Michael Dockins – Thinks Tennis as a hobby not only a sport

Michael Dockins, a Tennis-Austin player who loves tennis not only as sport but a hobby. Formerly he was a Tennis DC player and shifted to Austin last year. Here is Michael’s story. Hoping our tennis community will love it. As of the writing of this story Michael can be found leading the Player of the Year standings.

1. Which league are you a member of? 

I currently play in the Austin league.

2. How long have you participated in your league?

I started playing in the Washington, DC league in Spring 2013, and then started Austin last year. 

3. How did you first learn about it?

I was just googling tennis leagues and I found a bunch, but I liked this one the best.

4. How often do you play?

I try to play at least twice a week.

5. What do you like most about the league?

I love the fact that it makes it so easy to meet up and play with people at a similar skill level for some fun, competitive tennis.

6. Tell us about your most memorable match(es)

I think my most memorable match was one played on a hot summer day that took at least three hours, and I ended up winning 6-7; 7-5; 7-5 after being down 0-5 in each of the last two sets.  That was just something crazy and exhausting but really fun and unique. 

7. Who are your favorite rivals in the league? Why?

I’ve played quite a few matches with Ray Gonzales and Jeff Hatfield, so probably those two.  We’re all fairly even players so the matches are usually close, although I haven’t beaten Ray yet but I think I’m getting closer!

8. Do you have any other interesting comments about your experiences with the league?

I just think that it’s a ton of fun and a really great way to play some tennis.  Everyone is really friendly.

9. How did you get started playing tennis?

With a couple of buddies back in high school, but I’ve never played in any serious competitions or teams before.

10. What level player are you? (NTRP rating)

Probably about a 3.25.

11. What do you love about tennis?  

Tennis is my favorite sport because people at all skill levels can play it and enjoy themselves.  It’s also a good balance between physicality and technique, and it’s easy and inexpensive to play.  It can be an intense workout or a relaxing hit-around.  It’s also a hobby as well as a sport, because there are always parts of your technique that you can tweak and improve. 

 

 12. Who are your favorite pro players? Why?

My favorite pro players are Roger Federer, John Isner, and Jack Sock.  Federer because he is simply the greatest and amazing to watch, Isner because he has a good personality, awesome serve, and is representing the USA, and Sock because he’s up-and-coming and has a monster forehand that is fun to watch.  My favorite retired players are Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick.

Arielle Shinder – An Unending Tennis Journey from the early age of 4 years

Arielle Shinder is a TennisNewYork player. She grew up at the Jersey Shore, went to graduate school in Arizona, and moved to NYC about 4 years ago. We hope our tennis community would love to hear her story.

1. Which league are you a member of? 

I am a member of the Tennis New York Women's Division and the Tennnis New York Ladder

2. How long have you participated in your league? 

I joined the league earlier this year in Spring 2014. I started in the Doubles league.

3. How did you first learn about it? 

I was searching online for places to play in NYC and people to play with.

4. How often do you play? 

I try to play at least twice a week.

5. What do you like most about the league? 

I love that it got me back into playing tennis after I had all but given up on it as the tennis parks system in NYC can be frustrating and complicated. I have also met many very nice players that I know I will continue playing for years.

6. Tell us about your most memorable match(es):  

I have 2 most memorable matches. The first was part of the tennis ladder program. My doubles partner, Bill Inman, had passed along the name of one of his regular opponents, Leigh Flayton and I contacted her to play. If you've played her before, you know her first serve can result in an ace for her! So we start the match and before I know it, I'm down 0-4. I am terribly embarrassed and thinking, "Arielle, if you don't pull yourself together, she will never want to play you again". I guess talking to myself worked because I ended up coming back to win the match and we now play each other regularly.  My other most memorable match was against Shannon Delaney in the Women's program. We had played once before and she had beaten me pretty badly so I was hoping to show her that I could give her a real match. After starting the match up 3-0, we switched sides and she said to me "You are on fire tonight". Truthfully, I may have played those 3 games better than I have ever played tennis in my life. But Shannon is a great competitor and wasn't going to go down without a fight so before I know it the match is evened up and pretty much was a battle back and forth all the way up to 8-8. We were playing at Frederick Johnson Playground under the lights and at one point, one side of lights went out, leaving half the court light and the other as dark as can be but neither of us wanted to call this match a tie. Finally, at 10-9, I was serving for the match, and since I suffer from severe asthma, I thought at any point i would just pass out as I would so tired and out of breathe. I ended up winning the match 11-9 and I think both of us wanted to collapse afterwards. I really look forward to playing her again. 

