LEAGUE: For those busy professionals out there, tennis has become a secondary and even less thought. Now at westside, we are bringing tennis to a priority level as we are forming a weekday night league starting SEPT. 13! It will be a round robin format with a small fee that will coincide with a doubles clinic prior to play.. If interested, please email at oranskym@bellsouth.net or rt4tennis@gmail.com. Future ventures will be to have an end of month mixer at westside and also plan trips to major tennis events (amelia island, sony ericcson, us open, etc) KEEP LOOKING FOR MORE INFO ON THESE UPCOMING EVENTS!!!

LASTLY, if you are an avid reader of this blog, keep watching for small discounts and programs that are only valid if you read the blog... WE will have our first discount REALLY shortly so keep watching for it... SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!!

SCHOOL IS BACK!!

Welcome to our back to school edition of the Gazette. We have loads of information for you to have you and your family enjoy tennis here at the Joyce Oransky Tennis Center at Westside Park. We finally have a brand new pro shop! It has been operational for the past couple of months and has been a great asset to our tennis community. We have both men and ladies restrooms on site, tennis services such as on-site racquet stringing, video analysis of strokes, snacks, drinks, tennis apparel and necessities. Please stop in and take a look around!!!

OTHER NEWS....... The Gazette will be going to video! Thats right! Starting in two weeks, the Gazette will have a weekly YouTube blog that you can watch, just like watching the news.. We will call it WSTC. We will have a couple of reporters to keep you updated on news and events at Westside, locally, state wide, and nationally.

NEW RATES AND POLICIES.....As with any service industry, rates fluctuate and we are no exception.. Private lesson rates will now be at a rate of $48/hr for the Head Pro and ALL Assistant Pros. It will be $52/hr for the Director. Group lessons will be $13/hr, provided there are at least 4 people in the group. Here is the breakdown....

Director- $52/hour

Head Pro and ALL Assistant Pros- $48/hour

Group Lessons- $13/hr (4 people)

$17/hr (3 people)

$12/hr (5 or more)

CANCELLATION POLICY...... Because our instructors schedule their lessons very tightly, it is important that cancellations are made 24 hrs in advance to your lesson. We do understand emergencies do come up, but instructors do need our help as well so that they can fill those vacancies with other clients if need be.. If cancellation does happen under 24 hours, YOU WILL BE BILLED APPLICABLY.. These rates and policy changes will take effect SEPT. 1

NEW EVENTS......We will be posting more tournaments and also kids who are in the top 100 of their respective age groups in state rankings. Also, Westside will be hosting new non-sanctioned tournaments (i.e. father-son, family, junior tournaments) to help encourage more match play for all.. We are also in the process of doing a night league for adults and a challenge master series for the kids.. Details will be in junior and adult news respectively. With that being said, on to junior news!!!!

WESTSIDE SUMMER NEWS!!!!!!!!

Welcome back everyone!!! Since our last report, many things have been changing at Westside Park. Our main change is the addition of our new tennis pavilion. It is now complete and very close to opening.... Summer is here and as always, our lesson times are changing to accomodate with the addition of our summer camps!!! We will have two camps... One for our more competitive and older students, and one for our beginner and newly involved players... Each camp will start at 9 am and end either at 1pm for the advanced player, or 3 pm for the beginner (there is swimming, therefore the time is longer). Each camp will be supervised by tennis director Mike Oransky and Head Pro Robert Taylor and instructed by their professionally trained staff.. This year, we will have the new addition of early care and after care for the parents who need to drop their children off earlier of pick them up later.. In the adult program, we have numerous days of instruction available for every type of player from the novice to the advanced player...Check out our website for more details... Now back to our field reporters for a more in-depth view of our programs this summer!!!!


