Blog Archives - West Ottawa Panther Tennis

WOcademy

4/30/2012

Parent/Players,

This summer I will be forming a summer-long Tennis Academy at West Ottawa called "WOcademy". My goal is to have 150 kids in K-7th grade having a blast on our tennis courts 4 days a week, all summer long! It will run 7-weeks and will be split into 2-week and 3-week sessions. If you can help me fill it up with kids ready to have fun, then I promise you I will deliver a great product.

Here's what I want you to do:
1. If you have children that might enjoy this program, I hope you consider joining.
2. If you know friends who may be interested, please forward this information their way.
3. If you know of a way that I could better spread the word about this program, let me know.

Than,

Coach Schwallier

Dewitt Tennis Center Opportunity

4/30/2012

The following was emailed to me from Jorge Capestany at the Dewitt Tennis Center. If you are interested, contact them to get involved.

Hello Players and Parents,

I have a great opportunity for our young players.... USTA Junior Team Tennis. This is a fun way for kids to get a group of their friends and/or teammates and compete as a team.

Who: All junior Tennis Players 18, 16, 14, 12 and 10 and Under
What: Jr. Team Tennis is Match Play in a team format
When: June and July in the evenings (generally 6pm matches)
Why: To play competitive matches with friends with a chance to go to the playoffs. It is a great addition to regular
lessons and gets kids playing matches in a fun format.
Cost: Just $15 League fee and you must have a current USTA membership
Format: Summer Matches consist of 3 girls singles, 3 boys singles, 1 girls doubles, 1 boys doubles, and 1 mixed
doubles match
Teams: Consist of at least 3 boys and 3 girls with 8-10 players suggested per team
To Register: Teams may register by contacting Chris Wilton at wmijtt@gmail.com or 616-566-7199
Individuals and Teams: May also register and be placed on a team at the "Registration/Try Out Night"
Deadline: June 1, 2012

Registration/Try Out Night
Wednesday, May 30, 6-7pm

Location: TBD

Coordinator: Chris Wilton - wmijtt@gmail.com     616-566-7199

If you have any addition questions please don't hesitate to contact me (Adam Ford) at ford@hope.edu
See you all out on the Courts,

Adam Ford

Grandville Match Cancelled

4/30/2012

Parents/Players,

The match with Grandville has been cancelled. I will contact their coach and begin setting up a day to make it up. In the meantime, we will battle East Kentwood tomorrow.

The weather is going to be spotty all week long. We will work hard every day to get the match in, but we will all have to be flexible. When it comes to the weather, there is so much that is out of our control.

On an unrelated note, there is information on the Year-End Banquet under the Varsity and JV tabs. Check it out and make it part of your plans.

-Coach Schwallier

Conference/Regionals/State Finals Information

4/28/2012

Some varsity parents/players who are new to the tennis program have asked some very good questions recently. For example, we all know that winning the OK-Red is a team goal, but what does a team have to do in order to be Conference Champion? Or, how does the Conference Tournament differ from the Regional Tournament (and yes, they are very different)?

To help answer these questions, I put together an explanation of how the OK-Red, the Regional, and the State Finals work. If you are interested, it's in the Women's Varsity Tabs. Or just CLICK HERE.

Currently, we are in first place in the OK-Red and are the only unbeaten team remaining. Official standings haven't been released, but here's where I think we stand from checking the Press:

OK Red Standings:
1. West Ottawa
2. Rockford
3. Hudsonville
4. East Kentwood
5. Grandville
6. Grand Haven
7. Jenison

Alright, enjoy your weekend everyone,

Coach Schwallier

JV Tournament tomorrow is cancelled.

4/27/2012

Players/Parents,
The JV tournament has been cancelled for tomorrow. Spread the word!

West Ottawa defeats Rockford 5-3

4/26/2012

Girls, it was a privilege to be your coach today. Moms and Dads, you ought to be very proud of your girls. Not all matches are created equal, and they won a big one today. Girls, thank you for all the hard work you put in last summer, fall, and winter to make a day like this possible. Many of you said on this site before the season started that beating Rockford was one of your goals for the year. Today you accomplished it.

Our TEAM goals are unchanged:
1. Win the OK-RED
2. Win the Division 1 Regional
3. Advance to the State Finals

Let's keep working and make them happen!

Have a good night girls,

Coach Schwallier

Mona Shores Rescheduled

4/26/2012

Parents/Players,

Mona Shores has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 3. Because we have lots of matches that week, and I don't want us getting worn down at night, we will be making two changes to the format:

1. The Match will start at 3:30 instead of 4:00.
2. We will play super-tiebreakers in place of 3rd sets.

This will allow us to honor our commitment to Mona Shores, but still gets us home for dinner.

-Coach Schwallier

Rockford varsity match to conclude tomorrow

4/25/2012

Varsity Players/Parents,
Well, we are half-way there. When school gets out, get to transportation ASAP and let's go get a Win. Bring your A-game and be ready to rock.
-Coach Schwallier

Jenison Photos are up!

4/24/2012

And they look really great! Thanks to Bethany/Kelly for such good shots. Also, parents/players, make sure to show Kennidi lots of love for uploading them to me after each match. It's actually quite easy for me to get them on the site once they are emailed to me, so I think Kennidi has the hard part:)

Jenison Recap

4/23/2012

Hey Girls,

Nice job today. It's difficult to play in very windy conditions, and you performed well in it. A few things to keep in mind:

Doubles Players: In the wind, you want to stand a couple feet further back when you are the net...BUT THERE'S A CATCH. The catch is that you have to keep a very low body position, so you can pounce on week shots. When you do this, you become very difficult to beat.

Singles: In the wind, you have to play a balancing act. On one hand, you need to be a bit more conservative by not aiming as close to lines as normal. On the other hand, you still have to hit aggressively. You didn't spend the past year practicing strong strokes to just throw them away because of a little wind:) So keep hitting hard...just don't do it too close to the lines.

Again, you DID do a very nice job in the wind today, I'm just writing this as a reminder so we keep it up.

I'll see you all tomorrow at practice, thanks for continuing to do a great job!

-Coach Schwallier