7. Who are your favorite rivals in the league? Why? 

There are 4 players that I have played on more than 1 occasion and have yet to beat so I consider them my favorites as It will allow me to aspire to improve so one day, I will beat them.  Those players are Bill Inman, Susan Illman, Wendy Ham and Amy Hsu. They are all great people on and off the courts so I enjoy playing with them.

8. Do you have any other interesting comments about your experiences with the league? 

I wish the doubles program had been more successful but it's very hard coordinating 4 peoples schedules. I also see that the women's program includes all boroughs and skill levels. I think I would prefer it to be co-ed and divided by borough and skill level. This may allow more matches to take place and closer scores.

9. How did you get started playing tennis?

I grew up in a tennis family and they handed me a racquet at 4 years old. I can't say I really cared to use it much growing up as I was less interested in sports then as I am now. I finally became interested as a teenager and played 1st doubles on my high school team. I went on to play recreationally in college. Then I all but gave it up except for maybe once a year on vacation. This is my first season back to playing regularly since high school and I can't believe I ever put my racquet down, I'm absolutely loving being back out there. 

10. What level player are you? (NTRP rating) 

3.25 would be my best guess as that is my current tennis New York ranking.

11. What do you love about tennis? 

I love that it is a great workout and tests you both physically and mentally.

12. Who are your favorite pro players? Why? 

Andy Roddick and I am still trying not to process the fact that he is retired and would have loved to see him win just one more major. I also was a huge fan of Lleyton Hewitt as he had a quickness I had never seen in any other player and was amazed by the balls he could reach. Although age has slowed him down, now I just root for him to move past the first round or two. 

13. Tell us a little bit about yourself, for example: What do you do? Where did you grow up? What are your hobbies (besides tennis)? (Feel free to share any interesting details about your life.)

I'm a college academic advisor for one of the CUNY schools. I grew up at the Jersey Shore, went to graduate school in Arizona, and moved to NYC about 4 years ago. Aside from tennis, I also play volleyball and kickball every week. I love the theater and mystery novels.

A bit more about Arielle Shinder:  She has begun selling Jamberry Nail wraps, which are heat activated nail wraps. They last for weeks and come in 300+ designs including "Tennis" designs. They are available for purchase at ats.jamberrynails.net 

What a season! Cheers to the Tennis Los Angeles community.

What a season!  Cheers to the Tennis Los Angeles community.

Some seasons just need to get recognize.  The 2015 Early Spring Season is one such season.

Elite Division:   https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3244
Advanced Valley's:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3249
Advanced Westside:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3248
Competitive Valley's:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3192
Competitive Westside:   https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3011
Comp2 Westside:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3247
Skilled:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3246
Women's Division:  https://www.tennislosangeles.com/division_report?ids=3245

Here's some highlights from the season:
* We have 59 of 114 active players qualified for the playoffs. 52% of the players!!
* We'll be crowning 6 champions this season.
* Only 3 matches away from most ever matches played in a season: https://www.tennislosangeles.com/info/MostMatchesInSeason
There must be a couple of unreported matches out there.
* 25th best avg. matches played in a season: https://www.tennislosangeles.com/info/MostAvgMatchesPerPlayerSeason
* A record breaking 9 players played 20 or more matches this season and got a future free season for their efforts: Andy McCormac, Darren Smolkin  (44 Crazy Matches), Victor Kowalewski, Valentin Ionescu-Tiba, Marcelo Saavedra, Bob Nazy, Bob Grochau, Robert Pierce and Keiji Tomita. Nice job guys!

Here's to hoping a bunch of 8th and 9th seeds in the playoffs win the championships.  It happens more than you would think in our league. 

