Popular Demand...

Greetings to all my loyal readers out there in Clipperland. I certainly apologize for the lack of blogging and am humbled by the numerous requests by fans to start posting again immediately. Of course, I am sure that there are also plenty of folks out there hoping that I do not post ever again. Well in spite of those hopefully few and to please those remaining hungry for as much Coach Dano as possible, I write!

So, what is on my mind...or at least the less scary things that I am allowed to print for the public. It has certainly been an interesting beginning to the fall and Clipper tennis. First of all, in a bizarre turn of events, I have come out of short retirement to resume my duties with the men's team. I just could not let Coach T. struggle alone this fall given his difficult injury. I also realized that it was unfair to the four new players to have been recruited by me and then to bail on them. I just didn't feel comfortable with that. In addition, the women's coaches unfortunately abandoned the program just as the school year began. I don't really want to get into the long and the short of that situation but suffice to say that the program and the terrific young women were left in a bad way. As a result, Coach T. stepped up to the plate so as to provide the team with the great season that they deserve. I felt called to help him through this and joined him in the cause. Working with the ladies is quite different in many ways. However, I am enjoying it so far. They are really a nice group and are eager to learn. We may not be the favorite this year with only a roster of six, losing key players and no new recruits, but I have a feeling that that CACC Championship is not going to leave Bronxville that easily. Time will tell.

We are quite young on the men's side this fall and that presents a few challenges. Finding cohesive doubles units and forming a team identity hopefully will come with time. We really need the returning players to embrace the talented freshman and bring us together. I have tremendous confidence in the character of our upperclassmen and am looking forward to what our talent can be with solid effort on the practice courts. Things are already changing for the better.

On a different note, I stepped out onto the practice court today. I really enjoyed hitting and drilling and I can actually hit the ball pretty well when the ball is hit to me. Game situation...another story. I can still hold that old serve in doubles but yikes, not covering enough ground out there. Hence, no Ben and Jerry's for a while...
The gents will hit the match courts Saturday at 10am versus Bowdoin College, a nationally ranked NCAA D3 school. In a sense, this is a homecoming for Bronxville High School grad Peter Davis who is on the Bowdoin squad. We look forward to beating Peter wherever he plays...

Also making the "Wins List" is Andrey Boldarev who was able to get 5 ATP points last week qualifying at the Tashkent Challenger and thus obtaining an ATP world ranking of 1084. Way to go Andrey!

I hope that this has satisfied your yearnings and I promise to be more attentive to your reading needs going forward. If you are around on Saturday, stop by the courts and pay me a visit. I am always happy to see my peoples.

Be well. It is good to be back as there is still work to be done and some unfinished business.

Nuff said...

Piludu Wins ITA Regional...

Dani Piludu won the ITA Eastern Regional this past weekend in Philadelphia, PA at the Ashe Tennis Center (click here for the draws). He defeated teammate David Tisserand in the final to advance to the National Small College Championships in Mobile, AL.

David scored the upset of the event defeating the #1 seed of Queens College Attila Toth in the semifinal round. David played some very solid tennis and showed the entire region that he is a force in singles.

Joining David and Dani in the semifinals was freshman Tomasz Olfans who lost to Piludu in the semis.

The competition in the region has become much stronger this year and that is a good thing. We certainly hope for some more competitive matches going forward.

We certainly have some work to do with the doubles play as we have many new players and are struggling to find chemistry.

In other news, both indoor and outdoor courts have been repainted and are playing nicely.

Next up will be a home match versus Bowdoin College on Saturday 10/1 with a 10am start time. We welcome former Bronxville Bronco Peter Davis home for the event. I look forward to seeing you there.

Nuff said...

Frey Shoutout...

As you can see from the title picture of this blog, we are in the process of resurfacing both the indoor and outdoor courts at the Meyers Tennis Center here on campus. Club patrons as well as both college teams look forward to getting back on the courts starting next week barring any sort of pseudo-hurricane passing through the Bronxville area.

In addition, a fond greeting to the Frey family as they are once again visiting the Concordia community. It is always a pleasure to welcome player families and loyal blog followers to our world. Have a nice visit.

It has been fun bumping into so many old friends, teammates, colleagues, and former Clippers at the US Open tennis tournament these last few days. The post Irene weather has been terrific...I hope it continues.

Nuff said...

Mozer Signs...

Mark Mozer of Brest, Belarus has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Clippers for the 2011-2012 school year. Mark has spent the last few years living in Spain attending high school and sharpening his tennis game.

For a glimpse of Mark in action, click here.

Mark will bring an aggressive baseline game that should serve him well versus the competition he will face at the very top of NCAA D2. He will certainly be an asset to the team and we look forward to his contributions.

The fall semester begins September 5th and practice shortly thereafter. The first event on the schedule is the ITA East Regional held at the Ashe Tennis Center in Philadelphia, PA September 17th-19th.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Nuff said...

I Smell Cookies...

If you leave cookies in your tennis bag, they will be found...






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Summer Greetings...

I hope that all of you are enjoying your "summer break". I certainly have been enjoying a bit of the small ball as I have been privileged to get out on the golf course several times with former Clippers Rohan Malhotra, Neel Roy, and Doug O'Connell. Unfortunately, my game has not rounded into form just yet but it is nice to have the opportunity to enjoy the out of doors and catch up with members of the Clipper nation.


