With temperatures in the hundreds, the 10’s Exchange team of eight players (Somei Ogata, Nadaul Cheam, Blair Chen, Kota Kawasaki, Kohana Darroch, Sonya Goldberg, Lily Bazemore, and Nikitha Desai) managed to keep their cool under challenging conditions. Played in Scottsdale, AZ, the event “was a great learning experience for Team NorCal, especially playing doubles with new partners and bonding as teammates,” USTA NorCal Junior Team Tennis Coordinator, Chris Samuel, said. “Coach Todd Dissly led the group through the paces of a set warm-up and stretching routine, along with plenty of tips and strategy to keep the players motivated throughout the three days of competition.” Throughout the event, Team NorCal played against teams from Southern California, Pacific Northwest, Intermountain, Hawaii, and Southwest Sections. Samuel noted that “the players got progressively more comfortable with each match and it showed in their movement, skills, and doubles communication. We are so proud of our players’ performance.”
10’s Exchange – Sottsdale, AZ. Picture on the left: Todd Dissly with the 10’s Exchange NorCal team.Picture on the right: Todd Dissly and Chris Samuel on court with the 10’s Exchange NorCal team.
To help lead the team, Todd Dissly, of Todd Dissly Academy, guided the players through two boys’ doubles, two girls’ doubles, eight singles, and four mixed doubles during each match. “This was a great event for the players as they got to compete on a team, play multiple matches, and experience the ups and downs of competition,” Dissly explained. “From a coaching perspective, it was great because I could continually help guide players back to their focal point, and help them believe in themselves a little bit more.” To reach that goal, Dissly talked about his approach of staying positive and setting simple performance goals such as keeping every ball over the net and establishing a cross-court rally. Another successful coaching element Dissly and Samuel used, was to help teach the kids how to prepare before a match and recover after a match. “In the Arizona heat, there’s not much room for wasted energy, so we used every opportunity to help teach the kids to recover energy, refill their bodies with proper food and fluids, and stretch their muscles so they wouldn’t tighten up,” Dissly clarified.
10’s Exchange – Sottsdale, AZ. Picture on the left: Nikitha Desai with Todd Dissly receiving the Sportsmanship Award. Picture on the right: learning how to recover with stretching.
In the end, Team NorCal took a hard-earned third place, barely 10 games behind Intermountain. “I was delighted of the fact that we competed hard, we played fair, and we had no excuses,” Dissly proudly said. To add to a very successful outing, Nikitha Desai won the Sportsmanship Award and Nadaul Cheam the Team Spirit Award, applying effectively their coach’s philosophy.
Congratulations to the players and coaches on playing their hearts out and making NorCal proud. Go Team NorCal!
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