Ranked Laguna Tennis Team Misses Playoffs Selection on Technicality

Posted on May 9, 2016 by trevorthorpetravels

It is with sadness that I have to report this news. Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis will not be in CIF Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, despite showing superior performance over other teams that will be included.

As a freelance team, CIF requires 50% win-percentage to apply for an “at-large” bid and 80% win-percentage for automatic qualification into the playoffs. At 12-4, we came up one win short of 80%. Having had a great season, I still felt we had a good chance at being selected, but it was not to be. Continue reading →

Thorpe Tennis: 2015 Year in Review

Posted on January 4, 2016 by trevorthorpetravels

Barbara Hallquist DeGroot Celebrity Coach Laguna Blanca Summer Tennis Camp Another great year is in the books and I am thrilled by the progress my students have made in 2015. I’m already excitedly looking forward to raising the bar again in 2016, but before we get ahead of ourselves…

A few highlights from the year at Thorpe Tennis:

Worked with 63 different players from age 8 to 52.
Spent over 1,000 hours on-court teaching lessons and coaching high school matches.
Directed a second successful year of the Laguna Blanca Summer Tennis Camp, oriented towards middle schoolers and incoming freshmen interested in playing at the high school level.
Coached Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis to an 13-3 regular-season record and won a CIF playoff round for the third consecutive year.
Led Cate School Girls’ Tennis to what was likely the most successful season in team history, going 13-1 during the regular season and making the CIF D2 Quarterfinals.
Coached an unheard-of six Cate girls to Tri-Valley League All-League 1st Team and received Coach of the Year Award.
Completed a two-year project with Edward Cho at Cate, helping him achieve his goal of going from JV to Varsity singles starter
Began utilizing photos and slow-motion video within lessons to give players another angle for understanding their game.
Helped Julia Gan finally break the top-400 in the country, while also winning the Tri-Valley League Singles Championship and getting widely recruited to play college tennis. We even made her an awesome recruiting video!
Had the pleasure of watching senior students matriculate to fine schools such as: Cal Poly SLO, St. Andrews, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and University of Colorado at Boulder.
Expanded community interaction with my students, their families, and other supporters with 28 blog posts that were visited by 1,800 people and viewed 5,000 times. This year also featured many photos of players in action that are free to download and share!

Thanks to all of you for being part of my tennis family. It is my passion and pleasure to be part of yours. Here’s to another great year of tennis in Santa Barbara!

Trevor Thorpe

Coach Thorpe Receives Tri-Valley League “Coach of the Year” Award

Posted on October 30, 2015 by trevorthorpetravels

While some would consider this a small award, it’s a big honor for me and I’m going to talk about it! This sport, my teams, and my players are my absolute passion. To be acknowledged by my peers in the Tri-Valley League as Coach of the Year is validation of that passion and what it can do.

I know that tennis is just a small part of most of my players’ young lives. That said, I also believe that a tennis court is the perfect place to develop the competitive drive, ethics, and self-awareness it takes to be successful on the many playing fields of life. Continue reading →

Classic Tennis: Why Now is the Time for the Return of the Complete Player

Posted on September 11, 2015 by trevorthorpetravels

In the last 20 years, how many top singles tennis players can you name that serve-and-volley? How many of the stars of the game utilize the slice for anything except as an occasional point-reset from the wings of the court? How many of these top players are playing doubles with any regularity?

The answer, unless you’re delusional, is nearly zero. The likes of Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter were the last of the true serve-and-volleyers. Gone are the days when players such as John McEnroe managed to hold the #1 spot in singles for 170 weeks and 270 weeks in doubles, often concurrently. Continue reading →

2014: Thorpe Tennis Year-in-Review

Posted on December 14, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

This has been, undoubtedly, a banner year for Thorpe Tennis and the schools and individuals with whom I get to share this great game. Every day I am thankful for the opportunity to share my passion for tennis with a great group of people in this paradise called Santa Barbara. As I plan for my next big adventure (read about it here), I’m already looking forward to all the exciting things that lie ahead in 2015, but before we turn the page…

