BOB DYLAN HAD IT RIGHT

Sometimes we get consumed with all the changes that have come & continue to come to junior tennis... now it's time to change college tennis. :( Guess that's what happens when your total livelihood & ability to pay or not pay your mortgage depends entirely upon the sport of tennis. Even when we go on vacation, we can't get away from it & we know the self-employed people out there will totally understand what we're saying.

So we're at a lovely bed & breakfast downtown in Amazing Asheville, NC. If you haven't been, we highly recommend you plan a visit - pronto! We're already planning our return visit :)

We had a wonderful anniversary trip <15 years of marriage, 21 years as a couple, in case you're counting!> but one of my least favorite parts of the bed & breakfast experience was that our lovely hostess really put the breakfast in b&b... Not only did she whip up a 2-course gourmet meal, but she was proud to stand beside you & announce what was being served every morning at a mandatory seating for all guests - total strangers, mind you - downstairs in the formal dining room at 9AM sharp. That was a little rough, considering we were trying to visit each & every one of the brewery & winery options that Asheville has to offer, which is a lot, LOL!!

So anyway, we struggled to make polite conversation with mostly retired people even though our heads were pounding. It wasn't easy but we managed. Thinking back, our conversation one morning went from the dramatic changes <shrinking congregations> that have come to church communities all over the country <maybe the world> & then the conversation turned to dramatic changes <extreme head injuries> that are impacting youth football & then inevitably we started talking about the cuts in junior tennis that we fought against & lost 4 years ago, followed by the elimination of college tennis, which happens almost every single day. We'll certainly fight against the changes but I suspect we'll lose again. <sigh>

So that got me thinking... What's going on? What do church & football & tennis have in common? Not much...except one thing & Bob Dylan had it right: For the times they are a-changin'

"Come mothers & fathers 

throughout the land

And don't criticize 

what you can't understand. 

And you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone for

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

THANK YOU FOR 10 YEARS OF SUPPORT & PLEASE KEEP IT COMING!

2010 BULLDOG TENNIS CAMP

When I saw on twitter that it had been FIVE YEARS since it happened, I almost couldn't believe it!! Guess it must be true that "time flies when you're having fun!!"

I'm sure you remember - how could anyone forget - the longest match in the history of tennis: qualifier NICOLAS MAHUT & 23 seed JOHN ISNER competing in a 3-day match in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. But do you remember EXACTLY where you were? WE DO!!

Most people think all we do is go to junior tournaments & that's just not true. In addition to the ongoing College Recruit Video Sessions & the occasional Academy Video Session, we love Summer Tennis Camps during the month of June & that's just where we were when the longest match was played: We were at the Bulldog Tennis Camp @ UGA. We were thrilled to be part of the camp for three straight weeks in 2010. In Week 1, we met & got to know this guy: COACH DAN MAGILL!!

 

Coach gave us a personal tour through the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame & he was always, always so kind to us. RIP, Coach <3

In Week 2, we met & got to know this guy: COACH MANNY DIAZ!! 

We had a blast w/ the campers & then something pretty special happened:

Wish I could put my fingers on some spur of the moment pics or video that showed tons of campers gathered around the TV inside while the match was going on!! It was a million degrees outside in the heat of Georgia summer <so the A/C was very, very appealing> but no one wanted to leave the TV because they didn't want to miss the end of the match & we felt the same way...except it went on & on & on. We hung around for a long time & then we went to lunch with our friend Coach Paul Tobin. We asked the manager @ the Chili's to put the match on for us because we didn't want to miss the end of the match...except it went on & on & on. We drove as fast as we could from Athens to Atlanta <about an hour-ish> because we didn't want to miss the end of the match...except it went on & on & on :)

In Week 3, we met & got to know the tall guy himself: JOHN ISNER!!

THREE wonderful weeks in the lives of HIGH-TECH TENNIS!! WOW... Almost can't believe that was FIVE YEARS AGO & now you understand why we say #TheFunNeverEnds :)

It wouldn't be possible for us to live this
dreamy life if you didn't do what you do, lol!!

