Week of November 2nd - 6th, 2020 This week we have come to an agreement with Cedar Springs to begin hosting interclub junior tournaments. We will start by offering U9 tournaments "orange dot, 3/4 court" this Saturday. We look forward to a fun atmosphere with the kids enjoying themselves and many of them playing their first tournament. More tournaments to come! We continue to be diligent in following all the protocols and are grateful for your cooperation. We thank you all for your patronage, and your diligence in helping us make the tennis training possible for all our junior players! Below find your weekly update from your head coach, and if you have any questions for me, I can be reached at kyrylo@acetennis.ca. Kyrylo Tabunshchyk, Vice President / General Manager ACE Tennis Burlington

PROGRESSIVE 1 AND 2 From Head Coach Anna Momot amomot@acetennis.ca PROGRESSIVE 1 Our priority is the the kids' safety and we have decided to split up the class by rotation during the lesson and switching kids over to another court with coach Kirill. Thus, if you can't find your little tennis player in some of the videos don't worry, they worked hard with coach Kirill!

This week we started to work on being sideways towards the ball. We did a lot of repetitions - "shuffle - shuffle, step in, sideways position, touch the ball." Every practice, we move the kids further away from the net, and they have almost approached the "baseline" on the Mini Tennis court. It's excellent progress! Next session starts the week of January 4th, and registration will be available November 15th. Next week we will discuss and evaluate the kids' level with the other coaches. Based on their skills, we will recommend moving some player to a more advanced level - Mini Tennis Team (it's the next essential step if you want them to take tennis a bit more seriously), and for some kids, it will make sense to stay in Progressive 1 for another session - to work further on the fundamental skills. If you prefer to stay in the skills development stream, Progressive 2 could be an option [for ages 7-9). Don't hesitate to ask me any questions!  PROGRESSIVE 2 We had a great week, and continued with the ball control drills. It's a significant moment when they learn to control the ball, and this will help them make fewer mistakes. They rallied keeping score, which helped them focus. We also never forget about some fitness at the beginning of the practice. Proper movement on the court is the crucial part and the key to success! Next session's registration will start on January 4th and will be available for registration on November 15.

PROGRESSIVE 2 - Competitive From Head Coach Mike Donski mikedonski@acetennis.ca We had another great week of training! The kids worked on maintaining their stroke rhythm and being consistent with their shots. This week marks the beginning of a competitive block where they will get to play more points in different situations. The initial emphasis is on strategy: fight to keep the ball in play, be more consistent than the opponent. The message was well received and we got to see some very competitive matches and had tons of fun!

PROGRESSIVE 3 From Head Coach Mihai Mocanu mihai@acetennis.ca  This week in Progressive 3 we worked on ball control, consistency and serve motion. We've also worked on recovery and we've implemented all this into playing points, full court, with serve. Players learned how to keep score as well, and this helped them stay engaged and having fun. The hour goes by really fast, as they were saying!

COMPETITIVE ACES From Head Tom Pociecha tom@acetennis.ca  This week was less focused on skill development as we tried to incorporate all that we have been working on in "point play" situations. The major "themes" which helps players compete well against others, is to have the athletic look (and thus focus) and consistency.

I felt they did their best to keep as many balls in play as possible and those that were able to do so (especially while keeping the ball deep) were rewarded. Another "theme" we have been working on is to come forward and have the ability to finish the point at the net (with a volley or overhead). We played a few games in which the players had to move forward after the initial feed in order to give them more "volume" at working on these specific skills.  After spending a few minutes on co-operative serve and returns, the players played full court points, at which point I was able to assess how everything is coming together. Next week we will continue with more specific skill development with point play situations in order to provide the students with decision making opportunities which are very important to an "open" sport like tennis.

HIGH SCHOOL TEAM From Head Coach Jay Barlow jay@acetennis.ca We continued with our doubles training this week and improved our court positioning and net play. Volleys and overheads were much better and players have started to communicate with their partners better. Next week we will be back to singles play with more emphasis on groundstrokes and court coverage.