Struggling With Your Tennis Game? - Essential Tips for Tennis Newcomers

     Tennis is one of those sports that’s made to look easy on TV but when you come to pick up your own racquet, you’ll find its arguably one of the most difficult games to play.

     So much is required of a tennis player that they often have to work twice as hard as an average sportsman; focusing on everything from their general fitness, agility and flexibility to their skills from the baseline, in front of the net and so on.  If you’ve decided to take tennis a bit more seriously in recent weeks with the conclusion of the first major of the year, you might be finding a lot more difficult than you expected.

     Don’t worry though. Struggling to adapt to any sport is quite common and an obstacle that can be easily hurdled through regular participation and an improved understanding of the sport itself. We’ve all got our weaknesses and tennis is a sport that demands plenty, so here are some incredibly useful beginner hacks that will help you improve your overall performance on the tennis court.

The Grip

     How you hold your racquet is the first step to realising a simpler and more defined way of playing the game. Adopting the standard continental grip from an early stage will help you in your progression to more complex methods of serving and returning. If you’ve been using an entirely different grip to the continental grip, don’t panic.

     Many tennis players have had to change the way they play the game to see maximum results in the long term and this can mean feeling very uncomfortable with your grip for a few months afterwards. However, before you know it you’ll be adopting the continental grip naturally and you’ll start to see some gradual improvements over time.

The Serve

     If you’re constantly serving at speeds equaling that of the pros, you’re probably noticing a common trend which is that you are winning very few of your service points. There’s simply no point trying to serve at speed if you’re not accurate enough at present. Instead, concentrate all your efforts on the second serve and being prepared to send the ball back after the return.

     You should be aiming for a 75% success rate with your serves, so do you’re very best to meet this goal by serving as slow as you have to. Your accuracy will improve over time and you’ll gradually be able to start introducing faster serves that are much harder to return.

Avoiding Smash Shots

     We’ve all been involved in that situation where the ball is falling out of the sky towards you and you’re thinking “the point is won!” After all, a sky high return is the last shot your opponent would want to play right? Wrong. The truth is that the smash shot is one of the most difficult skills in the game and it wouldn’t be a bad strategy to test other amateurs with such a daunting shot attempt.

     It can be bitterly disappointing to lose a point in this way, especially if you’ve worked your opponent into a tight corner. Therefore, if you’re ever faced with a smash shot, we highly recommend that you either wait for the ball to bounce once to give you time to study the shot or hit a volley if you’re a little more experienced. The smash shot can be mastered at a later date.

Realizing the Difference between Winning and Not Losing

     There’s a huge difference between winning a point and doing your utmost not lost a point, so it’s essential that you realise when you need to change your game plan to come out on top in the game.

     Your approach should change when you are on the front foot compared to when you’re on the back foot but it’s also important to remember that, as an amateur, you’re not likely to win many points from staying on the offensive.

     When you’re trying to win a point you need to be shifting plenty of focus onto your accuracy and precision. As soon as you start to attack the opponent with shots after the return of serve, you’ll be looking to hit the ball harder and aim at a specific area of the court to put added pressure onto your opponent. This can result in the probability of error increasing tenfold. When returning on the back foot, you’ll be using plenty of physical endurance while waiting for a mistake.

     Another way of determining which method you should adopt in a game is to use the scoreboard. If your opponent is leading 40-15, it makes complete sense to try and draw an error from your opponent. If you’re leading the game 40-15 on your serve, you should go on the offensive as you also have a single point cushion to take advantage of.

Keep At It

     Tennis is a sport that will teach you a lot about your own physical capabilities, how you respond to change, how well you’re able to comprehend new match scenarios and adapt to them and how well you observe your own progression. Tennis is a hugely enjoyable sport but it can take time to perform at a level you’ll be satisfied with, so make sure you stick at for some time after you get started to witness the very best of your game.

Mike James
Content Editor
www.wickwoods.co.uk

Player Profile -> Megan Hescock from Greece to Chicago tennis balances her

        Players meet Megan Hescock out of the Metro Chicago Tennis League. Megan started to play with us in the Spring of 2012 and has fallen in love with our service.  When we awarded Megan the 2nd place 2014 Chicago Player of the Year award she returned this message:

        'I can't remember if I ever emailed you back! lol Basically I wanted to express how awesome I think Chitowntennis is. I'm absolutely in love with the program, the management, everything. When I moved to Chicago 4 years ago, I had no idea joining this program would be so fulfilling on so many levels. Playing tennis keeps me balanced in a way I didn't even know I was missing. Thank you for running such a truly excellent programe'

        Please let me know there's anything I can do to help you with the Chicago program.  

