Little Mo Tournament at Club Med Wows Participants

Both the young athletes who played in the East Regional Little Mo Tournament held at Club Med Sandpiper Bay from August 26-28, and the friends and family who accompanied them, had nothing but praise for the tournament, it's stunning location, and its staff. Here, a few of the rave reviews:

"Eric, my little 10U participant of this past weekend's Little Mo Regional Tournament, wanted me to write to you and I too wanted to thank you for a wonderful, life-changing experience. He grew up so much in the game of tennis in these past 3 days. He was always so upset by losses and he was devastated when he was not in the top 4 of his age group on Friday, but somehow, the will to continue kept him in the game and he played his little heart out in each match after Friday that was so inspiring and gratifying. And then to have him smile after his loss in Consolation Finals was what every mother of an athlete dreams of ... a true sportsman! Thank you for the opportunity and we hope to see you again soon ... even in the Nationals, if there is a spot!"
Maria Mejia-Opaciuch

"Just wanted to thank you very much for all your hard work. Kevin has said more then a few times how much fun he had. Kathy, Kevin, and I all had a lot of fun. Thanks again."
Hugh Enos

"We had a wonderful time at the Little Mo tournament at Sandpiper Club Med! What a terrific site to hold the tournament! Emma got great match play experience and made several new friends."
Gina K. Archer

Charlotte Owensby Shines in Little Mo Tournament at Club Med

When tennis phenom Charlotte Owensby won the Little Mo Girls 8 Nationals last year as a 7-year-old, many hailed her as a tennis prodigy. This year, at the Little Mo East Regional Tennis Tournament at Club Med, Sandpiper Bay, which was held August 26-28, she confirmed it. After soundly defeating Kylin Sadler in the Quarterfinals and Gavriella Smith in the Semifinals, she went on to defeat Anna Babayan to take the East Regional Girls 8 title. As the girls winner in her division, Charlotte will go on to play the winners of the other Little Mo Sectionals (Mid-Atlantic, Caribbean, Southern, etc.), all vying for the title of champion in their age group category. The categories include 11 and under, 10 and under, 9 and under and 8 and under.
Charlotte's success has already landed her on national television, playing (and beating!) Regis Philbin in an episode of Regis & Kelly in May. To view the segment, click here.

Former Students Excel at College Level

Brandon Burke, of Kingston, Jamaica, who has trained with Club Med Academies Tennis coaches in the past and spent some time at Club Med Academies this summer, has been named 2011 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Burke is only the second men's tennis player from Brown University to receive this prestigious honor. He was also named Second Team All-Ivy, along with classmate and tennis partner Soufiane Azarqui. The Brown men's tennis team is also one of six Ivy League teams and one of 74 nationally in Div. 1 to earn the ITA All-Academic Team Aaward.

Another former student, Maxime Coulomb of Le Cannet Des Moures, France, played No.3 doubles for Div-II Augusta State men's tennis, which made it into its first-ever finals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and its 8th NCAA Regional Appearance in the last 12 years.

Yuta Hirokawa Shines at Winthrop University

Yuta Hirokawa, a former student of Club Med Academies Tennis coaches, is a standout on Winthrop University's tennis team. The 2011 Winthrop men's and women's tennis teams were named All-Academic Teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and ten student-athletes, including Hirakawa, have earned ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. The ITA All-Academic Team award recognizes an ITA program with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or above for the fall 2010 and spring 2011 semesters. In total, 74 NCAA Div. 1 schools and 5 Big South Conference men's teams were honored.
Hirokawa, of Niigata, Japan, boasts a 3.926 in Exercise Science. He also landed the No. 6 spot in the flight winners category presented at the 2011 Big South Conference Awards Banquet.

Club Med Tennis Participates in Sprint Triathlon July 24

The mission of Club Med Academies is to develop well-rounded athletes and students, and Club Med Academies tennis players excel in many arenas, from academics to a variety of other sports. Recently, twelve students from Club Med Academies Tennis joined Coach Scott Del Mastro in the Club Med Race Series Sprint Triathlon. This demanding competition included a 500 meter swim, a 12-mile bike ride, and a 3-mile run. Four teams of three athletes each participated in the event from Club Med Academies Tennis, with each member of the team doing a different leg (one swimmer, one biker, one runner). Coach Scott Del Mastro ran the entire event.
Club Med Academies Tennis' oldest boys group won their division, and had the fastest relay time overall. The girls team took first in their division and third overall. DelMastro took third in his age group (40-44) and 37th overall.
Congratulaions to all of the incredible athletes who participated and excelled in this event!

