Sunday, December 21, 2014

COURT REPORT WINTER 2014/2015

                 R.I.P.  Seth Nadel

                                

It is with deep regret that we inform you of the demise of Seth Nadel. Most local tennis players knew Seth as the owner of Tiger Racquet and Fitness Club in Kingston where many of us played in the 1980s and 90s. He later went on to manage the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club. Seth was also an accomplished artist and has had several of his paintings of Poughkeepsie installed at the Civic Center and also exhibited at several locations.
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          Wish you all a Merry Christmas
             and the best of the season.
Since League Players like to raise the bar in excellence, here is an incredible version of  'O Holy Night' ,which gets better as the song progresses-like a hard fought tennis match !!
 
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                       Good news !!
 The tennis courts at Forsyth Park and Saugerties are finally approved for renovation ! Here is a news article about the Forsyth Park renovation plans:
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20141215/ny-state-aid-will-help-kingston-pay-for-forsyth-park-facelift 

Tennis at Forsyth Park
                                         Video of Ron Woods talking about tennis in Ulster County

This could not have been possible without Ron Woods,the benevolent donor and patriarch of tennis in Ulster County,  the folks at MHVTA,the support Mayor Gallo of Kingston,Parks and Recreation official Kevin Gilfeather and especially YOU the League Players who have supported tennis in the area by participating in Leagues, tournaments or just having the desire to play tennis !!
                        THANK YOU !!
                      
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  WINNERS OF THE 2014 LEAGUE:
Grand Champion : ALL participants

Other winners:

Men's A Singles:
Ravi Ramaswami

Men's B Singles Division 1 : 
 Michael McNicholas


Men's B Singles Division 2 : 
 Bob Nicol 

Women's B Singles:
 Melissa Bamford

C Singles: 
Dennis Jones 

Super Senior Singles:
Larry Arvidson

Super Seniors Doubles
Larry Arvidson/Bruce Sumber

Men's B Doubles:
Ed Biro/Joe Reilly  

 Women's C Doubles:
 Francine Wizner/Donna Viertel  


A Mixed Doubles:
Milly Back/Ravi Ramaswami 

B Mixed Doubles:
 Melissa Bamford/Paul Mushlit   
 
Congratulations to all League Players for yet another successful season. Have a great indoor season !!
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           The heroes of the League
These two League players went out of their way to play in the League:
Donn Viertel cut her finger carving turkey but an improvised bandaging technique by her opponent Dr. Francine Wizner made her ready to serve ! Another innovative use of the over grip tape !!

 Michael McNicholas ,who won the B division singles, used to travel all the way south of New Paltz-all the way from Marlboro- to play in League matches !!
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What I did for love.....
League Players love tennis and go out of their way to express their love for tennis. Here is a pictorial montage to some of them.

  Here are some examples of how much our League Players love tennis and/or how they express it:
David White,The Terminator 2, has tennis tattooed on his arm !
Not to be outdone,The Terminator Greg Tellier is so passionate about the game that he is known to  punch  his racquet strings during a match !
The Terminator (R) and sparring partner even played on Xmas eve-outdoors !
Kevin Dodd has played many matches in pouring rain
High Priestess Milly Back's iconic picture of  practicing in the rain
And this player did not let the prospect of a tick or Lyme disease interrupt his tennis !
Scott Rubinstein goes to play tennis even in a snow storm !
And Francine Wizner really,really loves tennis !!
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Monday, September 29, 2014

COURT REPORT FALL 2014

                     The Three Sisters
The three sisters  is an agricultural technique used by Native Americans long before the advent of pesticides and is considered a symbiotic and ecologically sound method of cultivation :
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1975230_970007879692387_4887927978563650828_n.jpg?oh=a69217902b8f3ee2a6c9bd17df9b60d5&oe=54BF7C72&__gda__=1421583183_082a807c0f313bf7beb92f944b7a976e
(There is also a '4th sister'-the Rocky Mountain bee plant which attracts bees to pollinate the plants)
 League Players also can benefit from 3 tenets:
1.Eyes
2.Feet
3.Hands
1.Eyes: Focus on the ball from the time your opponent gets ready to hit it and all the way to your racquet.
2. Feet: Move your feet to get into position to hit the ball.
3. Hands: Your left hand (for righties) should  push or pull the racquet  to get your shoulders turned and to get the racquet head in position behind the ball before the ball bounces on your side. 

This tennis version of the Three Sisters will get your game consistent and dependable rally after rally.
2009 Three Sisters commemorative dollar coin 
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Zen Tennis : A guide for League Players to reach Tennis Nirvana

2014 Tennis League concludes ! 
Thank you all !
Despite the fact that the total number of matches played were less than last year,there is no question of the fact that
 it was a lot of fun !
The play offs to decide the winners are also concluding soon and we wish to thank each one of you for your support of the Hudson Valley's largest tennis league.
As a celebratory tribute to League Players,please enjoy watching this video of the 2014 Bastille Day fireworks over the Eiffel Tower:


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The all body stretch in 5 minutes or less !
 https://s.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w568/e62ce06c73fa40247b3513b67b429d18accb7b12.jpg
Details at:

https://www.yahoo.com/health/the-world-s-greatest-stretch-c1412789780341.html
                
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                  Zen Tennis :a series of articles to help League Players reach tennis Nirvana
                    

This week on Zen Tennis: Playing with heart
"You can have my name,you can have my number ...but you can never have my heart"
                                                      -Theme song from the Bond movie,'Skyfall'.

