Wolverines sign King and Cha to National Letters of Intent.

Evan King leads USA to the World Team Junior Davis Cup Championship.

King Wins Big in Boca ITF!

Boys 14 Mini-Camp

HTA Boy’s 12 / 14 Mini Camp Summary
November 14 – 16, 2008

This past weekend, the Academy opened its doors to some of the most talented 12 – 14 year old boys from across the Midwest. We had 32 players participate in our three day Mini Camp that featured fun, educational seminars, and great competition. We chose this date for the camp to help these juniors prepare for their fall and winter national tournaments. The camp was Co- Directed by HTA Special Advisor and former Northwestern University Men’s Head Coach Paul Torricelli and I. The guest speakers that we brought in were Paul Lubbers (the former USTA Director of Coaching Education), and Northwestern University Men’s Coaches Arvid Swan and Chris Drake.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
6:30pm Players arrived at Glenbrook Racquet Club, home of the Herrmann Tennis Academy, at 6:30pm for registration. We were on court between 7:00-10:00 and HTA Director Ernie Katko conducted the three hour session‘s theme of “Exploiting Your Opponents weaknesses”. The juniors went through different playing patterns and later competed in match play. We had a great discussion on keeping a match journal and the energy in the room was electric. There was positive feedback offered from the coaching staff and Lubbers kept a watchful eye on the players biomechanics. After finishing at 10:00pm, the campers were given Saturday’s College Football pairings for an “in-house” academy football pool.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH
10:00am Everyone was on time and on court for Paul Lubbers’ video presentation “Developing an on court routine.” Paul presented a fascinating video break down of all of the top ATP players on tour and the way they conduct themselves in between points. The boys got to watch Federer’s rituals and Nadal’s positive motivation in between points. Choosing how to let go of a bad shot and taking control of the elements of the match were constant messages coming from Paul’s voice. Later, Paul had some of the juniors show the campers their rituals and that later led to further group discussion. Many parents were in attendance as well. We finished the morning session with drills before serving lunch.

During lunch, Torricelli conducted an educational seminar for about 25 parents interested in learning about the college process. The topics included: when to start, the do’s and don’ts of NCAA rules, and how to contact a college coach. Paul has introduced a new program at HTA which he will direct called CAP (Collegiate Advisory Program). Paul shared his thoughts on how this program can help families through this sometimes exhausting process. A great discussion was held and Paul answered many question from the parents.

After lunch, it was time for three hours of singles and doubles match play on the club’s ten indoor courts. Members of the coaching staff were assigned to player’s courts and worked with all campers on their patterns.
The night session featured guest speakers were Northwestern University Coaches Arvid Swan and Chris Drake. Both coaches talked about developing a game now that will transition into a successful collegiate career later. They highlighted topics of interest ranging from developing a weapon to the importance of being a team player. Juniors were asked to participate in drills and later asked questions about the importance of playing high school tennis. Both Coach Swan and Coach Drake were very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job of providing a lot of information in 90 minutes.
After the presentation we hit the courts with the explosive “never ending point” drill used by the NCAA champion Pepperdine University. At 7:30pm kids were anxious for the pizza dinner and more importantly they all wanted to know how their picks were doing in the College Pool.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH
8:00am Time for my presentation and I focused on “Defensive Winning Patterns”. I was thrilled to see everyone ready to go after a full 10 hour workout the day before. After a warm up and stretch, I shared my thoughts on two key shots that can take you to victory if you’re placed on defense – the slice backhand and heavy rolling forehand. I stressed court placement and positioning of the executed shot and how to think your way out of a defensive position. The most important think I stressed to the players was, DON’T PANIC!!!

After my demonstration we conducted live and dead ball drills. We finished off the camp with a “One Point” Tournament (won by Ben Blier), and awarded Drew Campbell a prize for winning the College Football Pool.

I want to thank all of my staff for doing such a terrific job on court as I share their enthusiasm and passion for growing the game of tennis here in the Midwest. A “special thanks” goes to the HTA office staff for their weeks of preparation for successfully pulling off such an organized three day event. It is the Academy’s on-going theme to “exceed the needs of the junior competitive player” and I salute this team’s effort for their contribution on this Mini Camp.


Ken Herrmann

Alyssa Ritchie

I asked HTA Head Coach Peter Heckler to provide a quote about Alyssa Ritchie for our newsletter and he provided the following. Due to space constraints I couldn't use it in it's entirety, but just as with Paul Torricelli's quote about the Jacobsons' I felt it was very important that the Academy family be able to read such a complementary statement.

Peter Heckler on Alyssa Ritchie:

"For the past six months, Alyssa has been a fantastic student. She has made dramatic changes in every facet of her game and has been willing to stick with these changes even when she plays tournaments, rather than returning to old habits. Alyssa is uniquely mature in this regard because she seems willing to sacrifice a modicum of short term success in order to develop a set of techniques and strategies that will yield her a competitive edge over the long haul. I am quite confident that with Alyssa's determination and strong work ethic, her results and rankings in the Midwest and Nation will continue to rise steadily in the next several years."

