November Newsletter 2013
Message from Sara
A big thank you to all who came to the Dinner and Doubles event last week. I want to say a special thank you to Ron Wannagat who poured a great array of River Star wines.
Please reserve the last weekend of March for a Sister Club Tennis Exchange. La Madrona Athletic Club will be sending a group of members to enjoy tennis with you and taste wines from our area. If you would be interested in hosting La Madrona members, please email me at [email protected]. More details will be shared when the date gets closer.
As for our fitness schedule, I would love some feedback as far as which classes you want to see offered at the club. We are finalizing the plans for our new Fitness center, and we look forward to enjoying a new group exercise room that is over 2000 square feet.
The first weekend of December, Santa will be visiting the club! If you would like to bring the whole family for your holiday pictures, please set aside December 7th from 10 am – 1 pm . We will make all pictures available via email or Facebook for you to use.
Chelsea Huntsberger has been doing an impressive job updating and sharing club information on our Facebook page. If you would like to learn more about the latest and greatest activities going on at the club, please like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PasoRoblesSportsClub?ref=br_tf.
Sara Dobroth, General Manager
[email protected]
805-239-7397 x 103
Special Holiday Hours
Veteran’s Day, November 11th
Hours: 8 am to 8 pm
All Classes are Cancelled
Thanksgiving Holiday
Wednesday, November 27th
5 am to 7:30 pm
Fit Kids Cancelled
Thursday, Thanksgiving, November 28th
Closed All Day
Friday, November 29th
5 am to 8 pm
Fit Kids Cancelled
Tennis Tip of the month
The One-Handed Backhand
by Mariano Parris, Director of Tennis
 | Preparation: Turning your shoulder sideways to line up with the ball is key to getting power and placement with your swing. |
 |
Loading Swing and Legs:
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 | Unloading: Michael Bickford’s legs were loaded with weight and now they begin to extend, as his left hand starts to let go of the racket and goes back in the opposite direction. The racket then accelerates and adds balance. |
 | Contact Point: Please notice that Michael’s right arm is totally extended and his right elbow is locked. The point of contact is out in front. His left arm continues to go back, providing more power and more linear momentum through the ball. This is the most important part of the stroke and where you must have maximum racket head speed while staying balanced. |
 | Follow Through: Important notes here: Michael’s head and eyes have been in the same position throughout the entire shot. His front foot also didn’t move; it just pivoted. And his body was sideways the whole time. This is a perfect backhand. |
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
I think most of us play tennis in part because of the challenging game it presents. The solutions to what ails us on the court are typically complex, and we spend weeks and years trying to perfect our shots and strategies to enable us to win the final point of the match.
Try some of these rather oversimplified solutions to our complex issues on the court and see if you can’t improve a little each time you play.
Can’t Hit the Ball Deep From the Baseline? Make sure you “create the right space” between you and the ball while making sure your hitting arm is extended and you create a long nice lever to hit through the ball. Make sure you “load up” on your outside leg to push on the ground and to create forward weight transfer through the ball.
Can’t Control the Short/Midcourt Ball? In this case, shorten both your backswing and arm extension and wrap your low to high swing around your body with topspin to control and keep the ball deep, but in the court. On balls you have to hit below your waist, think “Sink, Level, and Through.” “Sink” – bend your knees and get that body down to the ball, “Level” – keep your shoulders level for control, and “Through” – hit through the ball. Don’t patty cake it and give your opponent a chance for an easy passing shot.
Getting Passed After Hitting your Approach Shot or Volley? Don’t stand there and admire the greatness of your shot. You have to follow the path of both the shots and “bisect your opponent’s angle of return.” Simply, that means get right in the middle of your opponents return angles. Don’t leave an open court for your opponents return and easy passing shots.
Too Many Serves in the Net? Extend your tossing arm and give yourself a little extra height on your toss. It’s a huge misunderstanding to “snap our wrist” on your serve. You actually should hit up and pronate your entire forearm through the ball and “high five” the ball at contact. Then trust your continental grip to create spin into the service box.
