Torricelli Into ITA Hall of Fame

Torricelli To Be Inducted Into ITA Hall of Fame

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has announced that former Northwestern University men’s head tennis coach Paul Torricelli will be inducted into the ITA Men’s Hall of Fame on May 20 at the College Station Hilton in Texas. The Hall of Fame ceremony coincides with the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships being hosted by Texas A&M University. Torricelli currently serves as Special Advisor to HTA.

Torricelli coached the Wildcats for 24 years and finished his career with a school record 343 wins. He led the wildcats to nine NCAA tournaments and one Big Ten Championship. On three occasions Torricelli was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Paul’s teams posted a 343-257 (.572) overall record and a 162-114 (.587) mark in Big Ten play. He had eighteen players combine to earn All-Conference honors on thirty-one occasions and three of his student-athletes were named Big Ten Player of the Year.

The Wildcat’s success was not limited to the court during Torricelli’s tenure as he had at least one player receive Academic All-Big Ten honors in each of his 24 seasons. On seven occasions his players were named to the ITA All-Academic team and his 2003 team was the recipient of the inaugural ITA Sportsmanship Award.

"I am delighted with Paul's induction into the ITA Men's Hall of Fame," ITA Executive Director David A. Benjamin said. "It is a very well deserved honor: in addition to the great success of his teams over several decades, Paul will always be rightfully linked with the development of his greatest player, Todd Martin, a 2007 ITA Men's Hall of Fame inductee. Paul contributed great service to the ITA in many ways thoughout his career, and his team was first recipient of the ITA Sportsmanship Award in 2003."

Prior to coaching Northwestern, Paul was the head coach at Lake Forest College for three years and California State University-Chico for two years.

"Paul Torricelli is most deserving of being inducted to the ITA Hall of Fame. Paul was a great coach, motivator and friend to all of the Northwestern University Men's Tennis players who played for him through his 24 year career. Paul always treated his players with the utmost care and respect and was known throughout college tennis as a coach who always made decisions in the best interest of his players,” added current Northwestern Coach Arvid Swan. “I certainly owe a great deal to Paul as he was a tremendous mentor to me, gave me my first opportunity to work at the division I level and ultimately helped prepare me to follow his legacy at Northwestern University. I am so pleased that the ITA is recognizing Paul for all of his substantial contributions as a college coach by inducting him into the ITA Hall of Fame."

Paul is nationally known as one of top mentors in the nation and six of his former assistant coaches have become division I head coaches including: Mickey Maule (Northern Illinois), Adam Steinberg (Pepperdine), Gordie Ernst (Georgetown), Jay Udwadia (Fresno State), Greg Davis (Louisville), and Swan. Click here for a story from the Daily Northwestern about Torricelli and his lineage of coaches.

“Paul has been a mentor to me and one of the most influential people I have in my life. Being his assistant coach from 1995-1997 I learned so many things on and off the court, most importantly the true meaning of professionalism,” said Stenberg, coach of the 2006 NCAA Team Champions. “Paul taught me and all his players not only the game of tennis but prepared all of us for life away from the court. He represented college tennis in a way we all should be proud of and had such a positive effect on everybody that he surrounded himself with. I owe my entire career to Paul and will be indebted to him for ever.

Joining Torricelli in the class of 2009 is Bruce Manson, Peter Rennert, Greg Holmes, Brad Pearce, Byron Black, Jose Noriega, Wayne Black, and Brian Garman.

The ITA Men’s Collegiate Hall of Fame is housed at the University of Georgia’s Henry Field Stadium. Former Georgia coach and Hall of Fame member Dan Magill serves as curator and chairmen of the Hall. The first class was inducted in 1983 and since that time over 170 players, coaches, and contributors have been enshrined.

Tip of the Month- Watching The Ball

Ben Ashford,
HTA Head Coach
PTR Certified Professional

Watching The Ball

It seems like such an easy thing to do, and it's such an important thing to do. How can we even hit the ball at all if we aren't watching it as we strike it? But we always seem to forget to do it. Why? Because it really just isn't interesting enough to keep our attention. Our brain is naturally attracted to our opponent and to our targets to see where we should be hitting. But of course, the result is that we mishit the ball and the ball does not go to our target.

