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Friends of Orange Beach Tennis first project was to have Canopies installed over the current benches between the courts. As of today, we have successfully completed this goal. You will find the first canopy installed between courts 1 &2. Industrial Valve is fabricating the metal frames that will be perma-nently installed over the benches. The blue weave canopy will be installed with the capability of be-ing removed in case of a hurri-cane. Sponsor names will be displayed for 2 years on a metal sign lo-cated on the benches.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Shade Coming Soon to Orange Beach Tennis Center

Crawfish Boil was spicy! The first kickoff event of the or-ganization was a Crawfish Boil held at Happy Harbor off Marina Road in Orange Beach. Approxi-mately 100 people attended. Thank you to friends of Jon & Rose Townsend came from Mandeville LA with 300 lbs of crawfish to boil.

www.friendsofobtennis.blogspot.comPO Box 454 Orange Beach, AL 36561 friendsobtennis@gmail.com

Canopy installed between court 1 & 2.

THE RALLY Match Points:

• FOBT Projects/Events

• Player Spotlights

• Pro Tip

• Tournament Lists

• Local League

• Member Listing

• Member Birthdays

• Coupon & Raffle

Thank you to the following sponsors: Industrial Valve, Casa Designs LLC, Three Palms Realty---Anita Elisar, Dr. Dean Mason- The Orthopedic Group PC, Island Drugs & Gifts in Gulf Shores, Tacky Jacks, Vision Bank and Cobalt Restaurant.

Thank you to the tennis commu-nity and their families that came out to support the first fundraising event.

Become a Member of the Friends of Orange Beach Tennis. Contact a Board Member or email us for an annual membership application. $30 Individual $40 Family (4 max) Each applicant receives a colorful FOBT Bag Tag.

Friends of Orange Beach Board Members: Bart Middleton Rose Townsend Beverly Billingsley Jimmy Steeley Heather Moore Michelle Shivers John Stever

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in May. He made it to the Semifinals. The top 8 boys and girls from the state will advance to the Southern Boys and Girls 14 Closed Championships. We

wish Joshua lots of luck! As for Joshua’s biggest win, it came in the Alabama State Boys 12 closed tournament last year. When Joshua is off the court he enjoys playing the guitar and listening to old albums. His

favorite group is Led Zeppe-lin. He also enjoys eating Mexican food with his family.

Our junior player of the quarter is Joshua Martin. He is the son of James and Johanna Martin. Joshua is 13 years old and just fin-ished the 7th grade at Grace Christian Academy. He started playing tennis when was 9 years old and was proud to say that his dad was his first coach. He is now playing out of Peninsula on the Tournament Players Group, and is coached by Eph Walker. At the time of the interview, Josh was preparing for a tournament

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Women’s Player Spotlight: Carol Adams

Junior Player Spotlight: Josh Martin

Josh Martin

THE RALLY

It is Hot this Summer. Hydrate your body by

drinking plenty of liquids before going out to play tennis or other sports.

She takes lessons from various teach-ing pros in the area. She currently plays on Flight 8 (GPTL) in Orange Beach and is having a great time doing

it. She believes that you don’t have to be the best player out there to have fun. She also be-lieves that this is one of the happiest, friendliest places on Earth. She is very thankful for the hard work of Rhett and D.D. and the beautiful facility that we are so fortunate to call our

own.

Our women’s player of the quarter is Carol Adams. She retired in 1994 and moved to our area from Birming-ham with her husband of 33 years, Frank. In the past she has been involved with various volunteer or-ganizations such as The Friends of the Library, The Investment Club and The Garden Club. One day she decided that was not enough and decided to take up the game of tennis. She began taking les-sons and played on a team on Ono Island. Carol Adams

Friends of Orange Beach Tennis Members:

Carrie Brabner Jenny Scully Al Peck & Family Phyllis Peck Linda Bohannon Jimmy Steeley Rose Townsend Charles & Judy Tibbs Dave Lewis & Family Steve Baker Dave Brown

Barbara Ybarra & Family Charlene Allison Laura Elliott Monica Davidson Diane Duffie Kelli Billups Beverly Billingsley Lisa Alonzo McFatter John Stever Bart & Lainey Middleton & Family Rhonda Brantley Cynthia Cleverdon Misty & Tim Payne, Family Christie Watford-Shannon & Family Jennifer & McGee Scar-brough & Family Traci & Dean Mason & Family Perry and Doug Benton

UPCOMING Leagues:

• USTA Mixed League

• USTA Combo League

• GPTL (day league)

If you are interested in playing on a team or being captain, contact us for more information.

