Page 12 - Southern Exposure - March '22

Page 12, Southern Exposure

sPorts from page 11
Ibis Adds New Pros To Expand Prestigious Tennis Program

Few High-End Country Clubs Can Boast The Tennis Pedigree Of The Club At Ibis

Let’s take it from coach, also coached the U.S. Olympics tennis team three times staff to make sure everyone is on the same page. He’s also had
the top: Jay Berger, The and spent nine years as the USTA’s head of men’s tennis. other top tennis players and coaches come in to talk strategy
Club at Ibis’ director of Berger’s expertise is why Tobias Clemens took the job as to the membership.
athletics. tennis director at The Club at Ibis last fall. “Our ultimate vision is to be the gold standard of every
Berger made it as “Jay is an expert,” Clemens said. “He knows so much about tennis club in regards to coaching, facilities and atmosphere,”
high as No. 7 in the the game. What he doesn’t know, he will find out. Ibis is a very Berger said.
world rankings and highly-reputed club, so it was a no-brainer for me to take the Clemens said the level of teaching at The Club at Ibis
played in two Davis job. To be able to work with Jay was the icing on the cake.” almost rivals a tennis academy, whether it’s working with
Cups before knee issues Like Berger, the 42-year-old Clemens played the game 8-year-olds or 80-year-olds.
cut his career short in at the high level. He played at UCLA and was once ranked “We rely a lot on video,” Clemens said. “It shows the
1991. Berger went from in the top 200 in the world in singles. Like Berger, Clemens player exactly what they are doing wrong. ‘You don’t bend
being one of the game’s turned to teaching, first at SMU, then in Peru and the last six your knee before you hit your forehand’ or ‘On your serve
best players to one of its years running the tennis program at The Weymouth Club near you’re dropping your left arm.’ They don’t think they are
best teachers. He served Boston. doing it, but when you see it on video, they realize they are
13 years as Davis Cup “Tobias checked all of the boxes,” Berger said. “I wanted doing it.”
someone who has played professionally and who has coached The Club at Ibis also recently hired:
adult tennis, team tennis and high-performance junior tennis. • Scoville Jenkins, another accomplished player who was
He is perfect for our club.” ranked inside the top 200 in the world. Jenkins made it to the
The Club at Ibis’ tennis facility – which includes 15 Har- semifinals of the Junior Wimbledon and has played six years
Tru, fast-drying tennis courts with a subirrigation system and professionally, facing top opponents such as Roger Federer,
a cushioned hard court, the same surface used at the U.S. Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick.
Open – is a busy place. Berger said almost 50,000 people • Maci Epstein, who was a tennis pro in Miami and New
102 Year Anniversary played tennis last year at The Club at Ibis. York. She played four years at the University of Virginia and
nd
Do You Have “We had almost 6,000 in December,” Berger said. “The was a top-four player in doubles.
An Old Fur Hanging people love their tennis here.” Joshua Sturgis recently was promoted to lead coach.
The tennis players at The Club at Ibis includes honorary
Sturgis specializes with the juniors.
In The Closet member Reilly Opelka, who’s currently on the U.S. Davis “We have one of the best staffs in the country,” Berger
Cup team and is ranked 29th in the world. But not every
said.
Not Being Worn? member at Ibis has the ability of the 7-footer, so the coaching And they stay busy.
staff has an opportunity to work their magic with everyone Here is a tennis tip from Tobias Clemens, who was hired
Restyle Your Old Fur else. last year to become the director of tennis at The Club at Ibis
Hanging In Your Closet “We’re trying to create the ‘Ibis Philosophy,’ which is very in West Palm Beach:
similar to the USTA’s,” Berger said. “When I’m coaching
Clemens’ tip: Be patient when your game improves. Don’t
Reilly or one of our members, the words I’m saying to them level jump to play against better players. The rule of thumb
are the same. The tools are the same. Obviously, the talent is one-third of your matches should be players who are on
level is different, but we use the same language. We want our your same level, one-third should be against players who are
members to learn.” better than you and one-third should be against players who
Berger brought in USTA performance coach Paul Lubbers aren’t as good as you. If you level jump, you get frustrated
to spend almost a week working with The Club at Ibis tennis and it slows down your game’s progress.

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