We celebrated Dennis Van Der Meer’s 90th birthday by honoring his legacy. Steve Keller, Senior Manager at the USTA, posted this on his Linkedin page: “Dennis opened innumerable doors for many players, coaches, and industry leaders. I often quote Dennis, especially to the next generation of coaches coming into the tennis ecosystem. His foundational approach to simplifying the game for players and coaches will continue to stand the test of time.”
Thank you, Steve, for posting this on our behalf.
Van Der Meer Alumni honored Dennis by sharing their experiences at the academy.
Maggie Harris, one of the players who trained at the academy, wrote, “I feel so fortunate to have known and been coached by Dennis, and to have been part of the academy family. It was truly a blessing and enriching experience. Both Dennis and Pat taught me so much about tennis, but also about life, teaching, and leadership that continues to today.”
Berhe Serekeberhan wrote, “Dennis was one of my mentors who gave me the skills to be creative by allowing me to share my skills, and that gave me the power to be myself in helping others.”
Tennis industry women leaders supported the PTR Foundation by celebrating International women’s month. Idols like Billie Jean King, Emma Wells, Lucy Garvin, Pat Van Der Meer, Jean Mills, Tina Tharp, Delaine Mast, Lynne Rolley, Jolyn de Boer, Carol MacClennan, Paytin Snowball, Vania King, Anne Pankhurst, and Elizma Nortje provided women players and coaches with inspiring and motivating quotations. All the quotations can be found in our March social media posts.
Master Professional, Tina Tharp inspired us…
“Whether it’s in sport or in life : you either win or you learn. When faced with a difficult situation, embrace the struggle and come out the other side a much stronger version of yourself. And then, pass along that knowledge to others so they can strive to succeed.” #EmbraceEquity.
We continued to celebrate IWM by doing something we have never done before. We awarded 14 scholarships to women who took PTR Level 1 in March. Thank you to the PTR staff for helping us select the award recipients. Welcome to all the new women certified PTR members!
Madie Renner, an award recipient wrote this:
“Madie wants to thank all of her amazing coaches she has had in her life, as well as her Grandpa John for passing down his love of tennis to her. Thank you to the PTR Foundation for this amazing opportunity to continue growing in her coaching career. She is very excited to be a part of the PTR family!”
With our donors’ assistance, we hope to continue to grant awards to women tennis coaches next year as well.
The PTR Foundation awarded $2,500 to the Serving Love Foundation. Serving Love Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on improving the health and wellness of Native American communities through racquet sports. We were impressed by Pete Peterson’s passion and commitment to help the Native American community through tennis. Keep up the great work Pete!
Do you want to buy a birthday gift or encourage your associate pro? ‘Building a Successful Tennis Career’ by Jack Thompson is a great gift for all levels of tennis professionals. It’s an A to Z guide to survive and prosper as a teaching professional. Jack is generously donating $7.95 from every sale to the PTR Foundation. Jack, thanks for all you’ve done to inspire and educate our members and for your thoughtful gift to the foundation.