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V O LU M E 1, IS S UE 1 P A G E 3

Men’s Player Spotlight: Jim Willis and Jim now play on a 7.5 senior combo team together. In 2008-2009 their 7.5 senior combo team won the

sectional champion-ship. Jim also had the honors of playing on a 3.5 doubles team that was ranked #1 in the state of Ala-bama in 2001. When off the court, Jim enjoys spending time at the beach and doing a little fishing and boating. They are now proud grandpar-

ents of 9 ½ grandchildren.

Our men’s player of the quarter is Jim Willis. He is 58 years old and is mar-ried to Rosa. He was a graduate of University of Houston with a degree in Phar-macy. After living in Jacksonville for 20 years, they moved to Orange Beach in 2003 and are proud owners of Island Drug and Gifts in Gulf Shores. Jim became more serious about the sport of tennis in the early 1990’s , when a good friend of his by the name of Red Wilder inspired him to play. Red is a tennis legend in North Alabama. He

Jim Willis

Friends of Orange Beach Tennis Members:

Pro Tip from Rhett Russell: TENNIS IS A MOVING EXPERIENCE

On average, C players (2.0 and 2.5 NTRP) move their feet 2-4 steps in between shots. B players (3.0 and 3.5 NTRP) move their feet 4-6 steps in between shots. A players (4.0 and 4.5 NTRP) usually average 6-8 steps in between shots. Top level college players take 8-10 steps. ATP and WTA players average 10-12 steps in between shots. By improving your foot movement, you will become a better, more active, and more aggressive tennis player on the court.

In order to be a good tennis player, you must be able to move your feet. Whether playing singles or doubles, good foot work is crucial to get to where you need to be positioned on the court, to get to the ball, alleviate nerves, and to make slight adjustments for balancing before you hit the ball.

USTA Rule of Tennis: Calling a “Let” Who may call a let? Only a player may call a let on their own court.

The Coman tiebreak is identical to the regular tiebreak except that the players change ends after the 1st point and then after every 4 points. Switch sides after points, 1, 5, 9, 13, 17…… In doubles, the server will always serve from the same end of the court.

Coman Tiebreak

Linda Alewine & Sam Tom Bagley Heather Moore Judy Jordan Doug Jones Rhett & Amy Russell & Family James A. Cole Kristi Woods DD Russo Terri Long Michele Williams Michelle & Bradley Shivers & Family Debbie Holder Jim & Rosa Willis Farrah Keel Steve Worley Christine Slaughter Donna Russell Deborah Sanders Carolyn Kettelson Tim Arant Tina Stephens Carol Adams Paula & Ed McLeod Cheryl & Dan Scarbrough Angie Sessel & Family

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2.5 Orange Beach -- Farrah Keel, Captain; Deb-orah Sanders, Ali Jennings, Jennifer Burgess, Jennifer Wilson, Heather Moore, Cynthia White, April Vasko-Norton, Angel Lanier, Terri Long

3.0 Orange Beach -- Rose Townsend, Michelle Shivers, Perry Benton, Char-lene Allison, Paige Ellison-Smith, Kathleen Keane, Suzette Taylor, Julie Boles, Linda Childers, Traci Mason, Jennifer Scarbrough, Tammy Loper, Lisa McFatter, Brenda Langston, non-playing captain Beverly Billingsley

3.5 Gulf Shores-- Cheslie Larkin & Sheri Hicks, Captains; Cindy Harden, Joannah Martin, Marilyn Booker, Vicki McKee, Vickie Johnston, Dyan Fentriss, Eva McDuffie, Donna Russell, Pamela Livingston, Sara Brown

3.5 Orange Beach-- DD Russo, Cap-tain; Barbara Frerman, Michelle Fountain, Monica Davidson, Susan Andrews, Kristi Woods, Michele Wil-liams, Jane Rivers, Debbie Holder, Bridget Van Aller, Marie Knight, Lisa Kimbrough, Rose Townsend

August 7th ---Bayou Bluff Adult Tournament---Bayou Bluff, MS August 20th-- Alabama State Closed - Adult Tournament---Pelham Racquet Club, Pelham, AL August 21st-- Montgomery City Championships -Adult tournament--

--Lagoon Park, Montgomery, AL August 21st-- USTA Jr Team Southern Championships - Jr Tournament--Mobile Tennis Ctr , Mobile, August 28th-- Willie "Sleepy" Burns Labor Day Classic (Adults & Juniors Levels) Mobile Academy, September 4th--7th Annual Orange Beach Adult Tennis - Adult Tournament--- Orange Beach, AL

September 11th-- Heron Lakes Academy Fall Tournament- Jr Tour-nament---Heron Lakes CC, Mobile September 18th-- Alabama Junior State Fall Hardcourt Open - Jun-ior Tournament----Mobile, AL

