​​Agape Tennis Academy Awarded 2018 “Outstanding Program of the Year” Award for the State of Georgia

Yesterday evening Agape Tennis Academy was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Program of the Year Award for the state of Georgia. This was awarded by the Georgia Professional Tennis Association at the USTA Georgia Hall of Fame Museum. We are very honored to receive such an all encompassing team award. We were chosen in part due to the diversity, volume, and unique programming opportunities we provide at DeKalb Tennis Center. Winning an award like this is only possible with a staff, clients, and a community that supports the programs we offer. So, a giant THANK YOU to you for supporting Agape and participating in our programming! We are appreciative that we are able to do what we do in a great environment and a supportive community. Thank you for an amazing 2018 and we are looking forward to an even better 2019!         

Agape Tennis Academy gives a BIG thank you to all of the participants, organizations, businesses, DeKalb County, and individuals that helped make us a success in 2018.  It was a wonderful year to be at DeKalb Tennis Center. This year we had over 110 league teams playing out of DeKalb Tennis Center. We hosted over 20 ALTA and USTA League City Championships, Playoffs, and Finals. We are home to St. Pius, Paideia, and Lakeside High Schools. We provided adult and junior tennis drills and programming to over 4,000 people in our community this year. We plan to continue to grow and improve these numbers and the quality of our coaching and programming in 2019.  We appreciate all of the feedback that we receive from you all to continue to help make us the leader in tennis management in Atlanta. Thank you all very much for allowing us to do what we love to do every day.

Please enjoy these quick tips to help your tennis game and start the new year and season off right:

Technically:

  • To add more spin to your groundstrokes, make sure your drop your wrist below the tennis ball and hit up through the stroke.
  • To add slice to your volleys and give them some control, make sure you start with your racquet above the ball and push your strings down and slightly open.
  • Hit or learn to hit drop volleys, this is one of the most under used shots in doubles.
  • If you are like 90% of the recreational players I coach, I know you are too close to the ball! You need more space from the ball to move your body efficiently.

Doubles:

  • Serve toward the T or the middle of the court to help set your partner up to poach more often at the net.
  • When playing doubles, hit offensive shots at the player closest to you, hit defensive shots at the player furthest from you.
  • Recognize that there is not one best way to play doubles. There is one best way for each different set of opponents you face. However, sometimes, this strategy could and should change each set. In short, learn to play with both players at the net, both players back, and one player up and one player back.

Overall:

  • Make sure in your game you have neutral, offensive, and defensive shots and know WHEN to use each. Think of your tennis game like driving a car. You would never drive 80mph everywhere and you would never drive 25mph everywhere. Sometimes you need to go 80, 50, 45, 25, or 60. Just like your tennis game, you need to know how aggressive you need to be and when.

Mentally:  

  • At the end of each point you play, pretend the score is always 0-0. This keeps you from focusing on the past or future and leaves you in the present where you can play your best tennis.
  • You have to be aware of the thoughts you are thinking when you compete. If you feel your body get tight, you are NOT thinking good thoughts. Your body is controlled by your mind and only your mind can allow your body to be free. All the physical skills you can ever learn will do you no good if you cannot control the thoughts you think when you play. Your body will not be able to execute physical commands from a doubtful, negative, or uncertain mind. On the other hand, a confident, positive, believing mind, can physically take you to new heights.
  • Most importantly, be aware of your opponent’s patterns. Once you recognize the patterns in your opponents’ game you will know what is most likely to happen and when and thus can anticipate instead of reacting to what is happening on the court. How do you do this? You have to be aware, in other words, pay attention!

 

Thank you for a beautiful 2018 and we look forward to seeing you on the courts in 2019 and beyond

 -Your Agape Team