DATE: April 2010 [PDF]

Presidents Parley | From the Manager | Hunter's Lair | Results | New Members | Last Month's News

Presidents Parley [Top]

We had a long but productive board meeting on March 8, 2010. We began the meeting with an introduction to our new assistant pro. Hunter will give more complete background information. Basically, he will have a temporary contract lasting through June 2010, and if after this probationary period ends and he is satisfied with us and we are satisfied with his performance, his contract will be more permanent.

In the last parley, I asked for suggestions for improvements for the club as well as comments about what we are doing right. I got quite a few suggestions for improvement and I want to thank those who took the time to make them. The only way we can address the concerns and wishes of the membership is if they express them.

Most of the meeting was taken up discussing plans for the future. Mark Koenig heads up the committee for drawing up a long-range plan. The committee will make up a questionnaire to be distributed to all the members and will try to prioritize what, when, and how to achieve the goals we will set. Please contact him with your ideas. As stated in the last parley, these plans may have to be modified as the times change, but we will have goals to strive for.

There were also some short-range problems that we plan to deal with. Stan Sevruk, who at the moment is out of town on business but will return soon, is in charge of that aspect of our planning. Please contact him with your suggestions. Under discussion were, among other items, dressing rooms and outdoor landscaping. We will have a work party on April 18 at 2pm when the ground is still damp to do some weeding, etc. I hope this will be successful. Work parties are not popular but I hope we will have a good turn out and the work will proceed quickly. This is, after all, our club and we want to be proud of it.

Several additional actions were taken. From now on, no hires will be made without the direct participation of the Human Resources Committee of the board. Gary Quandt will post hours when either he, or Hunter, or the assistant pro are available so that someone will be on hand when problems arise, prospective new members or those seeking lessons come by, and so on.

Courts 4, 5, and 6 will be resurfaced in August. Ask Gary about possible colors for the surface. There is some question about when the terms of the board members end, in particular, the presidency. Last year, it ended on Dec. 31, 2009, leaving us without a president for over a week. It would seem more logical to have the terms extended to the second Monday of January at which time the new board including the president would take over. No action was taken on this, but there was general agreement that something should be done.

A manual outlining the responsibilities of the captains and participants of the USTA teams was reported to be complete and will be generally available on our web site or hard copies will be available soon.

Finally, no parley is complete without at least one hint about improving your tennis game. Last time I suggested developing good frame shots. Frame shots are part of a larger category known as miss-hits. These include frame shots, but also shots half on the strings and half on the frame, shots where the racket twists in your hand, and so on. None of these shots are hit squarely on the "sweet spot" of your racket so your strings do not wear out very fast. String jobs are not cheap so you save money in this way. More importantly, these shots are very effective and tend to discourage opponents. For example, suppose your opponent has made a brilliant passing shot while you are at the net, say, and then your miss-hit dribbles over into the opponent's court for an un-returnable ball. Work on your miss-hits.

President Ron Guenther

For those of you who do not know me, I 'm Mark Koenig, a new board member and recently elected vice president of Timberhill. At our February meeting, three of the board: Clay Higgins, Ken Lefton and myself were appointed to a new subcommittee created to explore long range planning aptly named the Five Year Planning Committee. As we are a member owned club, it is important that the opinions of the membership drive our actions. I know that Ron recently opened the flood gates in his recent articles and received lots of great feedback; some positive, some negative. Upon hearing this and since it has been a few years since the membership has collectively been surveyed, we wanted to take this opportunity to get membership feedback to lay the groundwork for our committee's recommendations. In the next month or two, you will be asked to complete a survey. We'll try not to make it too long, but this will serve as your opportunity as a club member/owner to express your thoughts, opinions, hopes and concerns on a variety of issues to the club. I truly hope that you take the time to share your opinions, as it will be the foundation of our committee's recommendations to the board on the club's long-range plan and goals. In the meantime, feel free to email me any comments, questions, concerns. I've also heard from members who would like to be a part of the committee and would be happy to have the additional help. If interested do not hesitate to E-mail me at mark.koenig@gmail.com. In future newsletters, I'll keep you all apprised of what we learn through the survey as well.

From the Manager [Top]