So what is the best way to watch the ball? Well, it's a skill we develop just like any of the strokes in tennis. First we have to watch the ball with the center of our eyes. That means that as the ball gets to us, we actually have to turn our head to see the ball at contact. A player must turn his or her head and see the ball directly through the middle of their eyes.

Second, we should watch the ball go towards our target, but we also want to leave our head down to see contact. How do we combine these two ideas? The trick is that you need to watch the ball move to your opponent's side with your peripheral vision. Watch the ball come into y our hitting zone with the center of your eyes, but leave out the corner of your eye. When you have fully finished your follow through, then it is time to look up and see the ball as your opponent is preparing to hit.

Third we need to learn what to look for. As the ball spins, it will make a different pattern each time. The yellow felt, the white seams, and the black writing will all come together to make spinning artwork. By watching the patterns change and rotate your brain will become focused on recognizing where the ball is going and what you will do when you strike it.

One of the best professional players to emulate is Roger Federer, one of the main reasons he is the top ball-striker in the world is his ability to keep his head down and his eyes on the contact point.

Click here to watch slow motion video of Federer.

Now when your coach reminds you to hit the ball, you'll know exactly how to do it!

Ken's Mini-Camp Journal

John Roddick Mini-Camp

I have known John since he was playing junior tennis in Texas and was one of America's most promising players. As an All-American at the University of Georgia, John had a stellar collegiate career. John had planned to play on the ATP tour, before a back injury cut his pro career short. John has opened Roddick Total Tennis, a residential academy in San Antonio, which is home to several of the top juniors in the world. These days John spends his time at the academy or on tour coaching some of the top American players, including his brother Andy and Mardy Fish. John has been a big contributor towards Andy's success and I was excited to have the opportunity to bring him to the academy.

Friday, March 6

The camp sold out and we had 32 players coming in from across the Midwest. The HTA staff made sure that all of the player's families were taken care of and we were ready for a terrific weekend of tennis. The camp started with John's opening seminar of "Exploiting your opponent's weakness." Three of our older academy members came in to help John demonstrate the various patterns and styles of play that he discussed. One of John's focal points was the concept of changing pace on the forehand side, to easily add variety to one's game. After John was finished I spoke on the subject of attaching an opponent's second serve with a return to the middle of the court to create short ball opportunities.

After the demonstrations the players were divided into four team's to compete in collegiate style Davis Cup competition. Each team was coached by one of the HTA Head Coaches.

Saturday, March 7

Saturday morning began with John providing video analysis on Andy's winning patterns and strategies. It was interesting to see which strategies Andy would implement against different opponents, and to see the adjustments he would make during matches. Immediately following the video session, HTA Director Ernie Katko presented the subject of "Making the court bigger". The players were then lead into live-ball drills to warm up for competition in the afternoon.

The afternoon session lasted nearly five hours and consisted of team competition and the highlight of the camp, Roddick providing individual video analysis of each of the 32 campers. With the special help of Patriot Productions(Mark Ortega), each of the juniors picked a specific stroke that we critiqued using super slo-motion high definition video. The juniors had their stroke compared in split screen to a WTA/ATP player of their choice. John's analysis was recorded and each of players received a DVD copy to share with their personal coach.

After the last ball of the eight and a half hour day was hit, the parents, players, and staff enjoyed a pizza party.

Sunday, March 8

We got an early start on Sunday, with Davis Cup play resuming at 8am. As the matches progressed throughout the morning, John and I ran a two court bank which we titles "Special Problems" court. This gave us an opportunity to work with each camper individually on a particular portion of their game.

The camp ended at 11:00 with our awards ceremony. Each team was given a special token for participating in the camp, and the winning team got HTA towels autographed by John.

Special thanks goes to John and his staff at Roddick Total Tennis. He was very easy for the players to communicate with and I really think the players benefited from working with him. He has a tremendous knowledge of the sport, and is truly motivated to giving back to the game. He was excited to see the talent in the Midwest and left impressed with how technically sound the juniors are. I really appreciate him finding the time to fly in and create this experience.

Thanks for coming John!