JUNIOR NEWS....... Junior Team Tennis is back again for the summer session!!! This is a great way for your child to get in some match play and learn how to play a "team" concept form of tennis similar to Adult league and High School Tennis... Westside is proud to have a team for every division of player this session.. QUICKSTART, Under 12 Beginner, Under 12 Intermediate, Under 14 Intermediate, and Under 18 Intermediate.. Please Contact Robert Taylor or Jon Bongiovanni at 376-8250 for more details on how to sign up!!!!
SUMMER CAMP INFO: Beginning June 14th, Summer Camp will commence at Westside Tennis. We will be running two different forms of our camp, one being for the beginner, low intermediate level, and one for the older, more competitive player and high school students.. The great thing with our camps is that you can custom fit it to your needs..You can do the whole week, a couple days, every other day, however you see fit... Here is a breakdown of each of the camps and prices..... WE WILL HAVE EARLY AND AFTERCARE AVAILABLE FOR $8/hr..... CALL 376-8250 for more info.....

SUMMER CAMP PRICES: BEGINNER CAMP
Price: $35 per day or $145 per week
Time: 9am-3pm (early and after-care available upon request)
Synopsis: This camp is designed to teach kids basic fundamentals of tennis while providing great fun and a light hearted atmosphere for them to enjoy.. They will enjoy the splendor of westside pool (included) and our professionally trained staff will treat each child with priority and importance.

ADVANCED CAMP (competitive younger children to high school player)
Price: $25 per day or $115 per week (early and after-care available upon request)
Time: 9am-1pm
Synopsis: This camp is designed to improve the player's mental preparation before, during, and after their match with emphasis on strategy, point production, footwork, and technique.. Match play will be a focal point and our staff will be roaming to provide valuable information to each camper on their game.

WE'RE BACK

Hello everyone,
Its been awhile since our last momentous blog, but we are up and running again... High School Tennis season is over and our reporters are on the scenes giving you all the news and updates for the upcoming summer season!! Congratulations are in order for the P.K. Yonge Girls Tennis Team for a 3rd place finish at the 1A state competition in Casselberry.. Special Kudos go to Kiah Turner and Jazz Whittaker for completing a great season with a state doubles championship at the number 2 position and Jazz added to her medals with a finalist silver medal in singles at the number 2 position as well... So, without further ado, on to the news!!!!

WEEK OF JANUARY 18th, 2010

Hey Everyone! Ol' Man Winter has let go of his icy grip here in Gainesville just enough so we can get some tennis in! Everyone here at the Gazette would like to thank all of the players and most importantly, tournament directors Dwight Bailey and William Byrd, for dealing with the weather and still have over 120 participants in this year's Heritage Classic! Spring will be upon us shortly and with that, tennis season will officially bloom :) Our Adult Classes have now begun and USTA Adult league teams are forming for the upcoming season in March. In our Junior section, high school tennis and spring junior team tennis seasons will be starting in just a couple of short weeks! Phew! Too much to even begin to talk about, but if you keep reading, you'll be kept informed on what's in store for Westside Park! ON TO THE NEWS..............


JUNIOR NEWS AND NOTES....... High School season is rapidly approaching! In fact, most schools will begin their tryouts Jan. 26th. If your child plans on trying out for their respective teams, the instructors at Westside would like you to take full advantage of lessons, either private or group, and definitely use the FRIDAY FREE PLAY to get your child some match play in. The FREE PLAY is EVERY FRIDAY FROM 3:30 til 6 pm and your child will get instruction from one of our staff members on strategy, technique and mental toughness. All of us here at the Gazette hope your children make their respective teams..
Junior Team Tennis will be starting its spring season in about 3 weeks. If your child is playing junior varsity tennis, not getting enough playing time on varsity, or just wants to play more tennis, this is a great way of getting the benefits of match play, regularity, and the experience to play with peers all wrapped into one.. Coaches Robert Taylor and Jon Bongiovanni hope to have more children interested in JTT this season!! If you played before, bring a friend, the more the merrier!!!! Call us at 376-8250 for more information.
Clinics are growing thanks to you! We have all types of clinics for the beginner to the advanced student! Check out our website at www.gainesvilletennisacademy.com for more info and on the rates!!!

