GRC/HTA Hosts Winter Dash

HTA Takes Two at Winter Dash

Herrmann Tennis Academy members Drew Campbell and Michal Kusznerko each took home titles on their home court, winning the Boys’ 16s and 14s divisions at the Glenbrook Racquet Club on February 6-8.

Drew was seeded third and won his first two matches 6-0, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-0. In the semifinals Campbell topped second seed Oliver Jaimes 6-1, 6-3 to move into the finals where he met Academy classmate Bill Angel. Angel only dropped twelve games in his three matches on his way to the final. Cambell came away with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in what was one of the most competitive matches of the tournament.

Campbell, 14, has won the last three Boys’ 16 tournaments that he has entered. Cambell and Angel also met in the finals of the Lincolnshire Holiday Challenger in December.

The ten-year old Michael Kusznerko entered the 32 player boys’ 14s draw seeded seventh and only lost three games total in his first three matches. In the semifinals he topped Jeremy Jacobson 6-3, 6-2, before taking out #1 seed Brandon Berish by the same score in the finals.

Joining Angel, Campbell, and Kusznerko in the tournament were the following 14 HTA players: Ben Bleier, Jordan Cotler, Andrew Green, Ross Jordan, Shyun Jung, Michal Kusznerko, Zach Libman, Connor Murray, Walter Palmer, Ian Parkhill, Eli Rogatz, Patrick Rourke, Evan Ruda, Sam Wiener, and Tyler Wislow.

“Drew and Michal’s results were especially impressive when considering that both players were playing up ,” said tournament director Jim Kultgen. “I was even more pleased that two academy members, Shyun Jung and Bill Angel, earned the sportsmanship awards.”

Mini-Camp Qoutes

The following were quotes I received from Participants at the last HTA Collegiate Mini-Camp:

You rarely watch a coach on the Tennis Channel and have him teaching you the proper technique on a forehand volley two days later. Working with Rodney, and all the great Herrmann Tennis Academy Coaches, was a unique and fun experience.

-David Carswell
Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

This camp truly showed me how to improve my game and how to think and execute my way through matches.

- Danny Schuster
Western Springs, Ill.

As respected as Rodney Harmon is, to be able to spend quality time with him was extremely beneficial to my game.

- Robert Stineman
Winnetka, Ill.

This experience has shaped my understanding of the game.

-Conrad Harron
Chicago, Ill.

Mini-Camp Journal

Weekend Mini Camp January 23 – 25, 2009
Boys 16 / 18’s High Performance Rodney Harmon

The following is my daily journal from the academy’s second Boys’ 16s & 18s High Performance Development Camp. 2008 USA Olympic Coach Rodney Harmon joined our staff for the weekend as our featured guest. I worked with Rodney for four years during my tenure with USTA Player Development Program back in the 90’s and was excited about bringing him to Chicago to see the talent here in the Midwest.

DAY ONE Friday January 23, 2009

The camp started at 7pm and Rodney kicked it off with his seminar on “winning patterns of play – Americans vs. Europeans”. Rodney discussed how Europeans train and how they set up their points, especially on clay courts. Rodney talk about how development of a clay based game is a huge issue for the USTA. This year they are having the top juniors skip the Australian Open to get extra play on the clay courts in Europe. The camp worked on these various patterns until 10pm that night.

(Harmon and Michael Moore)

DAY TWO Saturday January 24, 2009

Saturday is always the long day for the camp – a full 10 hours of tennis, seminars, and team competitions. One of the most interesting highlights was Rodney’s comments about the Federer vs. Blake match he coached at the Olympics this past year. We put the match on a large screen and Rodney went over key highlights and patterns they had discussed and how James had to overcome his emotions and nerves for the biggest match of his life. It was fascinating and I was impressed on how well Rodney spoke and grabbed the boy’s attention.

Later that day after a live ball drill session and lunch, the camp went into match play for three hours. Afterwards, Rodney spent the next two hours working with each player individually on specific technical aspects of their games that he had observed since arriving. Everyone left the courts that day with at least two very specific thoughts on their strokes and how to improve their games for the collegiate level.

The night closed at 8pm with a Pizza Party for the players, while the parents of the camp participants were able to spend time with Rodney.(Ben Hoogland and Harmon)

DAY THREE Sunday January 25 2009

The early three hour session was focused on doubles tactics and strategies. Emphasis was placed on the return of serve and poaching, along with Coach Torricelli’s comments on how important doubles is for collegiate tennis.

All campers were given notebooks to write down ideas and comments made to them throughout the camp and to share with their personal coaches.

(Tommy Marx)

It was terrific having Rodney in for the weekend. He certainly touched every player that was present and the enthusiasm left on the boys faces after the camp had me believing that players from across America had better watch out for the boys from the Midwest.
Thanks Rodney….