Last 2014 APTA Viking Clinic Held in Vermont

January 4, 2015
Quechee, VT

While global warming toyed with Vermont over the Christmas holiday, the 50 players who came out for the free APTA Viking clinic couldn’t have cared less. The scrape of ice on skis in the background was muffled by the laughs on the Quechee Club courts. The facility opened just last year, with help from an APTA grant, and is the first ski-in, ski-out platform tennis facility in the East.

Pros Sebastian Bredberg, Marco Grangeiro, Anton Mavrin, and Micheal Montalbano brought enthusiasm and wisdom to the slope-side courts. Starting in the afternoon of a sunny Saturday, the experts offered four clinics before they put on a rousing exhibition, watched by over 75 impressed spectators.

The adult clinics focused on positioning, volleying, and serve and returns. The junior clinic was an entirely different story, where the kids (and one father) played elimination games and finished with Crazy Paddle. With six on a side including pros, and Grangeiro madly tweeting from the sideline, the ball was kept in play by any means possible. Volleyball-like play was allowed, lines didn’t matter, Grangeiro’s head was considered fair game, and the point only ended when the ball stopped bouncing and started rolling. A request was made to Mavrin to add this to the adult clinics in the future.

The Quechee Club provided snacks and offered a cash bar during the exhibition, where the pros did not disappoint. Who has more fun than they do? A few generous locals opened their homes to the pros for the night, and the APTA appreciates their hospitality.

Thanks to Eric Godes for organizing the clinic, to Viking for supporting the endeavor, and to the traveling pros for spending a few days during the holidays in this picturesque Vermont village. The greatest gift of all—good cheer on the courts.