        So we asked Megan (ChiTown Tennis Profile) if she can tell the community her Tennis League Network story.  Here it is:

        As you might not know, I started playing tennis in Greece on a 12-year-old co-ed league when I was about 23. I was living in a tiny town on Rodos, and I had nothing else to do! So I originally learned to keep the score in Greek- and I still do in my head!

         I've been a part of the league for 3 seasons. I believe I heard about it by googling tennis programs in Chicago when I moved here 4 years ago. I'm so glad I did!!

Megan with her cousin Jake.

        I love the league's structure and management style. The structure gives you total freedom and flexibility in setting up matches, and the management is completely understanding and always responsive if any issues arise. Good management is the most difficult thing to find in ANY organization. I love that we can arrange matches as often as we want to play. It's just a matter of finding people with availability! There are so many priorities people have that trump a tennis match by a mile, and understandably of course- so you end up getting a lot of cancellations. One week I had 5 matches scheduled and 4 cancellations! Which is part of the reason that I set up so many in the first place ;)

        A match that really sticks out in my mind was a 10-game pro set I played with a woman who was honestly a lot more skilled than I am- she'd been playing since childhood and was now in her 50's, and was still in amazing shape. While I'd just started playing the previous year (aside from the 2 month stint in Greece), when I bought a Groupon for 6 tennis lessons out in the burbs. The score got up to 0-8. I was sure I was toast! Then somehow. Through some miracle. I came back to WIN at 10-8. I somehow won TEN games in a row. It was truly an inexplicably miraculous come back. She was stunned. And was happy for me bc she could see how hard I worked for it. 

        The other match that sticks out in my mind was with a woman who just moved to Chicago, and was a brand new player to the league this past summer. She was very skilled, and talked about how she takes lessons, has been playing for a really long time, that I should take lessons to avoid hurting myself, etc. She was really nice. Then as soon as we started playing, she was a different person! She argued about calls, she wouldn't speak to me aside from announcing the score- which she also fought about- and she had me running all over the court chasing balls like a crazy woman, because she was pretty good and I could barely keep up! She was winning for a while, but then her luck changed, and I made a come back! There was ONE more point left to play in the set before I would win (admittedly it could have gone either way, as it always can, and she could have won, too of course). It was her serve. Just before she served the last point, she said "I don't want to play anymore." Just like that! And forfeited the match. It was such an extreme and obvious case of her being afraid to lose that i couldn't even be mad out of sheer ridiculousness! I can see where it will be hard to lose to someone who's only had 6 lessons from a Groupon deal, and a couple months playing with kids in Greece lol.I know this story doesn't highlight the joys of tennis. But it's a real story that reveals the other side of intramural sportsmanship. It happens. Matches don't always end up with a cordial handshake and a cherry on top. And let's not be afraid to talk about it! It's an unfortunate part of life, but it's how you handle these moments that really make the player :)

        I believe the league has me ranked at 3.75. But the league's ratings seem pretty "padded" compared to the USTA ratings, where I'm probably closer to a 2.5.  Admin Note: Tennis League Network's philosophy is to follow the results as they are reported and get players into the right level as soon as the results dictate. Even during the middle of the season.

        I'm the one in work out pants with the terrible Walmart racquet and running shoes from 1997 lol. This was before I reluctantly transitioned to tennis clothes haha. And I basically stopped taking pictures after that. I resisted tennis clothes for like 2 years, insisting on wearing cheerleader shorts and yoga pants, just to make a point. I am one of those people that believes it's not the equipment that makes a player. And I was determined to prove it lol. But tennis clothes are literally designed to hold tennis balls (duh), which is unfortunately really convenient, so I gave in!

New Playing Format: Tennis Tournaments

        Players in our largest cities we hope you'll like our new playing format: Tennis Tournaments - Every Match counts.