ADULT NEWS......... Our Adult clinics are up and running!!! Each Monday thru Thursday and Saturday morning, we will have a beginner and an intermediate class from 7:30-8:30 and have an advanced beginner class on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30. These classes will give you the tools needed to gain confidence in your game and maybe implement them in an adult league!
We are currently taking names of captains looking to use our courts for practices for the upcoming USTA ADULT LEAGUE SEASON! Call us at 376-8250 to set up your time slot! Captains are also looking for Y O U!!!!!! Don't have a team yet, but would love to play? Let us know, we can help!
CARDIO TENNIS IS BACK WITH AVENGENCE!!!!!! Cardio Tennis, the fun way to get your body in shape on the court is on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. Cardio Tennis is a new aerobic way to play tennis using agility and directional drills, set to fun, heart pumping, popular music!! Tell your friends!!

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS.................
Juniors: FEB. 6th- Designated Tournaments...12's-Daytona, 14's-Casselberry, 16's-Altamonte Springs, 18's-Orlando
FEB. 6th- Sweetwater Winter Rookie, Apopka
FEB. 13th- Gainesville Local- Westside Park
FEB. 20th- Matthew Cory Super Series- Tallahassee
FEB. 20th- Rookie Tournament- Green Cove Springs
FEB. 20th- Harry Gilbert Super Series- Daytona Beach
FEB. 27th- 300 Club Local- Gainesville

ADULTS:
FEB. 12th- Amelia Island NTRP (great gift for v-day!, tennis and great beach town)


GET OUT THERE AND PLAY!!!! : )

That's it for the week! Stay tuned for results from our day league matches and pics from this week's free play!!! Hope all your serves are aces!

WEEK OF JANUARY 5th, 2010

THE 16th ANNUAL HERITAGE CLASSIC AT WESTSIDE PARK will be played January 15th-17th, 2010. This annual event embraces the ideals and values of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in the idea that we all need to embrace the idea of coming together as a community. Its tournament director, William Byrd, has graciously let Westside Park be the host site for the tournament and we are very greatful that we have such a great person in the community to share this tournament and partnership with. We here at the gazette would like to have EVERYONE participate in this great event. Adult singles and doubles is $30.00 per event and there is even a junior division with the cost being $15.00 per event.. The deadline to sign up will be Monday, January 11th... Nothing would please the pros and the gazette more than to see a huge turnout for the adult and junior sections!!! For the juniors, this is a great way to tune up for the upcoming Junior Team Tennis schedule and High School seasons and for the adults, this is a great way to meet new people, different competition, and play some great tennis!!! You can get applications at Westside or you can go online at http://www.heritagetennis.com/


JUNIOR NEWS..... The new year has begun and with it our junior programs are looking to expand. Junior Team Tennis will start next month and we are looking to improve on our season and even have more teams playing as well! Check with Coach Robert Taylor or Coach Jon Bongiovanni about the upcoming season and for what team(s) your child would fit into. Junior Team Tennis is a great way to get more match play and organized strategy for your child! HIGH SCHOOL SEASON IS APPROACHING!! If your child is in high school, the season will start in appoximately 3 weeks!!! It is imperative that if they would like to try out for either junior varsity or varsity, that they get quality group instruction and match play in to be ready for the season. The Tuesday/Thursday Clinic will be operating at our normal times from 5-6:30 p.m. starting Jan. 5th. These clinics will be geared specifically to get your child ready for the upcoming season. Junior Team Tennis would also be a great supplement to the high school season with more match play so that your child improves his/her strategy, mental toughness, and overall game play. If your child is younger, we have our Monday/Wednesday clinic from 5:30-6:30 starting Jan. 6th and our Saturday Clinic from 9:45-10:45 that starts Jan. 9th. Private instruction is also available if you would like your child to have more individualized instruction. Friday FREE PLAY begins Jan. 8th. We would like to see lots of kids take advantage of this opportunity to play at our facility and tune up their match play skills for free, especially for the impending seasons that are coming for high school and junior team tennis!!! Email rt4tennis@gmail.com if you would like to be set up for matches against other players!!



