By Staff
NILES – EKM Sports, Inc., owner of the South Bend Racquet Club, today announced the details of a new Junior Regional Tennis Training Center at the Lakeland Athletic Club in Niles.
The new center, to be known as the Lakeland Tennis Academy, will focus on juniors between the ages of 4 and 18, and will be level-based.
Beginners will use the newest training techniques and equipment, while the advanced players will receive top tier instruction integrated with personal training regiments.
Greg Mahosky, a nationally recognized USPTR instructor with more than twenty years of experience, will be the Director of the new academy.
He has coached high school state champions as well as college All-Americans, and has extensive knowledge and experience with both an academy platform and the newest training techniques. Academy classes and clinics will begin in September.
"This new approach will run the gambit of the beginner being introduced to the game using specially sized equipment to the nationally ranked and college bound player using special weight training and footwork techniques," says Shelly Whitney, head tennis professional at the South Bend Racquet Club. "To have someone of Greg's caliber steer the ship at the academy is something the area tennis community would have only dreamed of just a few years ago." Whitney adds, "The goal is simple. With this new academy, we are striving to not only produce numerous players who go on to receive college scholarships, but to begin to see our area high school teams win against the perennial tennis powers that Fort Wayne and Indianapolis consistently produce."
A number of recent factors have led to the possibility of an academy. The first is the renovation of Leeper Park, which opens up access to tennis for many juniors who might not have been exposed to the sport otherwise.
The second is the merger of the two local indoor clubs – the South Bend Racquet Club and the Lakeland Athletic Club. This allows a consolidation of local programs, and an availability of extra courts. The third is the emergence of the South Bend Community Tennis Association (SBCTA), which is a non-profit organization formed to further the growth of the game in our area.
"This is an unprecedented time for local tennis," says Patty Schrock, former USTA Northern Indiana District President, and current General Manager of Lakeland. "To have so many major positive changes in such a short period of time – it's wonderful. Tennis just seems to have caught fire in our area."
Mahosky will be joining the staff in late May with a wealth of experience and accomplishments. He has been awarded the USTA Middle States Coach of the Year as well as the Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year. In 2005, he was honored as the Missouri Tennis Pro of the Year by the USPTR.
In 2006, Mahosky was presented with the very prestigious USTA National Community Service Award, which recognized his tremendous support of the USTA and USPTR and his passion to grow the game of tennis.
For further information, contact Eric Moore at (574) 277-1000 or (312) 363-9533 (cell).