Too Many Serves Going Long? Toss the ball a little farther out in front so the racquet face has time to close and spin the ball into the service box.
Too Many Serves Not Going In At All? Here’s a simple phrase. “Don’t swing at your toss, toss at your swing.’ In other words, your entire service motion is a lot more complex than your toss. So, to find your natural rhythm, spend some time going through your natural easy flowing service motion without tossing and hitting the ball. After you find that perfect rhythm, then adjust your ball toss’s height, location, and timing to coincide your motion’s natural rhythm and you’ll find yourself a more consistent and better server hitting the most important shot in the game.
If tennis was easy, everybody would be good at it. We know it’s not. It presents numerous and different challenges each time we play. We may periodically over think our games and try too hard to solve our problems. Try some of these simple solutions and see if your game just needs a little tweakin’ and not a complex overhaul.
See Ya’ on the Courts, Gary
Aquatics News
The swim team has had an exciting first part of our short course season (racing yards instead of meters). This season runs from the beginning of August to the beginning of February. Then we switch to long course season which runs from March through July.
Long course occurs in the pools you see when you watch the Olympics. Our swim team just competed at the Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Swim Meet (10/25-10/27). A portion of the proceeds go to help with breast cancer research. All of our 24 swimmers that competed performed personal-best times in their races.
Private and semi-private lessons are offered year round. For pricing and times available, please contact Spencer Sznejkowski at [email protected].
Coach’s Corner
A great way to develop faster speed in the water is to catch as much water as possible as soon as possible. A well used drill to help develop this is the ‘fist drill.’ This is when you swim while making a fist and try to grab as much water as you can with your forearm, so when you open your hand you have a greater surface area.
Aquatics Director Spencer Sznejkowski
‘The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success.”
John Wooden
New Winter Hours
Monday through Thursday
5 am to 9 pm
Friday
5 am to 8 pm
Saturday
8 am to 8 pm
Sunday
8 am to 7 pm
Holiday Craft Bazaar
December 7th
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Calling all crafty people! If you are interested in a booth at Paso Robles Sports Club Craft Bazaar, please contact Terry Acebo at 805-239-7397 or [email protected].
Earn Holiday Cash!
During the month of November, if you refer a new member to the club, we will credit your house account $50.00! Please call the membership department today to learn more about how you can share the club with your friends!
New Dual Memberships with Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa and Paso Robles Sports Club
Due to popular demand, we will now be offering a dual membership with our closest sister club, Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa. If you have an interest in joining ABAC, you may do so and save 25 % off of the regular dues at both PRSC and ABAC. Why choose only one club….when you can be a member of two? For registration rates, please contact the membership department at 805-239-7397.
Fitness Corner
with Dr. Andre Acebo Chiropractor and Strength Coach
Our Fall Fitness Challenge is under way, and over 50 members have signed up! The large participation is exciting for those of us who train others and advocate a healthy lifestyle. Thank you to those Challengers who are working so hard and trust us with helping them to improve their fitness. You all have taken the vital step of committing to an exercise routine and healthy eating habits.
Here are a few quotes that fit at this point in our quest for optimum health: "Success takes Blood, Sweat, & Years". There are no short cuts, my friends. "First we make our habits, and then our habits make us,” so like Dory in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Let’s not quit before we've made those new good habits. Finally, remember that, "Sweat is fat crying!" If you are sweating, tired, and sore, you are making progress!
If you’re on the fence about committing to an exercise routine or changing your eating habits, just start small, but START NOW. We can help you! Whether it’s personal or small group training or just some encouraging advice… ask us! Also, look for our new classes, such as Tennis cross-training, Pilates & corrective exercise, or cardio kickboxing. Lastly, we will be doing another fitness challenge in January.
Check out these pictures of some of our Challengers working the program!!
"Doc"
