La Petite Tennis Brings a Flair to Balboa
A French couple invented La Petite Tennis for the youngest tots to enjoy learning tennis. By youngest I mean ages three to five. And it took a Romanian teaching pro with a lot of experience bringin
g youngsters into the game, keeping them enthused and in many cases watching them win championships to introduce this method at Balboa Tennis Club.
Catalin Chira grew up in Romania and was an accomplished junior player. In college, he received a degree in Sport and Physical Education. Unlike our colleges, Romania offered no athletic scholarships, but his grades earned him an academic scholarship.
Chira has 14 years experience as a tennis director and had his own club in Romania where he taught juniors, among them 68 who were tops in their country. He came to Balboa Tennis Club via Canada, Visalia and Bakersfield. In Canada, one of his players was No. 3 in the under 18 division and he qualified many juniors for the nationals and for ITF tournaments. He continued to bring promising juniors along while in Northern California and taught the No. 1 in the 10 and under division and had four juniors in the NorCal top 20.
La Petite Tennis has been in Europe for 10 years, but Chira really latched onto it at a USPTR seminar. It’s a program that draws youngsters in and holds their attention for a whole hour. So what is the magic that enables a three or four-year-old to stay tuned for that long? “It’s the story telling,” Shira said. “The whole concept is based on animal stories that are used to relate to hitting a tennis ball. For example I tell them the story about the crocodile and the hunter. What they don’t realize is that while they are listening to the story and are hitting the ball I am teaching them the volley and the split step. Parents tell me their children can’t wait to come to the next session.” La Petite is available to the public at Balboa Tennis Club.
Tennis Hall of Fame Induction This Month
The San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame will induct five individuals who have made significant contributions to tennis on Saturday, August 29, on the Maureen Connolly Stadium court at Balboa Tennis club. The honorees are George Barnes, Bob Carrothers, Ed Collins, Kelly Jones and Dr. Homer Peabody. Everyone is invited to the ceremony. A catered dinner buffet on the lawn will follow. Seating on the lawn is limited. Make your reservations early. It is $15 casino per person. Make your check payable to SDDTA.
Barnes to Host the 16s Nationals; Johnson Hopes to Shine
Steve Bickham once again welcomes the best girls from throughout the nation to The moon sign horoscope cancer is the sign that the moon was in when you were born. the Barnes Tennis Center August 9-16 for the USTA Girls 16 National Hard Court Championships. Only one will the gold ball, but before the last point is played, there will be fantastic tennis to watch. The matches are open to the public.
Hailey Johnson from Bonsall is entered. She’s a 16-year-old who will be a junior at Fallbrook High in the fall. She has played No. 1 singles for her school since she was a freshman. Last year, she had to pull out of the Girls 16s at the last minute due to an unexpected appendectomy. Right now she holds a SoCal ranking of 15 and is No. 35 in the nation.
She took up tennis when she was seven after trying her hand at every sport imaginable. Tennis was the one she loved. “Friends of mine played and that’s what made me try the game for fun. Then I got competitive and my parents let me enter the North County Tennis Patrons tournaments. From there I graduated to sanctioned events and was playing the 10s when I was still only seven,” Johnson said.
Not only is Johnson a very athletic young lady, she holds a 3.6 GPA and wants to earn a college tennis scholarship.. Her coach the past four years is Dave Ramirez. She puts in at least two hours of practice every day during the school year and increases that by about an hour during the summer. “ I consider myself an aggressive all-court player. I use my serve and forehand to set up points.”
In her spare time she’s a beach gal. “I was a junior lifeguard and I love the beach. Surfing, running on the beach and going there with my friends is so much fun,” she laughed.
Johnson was named the Barnes Player of the Year in Girls 14s in 2007. She has also earned the 2007 SCTA Girls Sportsmanship Award, among other awards.
Of Note: Beach Hits the Beach, Fall Doubles FLEX League Sign Up
Gretchen Magers was packing to head off to play in the Wimbledon 35s with Conchita Martinez but she took time to enthuse about San Diego Beach Tennis, the combination tennis/beach volleyball sport. Winners of the Beach Tennis Smash held at Mariner’s Point included Parent/Child: Ros and Jason Nideffer; Amateur Doubles: Tiffany Worst/Blair Moses and Patrick Rost/Brett Buffington; Mixed Doubles Justine Perl/Luke Gaskins; Pro Doubles:Marty Solakas/Donny Young and Lisa/Laura Maloney; Pro Mixed Doubles Gretchen Magers/Jim Kellogg.
The SCTA Men’s Fall Doubles League and “Girls’ Nite Out” League begin play shortly after Labor Day. Deadline for team rosters is August 5. Captains call 858-755-8110 for team computer registration number.
The Fall Singles USTA FLEX League is open for registration August 1-September 22. Log onto sandiegotennis.com or ustaflex.com to sign up for singles. Play begins week of September 27.
