The Southwest Section (SWS) Player Development Department hosted its first Early Development Camp (EDC) for Northern New Mexico, on April 21st and 22nd, at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center. Johnny Parkes, SWS Player Development Manager, and Laurie Warder, USTA faculty staff, came to Albuquerque and organized local pros David Pitts, Johnny Kowalski, Amy Badger, and Eric Hagenimana in the two day event.
Twenty area juniors, ranging in age from 7-12, came out for the two day camp. The players represented Lobo Tennis Club, Tennis Club of Albuquerque, Tanoan Country Club, Shellaberger Tennis Center, Albuquerque Country Club, Four Hills Country Club, Highpoint Sports and Wellness, and Jerry Cline Tennis Center. Shown right are participants Brandon Briganti, Nicolas Scheller, Roland Zhang, Hunter Hootman, Coleton Hootman, and Audrey Colter. Photos courtesy of Sissy Kelly.
The players received on-court instructions through live and dead ball drills, video tape and Dartfish analysis of their various strokes, and feedback and coaching on match play strategies and patterns. The training weekend also included a coaches clinic and parents informational meeting. The next step in the SWS player development pathway is to combine the GEPTA and NNMTA communities together in a one-day guided match play camp.
For information on the SWS player pathway and the camp schedules, contact either the SWS at
juniorcomp@southwest.usta.com or NNMTA's High Performance Junior Chairperson, Johnny Kowalski, at
jkow1980@gmail.com. Click
HERE to go to the SWS website and read more about the Section's Junior Development Pathway Camps.