A few highlights from the year at Thorpe Tennis:

Worked with 49 different players from age 8 to 56
Spent over 1,000 hours on-court teaching lessons and coaching high school matches
Saw three years of planning, campaigning, and finger-crossing come to fruition with the completion of the Furukawa Tennis Courts at Laguna Blanca
Launched the Laguna Blanca Summer Tennis Camp to rave reviews
Coached Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis to an 11-5 record, a second-consecutive CIF playoff appearance, the #7-seed in CIF Division 4, and a second-round showing in CIF playoffs
Started a Laguna tennis tradition with a weekend trip to the desert for the BNP Paribas Open, where we got to see Nadal, Wawrinka, the Bryans and many other pros play
Led Cate School Girls’ Tennis to an 8-5 record and another CIF playoff appearance, despite moving up two divisions and facing much stiffer competition. Cate battled through a wildcard round victory and made a strong 6-12 showing against future CIF finalists, Murrieta Valley
Coached Julia Gan to several singles wins against nationally-ranked juniors and brought Gan and McKenna Madden together for a Tri-Valley League finalist showing in doubles, followed by a second-round appearance in CIF Individuals
Enjoyed another successful year from Daniel Newton, who qualified for the Central Coast Grand Prix Masters and currently holds a ranking of #107 in California, plus more hardware for Alex Furukawa, despite an apparent blinking problem!
Helped Ben Furukawa achieve a personal best #112 in California ranking. Fellow Laguna senior Tristan Prinz also notched victories over Jason Xiao (f0rmerly undefeated in Condor League play), Kevin Ha (currently #308 in the country), and scored the biggest victory of his career against Dimitri Colffer (recently ranked as high as #190 in the country) in his last high school match
Had the pleasure of watching seniors from Laguna and Cate tennis programs go on to college at UCLA, University of Washington, Colorado School of Mines, Ole Miss, UPenn, Yale, and USC

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and here’s to another year of phenomenal tennis in 2015!

Trevor Thorpe
Thorpe Tennis

SB Tennis Patrons Summer Tournament Schedule

Posted on June 10, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

Each summer, SB Tennis Patrons encourages clubs to host one-weekend junior tournaments for Santa Barbara area tennis players. These events are not sanctioned by the USTA, meaning they won’t count for ranking. These events are a great opportunity for those just getting into tournament play, or those who can’t commit to traveling to tournaments multiple weekends in a row.

Here’s the list of Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons tournaments for Summer 2014!

Leslie Allen Santa Barbara Open Tournament Recap: Coach Thorpe Loses Three-Setter in the Finals

Posted on February 28, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

Over the weekend I had the rare opportunity to play a USTA men’s open tournament for only the second time in the last five years. I got a good draw and built on each win, stepping up my game as the opponents got more challenging, and by the end of the weekend I had won three matches and booked a ticket to the finals. Here’s the recap, including a play-by-play of the finals match, with photos courtesy of Les Morales Photography: Continue reading →

University of Redlands Alumni Match 2014

Posted on February 3, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

Last weekend I had the opportunity to make the annual trip back to Redlands for our alumni match. It was great to catch up with old teammates and friends, and we had a great turnout as usual. Continue reading →

Thorpe Tennis Video Series: Baseline Groundstrokes with Tristan Prinz

Posted on January 13, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

I have been working with Tristan Prinz for almost three years now and he’s getting to a really nice level at this point. He’s been on a roll in practice of late, and looks ready to make a big jump this year in high school play.

Here is some baseline rallying we’ve been doing to get him in rhythm and improve his court fitness. This video is also a great way to compare righty and lefty strokes, as I will be in the foreground a bit in the beginning before Tristan moves to that position.

Thorpe Tennis: 2013 Year-in-Review

Posted on January 7, 2014 by trevorthorpetravels

This last year was perhaps the most rewarding, and certainly the most successful year so far for Thorpe Tennis. I feel fortunate to continue working with players and teams across the Santa Barbara area and particularly to impact the lives of our young students.

A few highlights from the year at Thorpe Tennis: Continue reading →

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