Evan King Goes BLUE!

Evan King Goes Blue
by Colette Lewis, 6 November 2008
Evan King can check off "learn school fight song" from his Things To Do Before Heading To College list.

His father taught him the University of Michigan's famous fight song "Hail to the Victors" back when King was many years away from being a much-pursued blue chip recruit. But Van King didn't push his alma mater when it came time to choose, and both father and son say his decision last week to join the Wolverines was independent of that connection.
"Ultimately, that had nothing to do with it," says the 16-year-old from Chicago, denying that two aunts who are also U of M alumni and the proximity of his grandparents in nearby Battle Creek, had any influence on his decision. "Honestly, I didn't want to think about that at all. I wanted to do it purely on what I thought would feel right, and would be the best school for me."
Van King said he learned long ago that his son was more comfortable with a decision when he had information and input, and he credits Michigan head coach Bruce Berque for taking that approach with Evan.
"When Bruce mapped out a plan for him, showed him how he could progress in this next stage, Evan could buy into that," says his father. "He felt the plan and his hard work would make it a good fit."
King, ranked eighth in Tennis Recruiting Network's class of 2009, took three official visits this fall, first to the University of Illinois, then to Ann Arbor, and the final one, to Ohio State, just two weeks ago. After the last visit, King took a few days to absorb his experience and to ask questions.
"I asked tons of people for input," King says, mentioning his coaches at the USTA High Performance Training Center in Boca Raton, where he now trains, and Mark Bey, his longtime coach and director of the CARE Academy in suburban Chicago. "My parents, too. But ultimately it was up to me, and I decided what would be the best fit for me."
King points to the upward trend of Michigan tennis under Berque and the school's academic reputation as two major factors in his decision.
"Their team has been on the rise since Coach Berque has gotten there. When he got there, I think they were like last in the Big Ten. They just keep getting better and better and I think (last season) they ended up 15 or 16 (in the ITA rankings). They keep getting better, keep recruiting great people. The whole team's great - great players and great guys, and that was a really big part of it.
"At all the schools I was considering, the head coaches, the assistant coaches are great," King says. "But I think Sean [associate head coach Maymi] and Bruce complement each other really well. All three are great programs with great coaching, and I think my tennis game could get better at any of them, but I think Michigan academics was the strongest of the three."
Right now, King is considering sports management as a possible career, but acknowledges that could easily change as he is still nearly a year away from his first class in Ann Arbor, and his first chance to help the Wolverines break the stranglehold Illinois and Ohio State have had on the Big Ten conference this decade.
"I'd love to win the Big Ten team championship," says King. "Get that very nice ring. That would be great. It's definitely going to be tough, but it's a realistic goal for us."
King knows all about the glory of a team championship, having helped the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team capture the world title in Mexico in September, along with teammates Denis Kudla and Raymond Sarmiento.
"Cheering for your teammates, and winning that, there's nothing like it. Raymond and Denis and I have played each other so many times, we've known each other since we were 11 basically, and to be on the same team, getting so pumped up for each other, that was amazing. We got to hold the flag and everything."
King is also a big fan of the USTA Team Championships, held immediately before the USTA National Championships every summer, and is planning to play it even after his first year in college tennis.
"I look forward to that tournament every year, because it's the same format as college, with the six singles spots and three doubles spots. Cheering for your team, it's Go Midwest, but I'll be saying Go Blue next year."
One of the Maize and Blue's most accomplished players, Malivai Washington, ITA Player of the Year in 1989 and Wimbledon finalist in 1996, hit with King on a visit to Chicago years ago, and King is looking forward to reintroducing himself to the former ATP Top 20 pro.
"That's just going to be an amazing resource," says King. "I can possibly call him up, get to know him a little bit.'
The phone call that King received from his future Michigan teammates shortly after he notified Berque of his decision reaffirmed that he'd made right choice, according to Van King.
"That really made him feel good, that it was a smart fit," says the elder King, who admits he allowed himself a "little" smile when his son told him of his decision.
"I would have been pleased with any of the schools - there were pluses to each one - but I'm biased, because I know how much Michigan has meant in my life," he adds.
"I think inside he was pulling for Michigan," says Evan. "And it ended up that way, so it's really cool. I'm really excited to be going to Ann Arbor next year."

Campus 1-Day Showdowns

The USTA and the ITA have teamed up once again, this time to create Campus 1-Day Showdowns. The events, held on college campuses, allow juniors, college players, professionals and adults to compete together. The ultimate goal of the program is to get more American players in college programs, strengthen college's ties with their community, and prevent the trend of college tennis teams being cut.

On Sunday, November 23rd Northwestern University will be hosting a co-ed campus showdown. Events utilize compass draws for both singles and doubles, guaranteeing 3-4 matches for each draw, and ensuring competitive match play throughout. Matches are usually one set with a tiebreaker at 5-5, although format and scoring is at the discretion of the director.

To learn more about the NU even email Coach Claire Pollard at c-pollard@northwestern.edu.

Click here to Learn more about 1-Day Showdowns