       
How does the Tournament format Work?   Every Match Counts *NEW* for 2015
Tennis Tournament Basic Concept

     Our tournaments are a single elimination format with a consolation bracket. Meaning you are guaranteed at least 2 matches. This tournament format will not be played at a single location over a weekend instead players are given 7 to 10 days to play each round's match.

Member Since 07/01/13

Great way to meet good people and 

hit with competitive tennis players!

S. Levenson 

     Our tournaments will be mixed gender unless we have particularly strong female enrollment in a city. The tournaments will be singles based until we receive enough response to open it up for doubles. Players will be grouped in brackets with players no greater than .5 of their current TLN League Rating. Meaning Skilled - 3.0 players will be matched with other 3.0 players and at most with Competitive - 3.5 level players. Competitive - 3.5 level players could be grouped with Advanced - 4.0 players but will not have Elite 4.5 level players in their bracket.

Our Guarantee
     We need at least 6 players to make a tournament bracket. If we can NOT reach this criteria then we will refund your entry fee and give you the next tournament for no cost. Our hope is to run multiple skill level brackets for each tournament. We are NOT going to show early enrollment for the tournaments. Also the 7-day money back guarantee expires as soon as the tournament starts. Tournaments will not allow for late enrollment.

Leveling
     All tournament players will need to have played 4 league/season or tennis ladder legacy matches before they can enter into a tournament. Players will be entered into the tournament that associates with their TLN's Player Rating. If a player wants to participate in a second draw at a rating higher than their Player Rating they will be allowed too.

Member Since 02/08/10

Your Schedule and Availability
     These tournaments will be kicked off on Thursday's giving the first round opponents two weekends to play the first match and then each following round will have a full week to play the match. Players need to be local for at least the first 3 weeks after kickoff. Players with 1-week work trips or week long vacations during the first 3 weeks shouldn't participate in the tournament.

Seedings
      The TennisNorthEast staff will seed 25% of the participants based veteran status (Most number of matches played in their career) with the program. If we have 8 players enrolled we'll seed the top 2 players, 16 players the top 4 players. The rest of the players will be randomly entered into the draw.

Consolation Bracket
     We will run a consolation bracket for the players who lost their first match. Seedings for the consolation bracket will be randomly selected by the TennisNorthEast staff. The winner of the consolation bracket will receive a $25 Tennis Warehouse Gift Card. 
 

Where to Play?
       Because the seeding of the tournament is mainly randomize the higher seed will NOT have home court preference. The league strongly suggests you meet half-way to cut the commute in half for both players. We provide an extensive list of tennis courts that have user submitted ratings. If two players need guidance they can certainly email our staff for suggestions.

Member Since 07/20/09

It's so great to be back playing tennis 

weekly for very little cost. THANK YOU.

A. Kussell 

Playing Format
      The preferred playing format for tournaments should be 2 sets with a 3rd set tie-breaker or 2 out of 3 sets. If the two players can't agree the default format will be the 2 sets with a 3rd set tie-breaker. In NYC we will accept 10 game pro set results mainly due to court availability.
Target Audience
      This will be our most competitive format. The target audience is for the player who are good sports and love to play competitive matches.

Prize Pool

      The prize pool will be based upon enrollment in each bracket. A tournament can have multiple brackets. The tournament prize structure is based around our partner Tennis Warehouse (TW).

6 to 10 players: $50 TW Gift Card for the winner*, $25 TW GC for Finalist, $25 TW GC for Consolation bracket winner
11 to 16: $100 TW GC for the winner* + Trophy, $50 TW GC for Finalist, $25 TW GC for Consolation winner
17 to 24: $150 TW GC for the winner* + Trophy, $50 TW GC for Finalist, $25 TW GC for 3rd & 4th place, $50 TW GC for Consolation winner
25+: $200 TW GC for the winner* + Trophy, $100 TW GC for Finalist, $25 TW GC for 3rd and 4th place, $50 TW GC for Consolation winner

      All tournament champions will be receive an entry into the End of the Year National Tourneys at the champions discounted rate.

Cost to Participate

      The cost will be $24.95 per tournament except for the inaugural tournament which will be $19.95.