May 18, 2022
Tennis coaches and instructors gathered at the Saw Mill Club in Mount Kisco this past weekend for the annual USPTA Eastern Tennis Conference.
The weekend-long conference provided an environment for coaches to learn from one another, take part in seminars and workshops, and introduce new methods for instructors to bring back to their respective clubs and/or programs.
“The conference went great,” said USPTA Eastern Executive Director Paul Fontana. “Our headline speakers Mark Bey, Katrina Adams, Mike Barrell and Bill Mountford were part of an excellent lineup that provided a lot of great insights for our members. It was the perfect way to begin the 2022 summer, and USPTA is looking forward to a successful summer.”
Bey spoke about modern tennis drills for 2022, while Mountford discussed how to network to build your coaching career. Adams, the former President & CEO of the USTA, led a seminar on “How to Own Your Arena.
These are just a few examples of the wide array of discussion topics that were available for guests of the conference, and illustrates the knowledge and benefits that can be gained as a coach by being a part of USPTA Eastern.
“USPTA once again created a high quality environment with a studious and professional group of coaches who asked great questions and added new ideas to the content,” said Barrell, who taught a workshop on competitive skills for all levels of juniors. “The goal of the workshop was to help coaches prepare for their young players for the mental challenges of tennis. As coaches we spend lots of time helping children technically and tactically but if the players are not prepared for the mental and emotional experiences of the battle then the one thing we want kids to love, playing our game, can become stressful.”
In addition to workshops and seminars, the Conference featured a cocktail party, trade show and more to create not only an education-filled weekend, but also a fun one that allowed coaches to socialize and network with one another.
You can learn more about USPTA Eastern by visiting Facebook.com/USPTAEastern.