It's a real privilege to play a small role
in the development of your junior player
& WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

PR FOR HTT

As you may know, we are in our TENTH YEAR of doing what we do, which is work much HARDER than you might imagine (!!) to help juniors achieve their recruiting & training goals. We don't get a lot of PR but when we do, we absolutely LOVE IT! :) Unbelievably, we've lost quite a few along the way but managed to find this article about us from the Mobile Press-Register, March of 2012. We want you to be able to read it (!!) so we printed out what it says for you:

Julie Thiets and her husband Danny are firm believers that everyone can improve their tennis game, even the world's best players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. To drive their point home, the couple created HIGH-TECH TENNIS, a video service which travels to tennis tournaments throughout the southeast. Danny is a former Florida tennis pro who works with the players while Julie films the sessions.[NOTE: They obviously got that part wrong but hey - nobody's perfect, lol!!]

The couple is in Mobile for the USTA National Spring Championships at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center. The tournament features the top 256 boys and girls (128 each) from across the United States. "We're here at least six times a year for the major tournaments such as this one and the BullFrog," Julie Thiets said. We also made a trip down last year for the Gulf Coast Tennis Challenge back in September featuring Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick." 

Even though most of the players in the tournament already have college scholarships, they welcome the video service's help. "When you get to this level, these are competitive players," she said. "They're looking for any edge they can get and these videos give them that edge. They study them, take them back to their coaches, and use them for their next match to help them improve. Our videos have helped kids get into qualifier matches and into major events such as the Orange Bowl. We do college recruitment videos for colleges too."

Here's another article about us. This one's from My Tennis Network, August of 2009 in Cary, NC. We want you to be able to read it (!!) so we printed out what it says for you:

HIGH-TECH TENNIS is a small business run by Danny and Julie Thiets in which they provide a great service to young players by traveling to tennis tournaments to videotape tennis matches. Danny and Julie currently live in Decatur, GA but since their business is mobile, they are everywhere! Before they created HIGH-TECH TENNIS, Julie worked as a consultant in the IT field for 15 years and Danny was a teaching pro. Eventually Danny got out of teaching tennis, but soon he was trying to find a way to get back into it. He thought back to the year he videotaped an entire season of high school basketball and remembered how beneficial it was to the team. This memory inspired Danny and Julie to create HIGH-TECH TENNIS as a tool for teaching professionals.

Each year Danny and Julie travel to approximately 30 tournaments in the Southern Section. This included Southern Designated and National Tournaments played in the southern portion of the country. They try to pick the tournaments at which they will tape the most matches while keeping the expenses low. They have recently added 2 cameras to the 6 they have been been using to tape tennis matches. "We use digital camcorders with mini DV tapes because that was the technology 4 years ago when we started," says Danny. "Digital quality DVDs seem to work just fine (to keep the costs as low as possible for our customers) and we continue to look at upgrades and will make the switch when it makes sense to do so. I always tell people that we are not producing wedding videos or Hollywood movies but working to help tennis players improve their tennis game by giving them an opportunity to watch their 'game film.' Period."

Danny and Julie's tennis videos can improve a player's game dramatically. For example, Danny says, "Once father wrote to us recently to say "Thanks a million for your services!!!" We'd recorded several matches for his son at a National tournament and those videos prompted his son to make the necessary correction(s) in his game and he went on to win a Southern Sectional tournament two weeks later. Other components of the game that can be caught on tape are: point setup, body language, footwork, and attitude... the list goes on. Julie and Danny both love what they do. They get to work together and travel and they have a sense of pride in building their business from scratch. HIGH-TECH TENNIS clearly provides a valuable service for developing players from two dedicated and knowledgeable professionals at a reasonable cost.

Tennis is a GAME,
not brain surgery...
Junior tennis players are CHILDREN,
not mini-professionals...
Junior tennis is a JOURNEY,
not a destination...
YOU MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY IT!!

Thank you for your support!!