Posted on: January 8, 2018 |
I am writing this blog a few days into 2018, but the short break over Christmas has given me some time to reflect on 2017 and as ever there has been lots to reflect on here at SotoTennis Academy.
One of the words I use the most at the Academy with the players is the word ‘accept’. I truly believe the ability to accept situations that are thrown our way is a real sign of mental ‘fitness’. This is another saying we use for players to understand that developing a fit mind isn’t too different to developing a fit body- it takes time and work and the prescribed programme doesn’t do the work for you, the day in day out application to it does, but maybe I’ll blog on that another day!
I accepted a long time ago that as an Academy owner I have signed up to many things and that with 16 staff members, 45 players (double the parents), 250 Access Players visiting us each year, not everything will always go to plan! I guess the point I’m about to make before I wax lyrical about my amazing staff, players and parents for all they achieved in 2017 is that it doesn’t always go to plan, it doesn’t always go the way we want and sometimes it absolutely goes a way we never saw coming, not too dissimilar to a tennis match, or even a tennis career. It won’t all be plane sailing and you will have some adversity and many a challenge to over come, but this is the beauty of tennis (and of life). You wouldn’t want it easy, would you?
Onto the year gone by.. Things I am extremely proud of the team for…
- We have players at the Academy from 16 different nations
- The team travelling to 34 different countries this year
- The 23 Professional Titles STA Players won in 2017 including our first ever WTA title
- The 10 ITF Junior Finals that were made and 2 players who have broken inside the top 200 ITF in 2017
- The other 33 tournaments won by STA Players
- The representation of STA Players in the Davis Cup
- The 4 US Scholarships that were given to STA Players in 2017
- The 2 ex STA Players that graduated from US Colleges with excellent degrees and prospects for the future.
- The UK scholarships that were awarded to STA players.
- The ex STA Player that now plays pro basketball.
- The team have designed and written a fantastic new website, which is a brilliant resource for the Academy
- The new ACES Programme with Sotogrande International School- More info on our website.
- The new Mini Van we have, we now have 2. Both with big logos on them! It was always a dream of mine to have that, so gotta mention it!
- The new office we have- the creative juices now flow, as does the tea and coffee!
- The new STA baby- congrats to STA Director, Nick Morgan and his partner Amy on the birth of Baby Martha!
- A big one I’m proud of; in 2017 we covered 108 weeks of International tournaments as a team. Dedication in abundance from our staff, players and parents.
- We have opened our door to 250 players who wanted to access our environment, I hope we have 250 happy players leaving who have taken a little bit from what we do at the Academy to help them on their journey.
- We have made many new friends. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing the friendships blossom between STA Players, staff and families with the blend of nationalities and cultures and the bonds that last a life time- this is special. And it’s something we should be very proud of our sport for.
- We have 30+ different goals and pathways that want to be explored..
- We have 1 team! #teamsoto
Thank you to each and every person who has contributed to these fantastic achievements in 2017.
As for 2018, we are ready for anything. We ‘accept’ what we have signed up to, the good, the bad and the ugly albeit we will be doing everything we can to replicate and surpass the above on and off the court!
Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you a year full of health and happiness and hope to bump into some of you throughout 2018.
Control the Controllables.
Dan Kiernan
Director, SotoTennis Academy
Inspiring Excellence | Tennis Academy Spain
Nice!