Club Med Academies Sponsors USTA Championship Event

The USTA Boys 18 and 16 Clay Court National Championships, hosted by the City of Delray Beach, concluded today after a week's worth of intense competition. Club Med Academies Tennis sponsored the event, and was prominently featured in banners on the courts. Club Med Academies also hosted a training camp the week before the event and an on-site clinic for participants.

Club Med Academies Featured in Fitness Magazine

The world-class training opportunities available at Club Med Academies were highlighted in the current issue of Fitness magazine. In the July/August issue of Fitness, a piece entitled “What a Trip: Game On!,” Club Med Academies was listed as one of the top summer vacation destinations for sports enthusiasts. The story listed the Academies’ lineup of world-renowned athletes as one of the main attractions, including a 5-time Ironman champ, an LPGA masters professional, and a tennis coach who has trained eight number-one players.

Club Med Academies Tennis Wraps Up Canadian Media Tour

Early this month, a team of representatives from Club Med Academies Tennis took the concept to Canada during a media road show. Several Canadian media outlets picked up on the exciting story of a brand new world class tennis training and academic facility bearing the renowned Club Med name.
Representing Club Med Academies tennis were Gabe Jaramillo, director of Club Med Academies Tennis, Greg Breunich, Director of Club Med Academies, and Kevin Batt, Director of Club Med Sandpiper Bay. Among the print outlets that picked up on the story were Le Lezard, Tourisme Plus, Journal de Quebec, Journal de Montreal and Famille d'Aujourd'hui (Today's Family). An interview also ran on Canal Argent.

TCPalm Features Club Med Academies

An in-depth feature story about Club Med Sandpiper Bay in the June 14, 2011 edition of TCPalm covered all aspects of the resort, including the facilities’ history as the area’s first country club, the renovations, and of course the establishment of the sports academies. The story highlighting the Academies’ featured Kyle Zugelter, a Vero Beach player who credits Club Med Academies Tennis’s world class tennis training program with landing him a coveted tennis scholarship at Division II Eckerd College. In the story, Zugelter states that the Club Med Academies’ advantage is that “you have everyone playing at a high level with great coaching, and that makes it tick.”
Club Med Academies Tennis, which launched last summer with Junior and Adult tennis programs, boasts 65 students, who, like Zugelter, have benefitted from the Academies’ high level of training. The program offers both boarding and non-boarding options, as well as educational options online or through local Morningside Academy. Improvements to the tennis amenities now include a new 12,000 square foot clubhouse and pro shop, six Hydro-Clay courts, and 14 U.S. Open blue hard courts. Coaches Scott DelMastro and Gabe Jaramillo have a combined 50 years of experience and have worked with some of the best players in the sport, including Andre Agassi.

Club Med Academies has also developed top-notch training programs in golf and fitness, the article states, and is expanding these programs over the next nine months. The current $1.5 million renovation includes improvements to the golf course and a new fitness center. These improvements are slated to be done in March. “With the development of the three academies, Club Med hopes to show a re-energized focus on fitness and sports, whether it be for the casual guest participating in all-inclusive group activities while on vacation or full-time students and adults seeking long-term training,” the article states.

Click here for the full story.

Club Med Academies Graduates First Senior Class

On Friday, May 27, six accomplished Club Med Tennis Academies seniors graduated from nearby Morningside Academy. This international group of students, hailing from places as far-flung as India and Oman, share a passion for tennis, but their other interests are as diverse as the students themselves.

At 15, Sohil Singh of India is the youngest of the group. The honors graduate will continue his tennis training while exploring his college options, plans that are also shared by fellow young honors graduate, Adil Al-Siyabi of Oman, 16.

Dario di Martino, of Germany, hopes to play tennis at Marist College near New York City, a Division 1 school. His plans include studying finance and working on Wall Street.

Jordan Harris of Jamaica, 17, will continue working on his game and hopes to attend Anderson University  in South Carolina, a Division 2 school, in 2012.

Joaquin Marquez of Mexico will be walking on at Division 1 Sacramento State, where he plans to study communications and pursue a career as a tennis journalist, while Takeshi Morita, also of Mexico, will be playing tennis at Northwood, an NAIA school in West Palm Beach, Florida. He hopes to study business.

Two Club Med Tennis Academies students, both from the US, are also in the process of graduating from online programs. They include Ester Goldfeld, who will be attending Duke University on a full tennis scholarship. Ester, who was ranked as high as the 27^th best junior in the world, will play for a Duke team that made it to the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAA Championships and was ranked number three nationally as of May 30. Ester, who plans on studying medicine, is also the recipient of the first annual Club Med Academies Student-Athlete of the Year, the highest honor an Academies student can earn. The official trophy will have Ester’s name engraved on it and remain in the Tennis Academies’ pro shop forever, with each year’s Student-Athlete of the Year honoree having their name added to the prestigious hardware.