Top 10 reasons to get in the swing of things!
This summer, millions of people are getting out their racquets, lacing up their shoes and hitting the tennis courts. It makes sense, since the sport offers a host of benefits for people of all ages. Here are just a few.
(1) Tennis is f-u-n. It's fun to get outside and run, swing and interact with other people, especially compared to sitting on a stationary cycle or climbing on a stair machine.
(2) Tennis is social. You can catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
(3) Tennis burns calories. A 150-pound person can burn up to 420 calories for each hour of tennis played at a moderate intensity.
(4) Tennis is a lifetime sport. You can play tennis when you're in grade school, middle school, high school and college. Then continue playing as an adult, "middle ager", senior and super senior. It's one of the few true sports for a lifetime.
(5) Tennis helps you manage stress. Having fun with tennis soothes mental, emotional and physical stress.
(6) Tennis teaches players to compete individually as well as with a partner. Singles lets people compete one-on-one, while doubles builds team skills and communication.
(7) Tennis fits into your schedule. It only takes an hour to get in a great interval aerobic workout.
(8) Tennis is inexpensive. It's cheaper than golf, skiing and most other sports, the equipment you need is a racquet, shoes and tennis balls and the local park.
(9) Tennis lessons are readily available. It's easy to improve your game with the help of nearly 12,000 teaching professionals certified by the Unite States Tennis Association.
(10) Tennis is healthy for the body and mind. Tennis allows you to exercise muscles, develop flexibility, keep your mind sharp from tactical thinking and develop confidence in yourself.

Summer Projects
We hope that these projects do not impact you play time. We are looking forward to getting these items finished, as it will give our club a facelift. The Board is always looking at the most efficient way to spend its maintenance dollars to keep Timberhill looking and functioning properly.
Backdrops ($2500)- The new outdoor backdrops should be up by the time you read this. They are nine foot instead of six foot and also you will also see Timberhill Tennis Club's logo as you drive by the outdoor courts. This is always a reminder that spring is here and warm weather is coming.
Resealing and re lining parking lot ($5000): We are getting ready to reseal and reline the TTC parking lot. As soon as we nail date a date we will post it around the club. The parking lot will be closed down for a day or two when we do this project, so you will have to park out on the street and walk into the club. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Resurfacing courts #4-6 ($15,000): The last week of August we will be resurfacing courts #4-6. The Board is looking to change colors so if you have any preferences please let someone on the Board know. Right now we are looking at the US Open (Blue and green) as a color scheme leading the pack right now.

Adult Sunriver Tennis Camp
Gary will be hosting his 27th annual Sunriver Adult Tennis Camp this fall. It will be September 16-20 at the North Courts at the beautiful Sunriver resort. Tennis will start Thursday afternoon with a welcome BBQ afterwards. Then a morning and afternoon session on Friday followed by a long morning session on both Saturday and Sunday. Price of $209 includes court rental, instruction, T-shirt and a loads of fun in a great learning environment. If you have any questions give Gary a call at the club.
Gary will do his Junior Camp at the club July 11-15

Work Party
Timberhill will be having a Work Party Sunday afternoon April 18 from 2pm - 5pm to spruce up the landscaping of the club. We will be pulling weeds, and general cleanup work around the outside of the club. We will also be looking for someone with a truck so that we can haul away the yard waste that we generate. It has been quite a few years since we have put together a work party so this should be an enjoyable way to help keeping the club expenses down and making Timberhill look great. Look for the sign-up sheet on the clubhouse table.

Hunter's Lair [Top]

April will be an exciting month at the club, as we introduce our new Professional Colby Jager to his first full month as the newest member of your Timberhill Tennis Staff. We're hitting the ground running, not only getting him fully involved in our junior program, but also coming up with some fun ways to use his strengths to add to our adult lesson program. Look for the flyer included in this newsletter for more details on the Courtside Conditioning class (a tennis-specific speed, agility, and strength class), as well as a new Adult Drills class. Remember, in addition to the posted adult classes that you can sign up for, I run many classes that consist of 3 or 4 players from a USTA team-a great way to get specific things in your game addressed in a playing-format lesson. With Colby on board, we are both now available to continue offering this type of lesson. If it sounds like something you're interested in, grab a few teammates and let's set something up.
April also means the beginning of our Spring Session of junior classes, as well as the start of High School Team season and the busy time of USTA league season. This means lots of playing opportunities for everyone. Good luck to everyone in their matches, and please be sure to introduce yourself to Colby and welcome him to the Timberhill family if you see him at the club.

Upcoming Friday night Junior events

Upcoming Friday night Junior events
Rallyball/Junior Team Tennis 6:30 - 9:00pm;April 16
Rookie League 6:30 - 7:45pm; April 9, May 7
Junior Fest 7:30 - 8:30pm; May 14

Results [Top]

Here are results of Timberhill's USTA Adult USTA League as of March 15, 2010

Final Results for the mixed and senior leagues
Mixed Senior 8.0 0-5

New Members / Substitute List [Top]

Paul & Janet Hochfield 541-757-3704: Paul plays at the 3.5 level and Jean plays at the 2.5 level. Both prefer doubles but will play singles as well. Son Nick (15) has played for just a short time.

Looking for substitutes or new people to play? Please feel free to use these new members listed below to fill-in play times, or you can join our Timberhill Yahoo Group, check out our substitute listings in the TTC clubhouse, or check out our Web directory. Access to that involves a user and password.
User: ttc
Password: GaryandHunter
There are lots of ways to find other players as well as joining up to play in many of our programs. If you really get desperate for players you can always call or email Gary and he can help you out as well.