Even when your opponent is playing well,you can still create a significant impact if you have heart.
Playing with 'heart' means playing  with the intention of winning. The thought of losing is not even an option.  Think Jimmy Connors. He played every match like he was going to win.-giving it his 110%.
 In order to play with 'heart'. you need to :
1. Get back to back to basics: watch the ball,move your feet,and avoid risky shots.
2. Play each point as if it were match point.
3. Focus on the moment not the aches,the heat or the result.
These 3 things will make you change the fulcrum point of the match and you might even come from behind!
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                 Better late than never !
The article below,on Malala Yousafzai, was published last year on this web site just before the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded. Unfortunately she did not receive the prize last year but won it this year along with an Indian children's rights advocate. Malala is Pakistani and having an Indian and Pakistani share the Nobel Peace Prize just as India and Pakistan are going to war,is ironical-to say the least.

As ironical as setting up a good point and then flubbing the put away shot !                                                                     
                         I am Malala (published 10/8/13)
Malala Yousafzai

    Malala Yousafzai is a 16 year old Pakistani girl who was going to school when the Taliban entered the school bus and shot her for daring to get educated. She was left bleeding but ultimately rescued and sent to England for treatment of her complicated injuries. A piece of her skull had to be replaced with a titanium piece.She now carries that piece of her skull as a reminder of her mission-a mission to provide education to girls all over the world. She has been a spokesperson for education despite continuing to be on the Taliban's hit list.
Her book entitled " I am Malala" was released this month and the words " I am Malala" has been incorporated by children all over the world as a rallying cry and support for Malala and women's education.
She is a favorite to get the Nobel Peace Prize this year-to be announced Friday 10/10/13.
We applaud her courage-and as a reminder to League Players : persistence and passion can get you from impossible situations to successful ones.
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  For League Players who don't want to practice.....
 
                   (Thanks,Donna Viertel, for sharing this quote !)
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                   Eye on the ball .....
We all have been told to do that and here are some pros who do just that !
 
 

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  League Players Shine in Woodstock Open !!
League players left their mark on the clay courts at Woodstock with 6 of them reaching the finals !   
Jihyuk Han and Don Tegeler were in the Open Doubles finals.

Claudia Brown beat Elyssa Staub in a match with long rallies. 

In the Men's Finals Steve Hack beat
the defending champion ,The Terminator, Greg Tellier. 
Greg had won last year's championship defeating 
Ulster County Champion Shawn Holzmann, in the finals. So by this calculation, Steve can be considered the best player in Ulster County---and he is a League player too !
Welcome to the Elite Group,Steve !!                                                       
Don Tiegler/Jihyuk Han ( extreme right) Doubles Finalists
Steve Hack beat The Terminator in the Men's Singles Finals
Claudia Brown(L) d Elyssa Staub in the Women's finals.
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                           3 degrees of separation ! ! 
Steve Hack won the 2014 Woodstock Open Singles defeating
-->The Terminator,Greg Tellier who --> beat Ulster County Champion,Shawn Holzmann in the 2013 Woodstock finals.

So doesn't that make Steve the #1 player in Ulster County ?
We think so !

Or as Fox News would say : " We report -you decide" !!
                                            
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                       The Lone Rangers
2 beautiful mornings this weekend and no one playing tennis !
Except for the Lone Rangers....
League Player Lisa Carbone and her  husband were the only occupants of the 7 courts at UCCC
 
The Terminator Greg Tellier(R) and friend were the loners at Forsyth Park
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                      The void....
When the pot holes outside the tennis courts were glistening with new gravel and shiny paving material,it had less to do with the town's new found love for tennis but more to do with putting on a happy face for the attendees of the 'Touch a Truck' ( yes that was the name) expo. The tennis courts were empty but that was probably because there was no place to park for tennis players !
 
Empty courts...

Full parking lot for the truck expo !
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             Fall League Begins !!
The Fall Edition (groan....!) of the Mid Hudson Tennis League has begun !
Players in the Spring League are automatically enrolled in the Fall League at no extra charge and retain their points ! New entrants are welcome too. This will give League Players some extra playing time till mid October when the play offs take place.
So don't hang up your racquets and make use of the extended summer weather we are having !!
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                     Coach of the Year: Pete Zeeh
Ace Coach Pete Zeeh at his home court
 Pete Zeeh was the dominant tennis player in the area since 1962 when he won the first of his eleven Ulster County Tennis titles. He owned and operated the Ulster Tennis Club and later taught tennis at UCCC and Zena Rec Club.
                                  He now gives private lessons at his home court at Sawkill Road in Kingston in the summer and teaches in Englewood,Florida in the winter.
                  He also gives FREE lessons at Forsyth Park on Saturdays at 10 a.m.
                                  Pete has a very simple yet very effective approach to teaching. He takes the technique used by a player, and simplifies it without modifying it. The result is instant improvement (we have tested and tried it!)
Pete Zeeh can be reached at:
 pete@zeeh.com
and at 845-331-4355.
We recommend him highly !!
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                           Winners !!
Extreme left (back row): Vicky Madonna and Kevin Madonna
 League Players Vicky and Kevin Madonna were honored on Center Court at the New Haven Yale Tennis Center during the Connecticut Open. They reached the finals of the Husband/Wife Division of the New Haven Family Classic.
 Vicky and Kevin won their first three matches on July 20, but lost in the finals played on August 21. Their runner-up trophy was presented to them by James Blake on center court after the conclusion of the women's quarter finals.
                                                       Kevin is also heading to Tuscon,AZ to play for his USTA team at the National Championships. We wish him the best !
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