ADULT NEWS...... Our Adult programs are beginning!!! Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Clinics are being formed as we speak! We currently are accepting clients and looking at starting on Monday, Jan. 11th. Cost would be $12.00/clinic.. Times will be: Monday 7:30-8:30 (beginner and intermedate), Tuesday 7:30-8:30 (beginner, intermediate, advanced), Wednesday 7:30-8:30(beginner and intermediate), Thursday 7:30-8:30(beginner, intermediate, advanced), Saturday 8:30-9:30 (beginner and intermediate), 9:45-10:45(advanced)..
USTA LEAGUE PLAY WILL BEGIN IN A FEW WEEKS!!!!! We are currently taking captains requests for practice time and accepting all players looking to join a usta team! Please email rt4tennis@gmail.com if you are looking for a team to play on or possibly forming your own team!! We would like to see a westside team in all divisions of play for both men and women, so WE NEED YOU!!! It's a great way to get to know different people and play some great tennis! Matches are on the weekends so it will not interfere too much with work schedules! Sign up today!!!


WOMENS DAY LEAGUE UPDATE: We are at the halfway point of the season and we are doing well in each of the leagues!! Congrats to you ladies for a job well done. The 4.0 team is currently in 3rd place with a 3 match winning streak! Personally, this reporter thinks they should be in second based on win loss percentage, but the USTA thinks sets won is the marker for what position you are in...Oh well! Their next match is Jan. 12th. Come out and support the team!! Check out their last match here with this lovely slideshow: http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt27/gvilletennisacademy/Friends%20of%20Joyce/?albumview=slideshow
The 10 s Nuts, our 3.5 are in a close race in the middle of the pack with 3 other teams... C'mon girls and pass them up and get to the upper tier!! Their next match is Jan. 7th at Jonesville... Cheer the girls on to a "w"!!!! Our newly formed 3.0 team is working hard at the inaugural year of play. Their next match is Jan. 13th at Westside.. Take care of the home court team!!! As always, we are looking for new players to join and play in the league.. Contact Mike Oransky at oranskym@bellsouth.net for more information.


NEW PROGRAMS: DARTFISH, a new interactive computer program to help pinpoint how to effectively improve your game is at WESTSIDE PARK!!!! The only facility to have it, it uses video footage to pinpoint the exact frame where your game can vastly improve!!! Whether its a certain shot of just overall game play, DARTFISH CAN DO IT!!! If you are looking to greatly improve, this is the way to go! Contact us at 376-8250 to set up a session!!!


SPRING MIXERS: We are currently in the process of picking a date to do our first tennis mixer for adults. Food, drinks, music and of course tennis to provide everyone with a laid back feel and introduce new tennis groups into Westside and the community... Keep checking back for dates!!!

Thats it for now! Check back next week for the week in review and pro spotlight on Skip Deist.. Take care and hope all your serves are aces!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!! The past month has been quite a whirlwind from holidays and vacations, to rain and downright bitter cold! However, as we turn the page to a new year, we here at the Gazette are ready to give you some new information on the spring schedule for the Gainesville Tennis Academy at Westside Park! Hope everyone's new year is fun and prosperous! Now on to the news......


News and notes.....Plans are going smoothly for the new pro shop! We hope to know the contractor and break ground by the end of the month! Plans to make the first PERMANENT Quickstart courts are under away as we are anxiously waiting on our wonderful city employees to pressure wash and paint the wall area with new lines designated for the quickstart season. NEW LEAGUES ARE FORMING....Junior Team Tennis, ADULT LEAGUE, and QUICKSTART Programs are looking for you to play... Inquire at 376-8250 or email rt4tennis@gmail.com or oranskym@bellsouth.net for more information. The Friday FREE PLAY will begin again this friday at 3pm.. Matchups can be organized by Robert Taylor, Abdoulaye Toure, Jon Bongiovanni, or you can schedule your own match. Take advantage of this opportunity to improve your game and play matches!! NEW GROUP LESSONS FOR ADULTS ARE FORMING! Beginner, intermediate, and advanced groups will be available for adults looking to improve their game or meet people to play!! Inquire at 376-8250.. Now for a closer look at each program, check out what our field reporters have to say!!!!!