Her fellow potential online graduate and good friend, Fatya Amiri, has a tennis and academic scholarship to another Division 1 school, St Bonaventure, where she hopes to eventually earn her way into the very competitive St. Bonaventure/George Washington University Combined Degree Program in Medicine.

Club Med Academies Student Awards

Official honors, such as the prestigious Student-Athlete of the Year, were not the only ones awarded to students at the Club Med Academies Annual Awards Ceremony. Students also chose, and voted on, their own awards as a way of recognizing (and, in some cases, poking fun at) each other. The winners include:

1.      Most Likely to Change the World (Male & Female)

TUAN NGUYEN,  FATYA AMIRI

2.      Best Role Model (Male & Female)

GERMAN SANCHEZ, ESTER GOLDFELD

3.      Friendliest Person

NADIA RAVITA

4.      Happiest Person

ALAN VALDEZ

5.      Grouchiest Person

COCO XU

6.      Most Caring Person

AUGOSTINA MASOTTA

7.      Best Leader

ESTER GOLDFELD

8.      Best Public Speaker

ESTER GOLDFELD

9.      Most Improved English

MAYUKA AIKAWA

10.  Funniest Person

ELIO LIVI

11.  Most Sarcastic

ALEX LOVERA

12.  Most Talkative

ALEXANDRA ESCOBAR

13.  Biggest Facebook Junkie

JEANNIE LOZOWSKI

14.  Biggest Video Game Junkie

SIMONE COTE

15.  Loudest Laugh

JORDAN RUCKS

16.  Most Likely to be on TV for Something Other Than Athletics

TAKESHI MORITA

17.  Messiest Room

SIMONE COTE

18.  Messiest Person

SIMONE COTE

19.  Biggest Prankster

ORLANDO PUELO

20.  Biggest Ego:

LUKE HOOVER

21.  Passion Award :

ALI AMIRI

22.  Hothead Award:

BASTIAN MALLA

Winners of the 2011 Club Med Academies Tennis Awards

Club Med Tennis Academies recognized standout students at its 2011 Club Med Academies Tennis Awards. The top award, Student-Athlete of the Year (Male or Female), went to Ester Goldfeld, a senior who will be attending Duke University on a full tennis scholarship. The award of male Athlete of the Year went to Roberto Cid, 17, who is the 28th ranked junior in the country and is playing professionally. Female Athlete of the Year went to Di Zhao, 18, of China, who is ranked 822 on the WTA Tour. Kevin Lai, Chinese Taipei and the No. 158 best junior in the world, won the Most Improved Athlete Player of the Year, Male. Lai won both Singles and Doubles titles at Daytona Beach ITF in May and Panama Bowl ITF in March. He also won doubles in March at Costa Rica Bowl ITF. The female Most Improved Athlete Player of the Year went to Flora Amiri, 12, one of four Amiris at Club Med Tennis Academies. Her siblings include Fatya, who will be attending St. Bonaventure on a Tennis/Academic scholarship, Farzin, 16, who won Most Improved Fitness, below, and Ali, 9. The Amiris, whose parents are from Afghanistan, moved across the country from California to train at the CMTA. The Coach's Award was given to Alan Valdez of Mexico, who won a USTA Florida Tournament and made three other finals, playing Boys' 16 Singles. The No Excuses award, for the palyer who gave 100% effort, and got the best out of his/her talent, each and every day, went to Alex Lovera, 17, or Aruba, an upcoming senior who won one USTA Florida tournament in Boys' 16 Singles and two in Boys' 18 Singles. Sohil Singh, 15, of India, received the Good Sport Award. Singh won one USA Florida event in Boys' 14 Singles and one Final in Boys' 16 Singles. The Survival of the FIT-test Award went to Ed Nguyen, Canada, 17, the 142nd best junior in the world, who made the Semifinals of the ITF U10 Canadian World Ranking Event, won two singles maches at ITF 2010 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final, and made it to Finals once and Semifinals three times in ITF Doubles. For Most Improved FIT-test Athlete of the Year, honors went to Farzin Amiri,16, who recently made his first ITF Singles Quarterfinal at the Copa Cariari. The honor of the Mental Toughness Award was given to Mayuka Aikawa, 13, of Japan, the 81st Best Female 7th Grader in the U.S. and 18th Best in Florida. Aikawa proves that you don't have to be the tallest, the strongest, or the meanest to be mentally tough, because she is one of the smallest, and nicest, players at the Academy. The Most Improved Mental Performer was Joaquin Marquez, of Mexico, who will be playing tennis in the fall at Div-1 Sacramento State.

