Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education Named as USTA Certified Regional Training Center

Philadelphia-Based Program will Expand USTA Player Development’s Programming Throughout the Region
By: United States Tennis Association (USTA)
 
Jan. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., January 20, 2011 – USTA Player Development announced today that Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education (AAYTE) in Philadelphia has been named a USTA Certified Regional Training Center as part of its continuing effort to develop the next generation of world-class American players.  The junior development program will serve as a USTA Certified Regional Training Center for the USTA Middle States section, and will join with two programs in Massachusetts and two programs in New Jersey to form a broader network servicing the Northeast Corridor.  

As a USTA Certified Regional Training Center, AAYTE will enhance the training and development of junior players throughout the Northeast, and USTA Player Development will use this new partnership as a vehicle to educate and collaborate with junior tennis coaches throughout the region to work together towards developing the next generation of world-class American players.  

In addition to continuing their already existing programs, the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers will also host USTA Player Development camps for players, ages 8-12, in their respective regions.  These players will be selected in conjunction with the USTA National coaching staff and their respective USTA Section Coaching Commission.  The Centers will also help identify talent in players as young as 6-years-old, run programs using the QuickStart Tennis* play format and host QuickStart tournaments for players 8 and under and 10 and under.

“Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education has done a wonderful job of developing talent in the Philadelphia community, and we are thrilled to add the program to our list of USTA Certified Regional Training Centers,” said Martin Blackman, Senior Director, Talent Identification and Development, USTA Player Development, who oversees the Regional Training Center program.  “This partnership was established with the invaluable support and cooperation of the USTA Middle States section, led by Jill Fonte (President), Marlynn Orlando (Executive Director & COO) and Michael Kennedy (Junior Competition Director), and the USTA looks forward to working with AAYTE to foster and develop the abundance of talent in the Northeast.”

“We are very pleased that Martin and his team have chosen this outstanding facility to join the USTA Certified Regional Training Center program,” said Orlando.  “We believe the partnership between USTA Player Development, USTA Middle States and Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education will provide invaluable assistance to junior players throughout our section as they attempt to maximize their potential.”

"We are thrilled to have been selected by the USTA as a Certified Regional Training Center,” said Kenny Holdsman, President, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education.  “This significant opportunity will put gusts of wind in the sails of our player development and coaching capacity building efforts across the Middle States section, especially with young people from communities which have traditionally been under-represented in the higher levels of the game.  Our Regional Training Center will fit remarkably well with our grass-roots programs in schools and parks in Philadelphia and Camden, as well as with our tennis, education, and leadership development work at the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center.  Our coaching staff, board, partners in the Middle States office, and of course our many student-athletes are teaming with excitement."

The camps will be staffed by the top coaches at the USTA Certified Regional Training Centers and throughout the USTA Middle States section with additional assistance from the USTA National coaching staff.  USTA Certified Regional Training Center coaches will also participate in the USTA Coaching Education program by working with and training the top coaches in their region and/or USTA section.  Additionally, the RTC coaches will attend training sessions at USTA National Training Centers in Boca Raton, Fla., Carson, Calif., and Flushing, N.Y.

The USTA Certified Regional Training Centers expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players.  In December 2008, the USTA named the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta and The Junior Tennis Champions Center in Maryland as its first two USTA Certified Regional Training Centers.  In addition to the five Northeast programs named today, the USTA also has named a network of facilities in Texas, Northern California, the Midwest and Missouri Valley as USTA Certified Regional Training Centers, as well as individual facilities in Las Vegas and San Diego.  The USTA plans to name additional USTA Certified Regional Training Centers encompassing all USTA sections throughout the country over the next five years.  

Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis & Education (AATYE) is a National Junior Tennis & Learning chapter located at a facility in Philadelphia that features 16 hard courts.  AAYTE provides year-round programming for students of all ages and abilities, from after-school and QuickStart Tennis clinics for young beginners to the Futures Stars and Maximum Performance programs for elite high school students.  AAYTE programming is run by Tennis Director Lance Lee and Player Development Co-Directors Jon Glover and Justin O’Neal.

The new USTA Player Development unit has been created to identify and develop the next generation of American players by surrounding the top juniors and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their maximum potential.  The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and also utilizes the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif., and the USTA Training Center-East at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.  In 2008, the USTA began implementing its Certified Regional Training Center program as part of its effort to expand the USTA Player Development program’s reach throughout the country by partnering with academies, clubs and tennis centers that have a proven record of identifying and developing tennis players.

* QuickStart Tennis is a play format that has been developed to help kids ten and under play the game of tennis.  To make the game more accessible to children, several elements have been modified including the court size, the racquet size, the balls, the scoring system, and even the net height.

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with 750,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.

For more information contact:
Anna Cramer, Communications Coordinator, USTA Middle States
(610) 935-5000, ext. 222 or acramer@ms.usta.com
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Source:United States Tennis Association (USTA)
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