In other news, Tomasz Olfans has joined us in Bronxville and has attended summer orientation. Tomasz is really going to be a factor in NCAA II and he is ready to contribute immediately.

Also, Coach Neil continues his recovery and has now been removed from his cast and placed into a less restrictive brace that allows for more movement and the introduction of physical therapy. The somewhat apprehensive patient will be sure to progress quickly and hopefully be weight bearing fully in the near future.

In other good news, all tennis coaches have taken and passed the NCAA Recruiting Exam for the 2011-2012 season. This is good to get this accomplished on the first trial.

With any luck the players are looking to improve on their season ending NCAA II National Ranking of #4. For this to happen there needs to be plenty of hard work including summer fitness and on court improvement. If the players have been and continue to do so, good things will happen for the team. If not, well...not good for anybody.

Share the good! Feel free to report any good things that are going on with you. Share your comments in the comment section of any blog posts, send me an email at danabolics@aol.com, send me a tweet on twitter, or send me a facebook message.

Have a great August and be well.

Nuff said...

ITA Scholar Athletes Announced...

The ITA (the governing body of college tennis) has announced their list of Scholar Athletes for the 2010-2011 academic year. We are very pleased and proud to have three members of the team mentioned among the elite student athletes in the country.

Congratulations to Felix Missal, Geza Bazula and Davis Tisserand. These three young men have distinguished themselves both on the court and in the classroom. A student athlete must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for the academic year to be honored.

Click here for the link to the press release.

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The Cast...

Have a nice look at the cast. If you are in the Bronxville area, stop on by the College Racquet Club and sign this, soon to be, piece of tennis memorabilia. Coach T. will be glad to see you.

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Happy Birthday Coach Neil...

As we celebrate our Independence here in the US, we must also celebrate the birthday of Coach Neil Tarangioli. Yes, he is indeed born of the 4th of July. I will not reveal his age here in the land of social media but he certainly looks younger than the number.

I certainly hope he is able to enjoy the day even though he is inconvenienced by his recent surgery and ambulation status. Incidentally, if you check out the "Some intriguing blogs to check out" gadget in the right hand gadget column of this blog, you will note the arrival of the "Achilles Tendon Injury Recovery Blog" in honor of Coach T.

All the best.

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Happy Independence Day...

Wishing all of you a very happy and safe Independence Day. What wonderful opportunities we all have as a result.

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Format Change???

Things could be changing...

There is a motion up before the NCAA D2 Tennis Committee at the moment which considers a format change with respect to match scoring. Essentially the motion suggests a move away from the 9 point scoring format to the 7 point format already used in NCAA D1.

For those of you not familiar with the scoring format currently used in D2: each team match consists of 9 tennis matches: 3 doubles matches and 6 singles matches. Each of these matches is worth 1 point. Thus, there are 3 doubles points and 6 singles points available. The NCAA D1 format has only 7 total points available as the singles matches are still worth 1 point each but the doubles play is only worth 1 total point for scoring. The doubles point is awarded to the team winning the majority of the 3 doubles matches.

This format change places a greater emphasis on the singles matches and ensures that the team winning any given dual match must win at least one half (3) of the singles contests. Also, this format change could also shorten the dual match somewhat. If a team has won the first 2 doubles matches finishing, the third match would be stopped as a majority has been achieved. I am not sure that this is a big deal though.

I was asked by another coach for my opinion about this rule change and I responded by saying that "it depends on how well we play doubles during any given season." However, truth be told, even though we have always played pretty solid doubles, I support such a format change. With the recent NCAA rule changes in D2, the incoming players are younger (I will avoid the obvious cheap shot at the schools who seem to have a special relationship with the NCAA) and have less experience. As a result, much practice time has to be devoted to doubles...probably more than singles. I feel that it is more important for the players to be hitting more balls and focusing on developing their skills, strategies, and fitness rather than spending more than half of a practice on teaching doubles on a day-to-day basis. If only 1 point is at stake for doubles, coaches could spend a little less time in that area. This, in my opinion, would not only make the players happy but would be better for their overall development.

This rule change, if approved, could be utilized as soon as next season.

What are your thoughts?

Nuff said...

Hey Bernie Tomic...

Gotta give a shout out to Bernie. I remember watching this guy beat the #4 seed in the Junior US Open, Fernando Romboli of Brazil back in 2007. He was 14 years old and maybe weighed 120lbs. We were surprised then that he won but I am not surprised to see him winning now.

Go Bernie.

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Roger as a Lefty...

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Surgery Goes Well...

Good news! Surgery went well yesterday as the skilled Dr. Nicholas, who has served as team physician for the NY Jets and NY Islanders, was able to repair Coach Neil's Achilles tendon.

Of course, the surgery was the easy part. Now the hard road of rehabilitation begins. In general, there will be a period of non-weight bearing followed by a process of strengthening and stretching. All in all your coach should be mobile for the fall season and should be ready for 4.5 USTA tennis next summer.

In the meantime, you may see Neil zipping around on some sort of clipper blue scooter for more rapid ambulation.Join me in wishing Coach a full and speedy recovery.

Nuff said...