Club Med Academies Tennis Students Impress at ITF in El Salvador

A group of seven Club Med Academies students had a strong showing at Copa El Salvador ITF Junior 2011 Tournament with Coach Gino Tapia early this month. The group included five boys who competed in the singles matches, including number one seed Roberto Livi, Bastian Malla, a 14 year old who played in an older age group, Michael-John Every, Farzin Amiri and Elio Livi. Livi and Amiri were also paired up in the doubles matches, while Every was paired up with non-CMA player Orantes. The girls included 13-year-old Mayuka Aikawa, who played against an older group of kids, and Luba Vazhenina.

Though Livi and Every were both defeated in the third round, Malla, playing in an older age group, made it all the way into the semifinals before being defeated by Marcelo Plaza 6-2 6-1.

In the Boys Doubles, Amiri/Livi made it through to the Quarterfinals, where they were defeated by Every and doubles partner Orantes, who lost to Gomez Estrada/Trapero in the Semifinals. In the Finals, Malla and partner Barrezueta won the tournament, defeating Gomez Estrada/Trapero.

In the Girls Singles, Vazhenina defeated Aikawa, and then went on to the Semifinals, where she lost to Dhanielly Quevedo.

Tennis Outlook Features Club Med Academies

British tennis industry journal Tennis Outlook featured Club Med Academies Tennis at Club Med Sandpiper bay in a recent issue. The story highlights the unique features of the program and the resort, stating that the academy is located “at one of the most beautiful sites for a tennis academy in the world… with a world class team running it.” Pointing to the 75-plus years of experience of the Academies’ three partners, Gabe Jaramillo, Scott DelMastro, and Greg Breunich. The trio’s past experience includes illustrious careers at some of the biggest names in tennis training, including Bollettieri (Jaramillo), IMG (Breunich) and ITA (DelMastro). The piece lists the programs offerings and features, including all-inclusive lessons starting at age 4, private lessons, Junior Academy, Elite Junior Academy, and sanctioned tournaments and events.

Little Mo Tennis Tournament Comes to Club Med Academies

The “Little Mo” Florida Sectional Tennis Tournament will be held at Club Med Academies, Club Med Sandpiper Bay Resort, from June 17-19. The tournament features 4 Singles-Only events: 11 and under (players born on or after January 1, 2000), 10 and under (players born on or after January 1, 2001), 9 and under (players born on or after January 1, 2002), and 8 and under (players born on or after January 1, 2003). Players must be a resident in the Florida Section. The $50 entry fee covers the cost of the courts, balls, umpires, t-shirts, trophies, and mailings, and a portion of the fee comes back to the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation. There will be a “First Round Consolation” for players who lose in the first round, and each player is guaranteed at least two matches. The 8 quarterfinalists in each age division will advance to the “Little Mo” East Regional, to be held at Club Med Academies from August 26-28. From there, 4 semifinalists from each division will advance to the “Little Mo” Nationals at the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas from October 15-17, which featurs the top 16 players in the United States in each age division. The tournament is named after Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly, who, in 1953, at the age of 18, became the first woman to win the Grand Slam. For more information on the “Little Mo” tournament and Club Med Academies Tennis, call the Club Med Academies office at 800.232.3413, ext. 4, or email littlemotennis@gmail.com.

Gabe Jaramillo Offers Tips in Raquettech

The March issue of Raquettech featured Club Med Academies Tennis coach Gabe Jaramillo, who offered his top tips for developing a world-class athlete. Jaramillo’s pointers include:

1.       Individuality: Each athlete assimilates information and direction differently, so training must be tailored to that athlete’s personality and learning style.

2.       Work Load: Gabe’s training method involved helping players reach their goals by gradually increasing work load, volume, intensity, and information.

3.       Specific Practice: Each practice session is conducted with a specific skill and goal in mind.

4.       Repetition: This creates muscle memory and makes the action mechanic.

5.       Variation: This avoids adaptation syndrome and keeps students interested.

Scott Del Mastro featured in Stuart Magazine

Club Med Academies' Director of Operations and Tennis Coach Scott Del Mastro, along with fellow CMA coach Heather Gollnick, appeared in a profile of the area's ten leading coaches in Stuart magazine's Power of 10 feature. Del Mastro reveals, not surprisingly, that his favorite way to stay in shape is to play competitive tennis. His greatest accomplishment? "Creating a world-recognized developmental training platform for aspiring professional golf, tennis and fitness athletes who want to be the best at what they do - Club Med Academies at Sandpiper Resort."