July 9th -- Wynlakes Open - Adult Tournament---Montgomery, AL July 11th --- Southern Open Championships -Junior Tourna-ment---Pelham Racquet Club, Pelham, AL July 17th-- Alabama Jr State Closed - Junior Tourna-ment---Lagoon Park, Montgomery, AL July 24th---Inverness NTRP Chps - Adult Tourna-ment---Inverness Racqt Club, Birmingham, AL July 24th--- 1st Annual City of Gulf Shores Summer Slam,- Junior Tournament --- Gulf Shores July 31st-- Samford Summer Classic - Junior Tour-nament---Samford University, Birmingham, AL August 6th-- Hoover Jr Invitational - Junior Tournament---Hoover Country Club, Birmingham, AL August 6th-- Alabama State Closed - Adult Tournament ---Pelham Tennis Center, Pelham, AL

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Local League USTA Winners in the area

USTA Adult & Junior Tournaments Listed below. For more information on additional tournaments go to www.usta.com.

Support Local Tournaments and Socials Support the local Tournaments and socials in the Orange Beach, Peninsula and Gulf Shores tennis centers. See dates below for upcoming tourna-ments. Orange Beach Tennis Center upcoming Socials: Friday July 17, 2009 at 6pm Friday August 14, 2009 at 6pm

Congratulations to local players

advancing to USTA Regionals on

Pensacola Teams: 3.0 Women-Rose Townsend, Traci Mason, Linda

Childers, Perry Benton, Kathy Keane 4.0 Women—Beverly Billingsley

4.5 Women-Pattie Adams, Beverly Billingsley Regionals in Tallahassee, FL July 10-12

Sectionals in Daytona, FL August 7-9

N E W SL E T T E R T I TL E

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Friends of Orange Beach Tennis Members Birthdays for July, August and

September:

3.5 Senior Women Gulf Shores- In May, Cindy Key (nonplaying captain) took this team to Senior State Championship in Pel-ham. The team was undefeated out of 20 teams. They will ad-vance to the 2009 League Southern Sectional Championship in Birmingham July 30 -August 1. Team Members: Cindy Key - non-playing Captain, Debbie Holder, Monica Davidson, Janet Asher, Julie Roark, Barb Frerman, Jane Rivers, Carol Nonnenmann, Susan Andrews 3.5 Adult Women Gulf Shores- In June, the Adult 3.5 Gulf Shores team advanced to State championship in Mobile, AL to compete against 30 other teams. These 30 teams were divided into 5 groups in order to play a round robin within their group. The Gulf Shores women were undefeated in their group (4-0). The days were hot with 2 scheduled matches a day. After win-ning their group, quarterfinals and semifinals. The finals were immediate. Gulf Shores was defeated by a Birmingham (3-2). Although they were finalist, the competition was not over yet. The Gulf Shores team received a wildcard that will allow them to advance to the 2009 USTA League Southern Sectional Champi-onship in Birmingham July 25-28. Team Members: Cheslie Larkin, Captain; Sheri Hicks, Co-Captain; Cindy Harden, Joannah Martin, Marilyn Booker, Vicki McKee, Eva McDuffie, Donna Rus-sell, Vicki Johnston, Dyan Fentriss, Pam Livingston, Sara Brown

Congrats to the 3.5 Senior & Adult Gulf Shores Women’s Team in advanc-

ing to Southern Sectionals!!!!!!!!

Friends of Orange Beach Tennis Mission Statement:

We are a non-profit organization founded in 2009 with the sole purpose of promoting tennis by partnering with community groups and city agencies to promote youth, adult and senior tour-

naments and events to encourage par-ticipation in the sport.

1 hour with Ball Machine

Present coupon to front desk.

Expiration Date:

09/30/09

FREE Friends of Orange Beach Tennis

OBTC 251-974-6387

1 hour Free Lesson with Rhett Russell

Friends of Orange Beach Tennis

Drawing held October 1, 2009

Raffle Ticket

Expi

ratio

n D

ate:

1

2/3

1/2

00

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Drop this ticket off at the OBTC

Jennifer Scarbrough July 20 Jonathon Shannon July 26 Donna Russell July 30 Owen Shivers August 2 Lisa McFatter August 7 Monica Davidson August 8 Tim Arant August 9 Diane Duffie August 9 Dave Brown August 24

Mark Shannon August 25 Michele Williams August 26 Linda Alewine August 29 Carolyn Kettelson August 30 Barbara Ybarra September 1 Dave Lewis September 2 Adam Shivers September 2 Braiden Scarbrough September 4 Paula McLeod September 10 Jimmy Steeley September 15 Laura Elliott September 16 Kelli Billups September 21

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V O LU M E 1, IS S UE 1 P A G E 6

Thank you to our Sponsors for Making the new Canopy’s and other events Possible:

Three Palms Real Estate: Anita Elisar, Realtor 251.980.Palm

The Orthopaedic Group P.C. : Dr. L Dean Mason II, MD

Island Drug & Gifts: Jim & Rosa Willis 251.967.1100