Har-Tru Sports, which calls itself the world’s leading clay court company and top distributor of court equipment and accessories, teamed up with former top-5 player and acclaimed coach Brad Gilbert to announce the company’s ongoing commitment to developing junior champions in Northern California. Har-Tru Sports plans to make clay court training more accessible to juniors through its investment of $500,000 toward a clay court training facility in the Bay area. Har-Tru will continue to work closely with USTA NorCal Player Development to identify opportunities for California youth to train on clay courts.
Har-Tru’s declaration of plans for a Northern California clay court training facility also formally kicked off the inaugural Olympic Club Har-Tru Clay Court Shootout, the first event of its kind for junior players to practice playing on clay courts before the USTA National Clay Court Championships. In collaboration with the Olympic Club and USTA NorCal Player Development, the shootout invited junior players from Northern California to go head to head in a male division and female division.
The winner of each division received a $500 travel voucher to cover travel expenses as they head to the east coast for the clay court nationals.
“Working closely with USTA NorCal Player Development, we saw an opportunity to make clay court training a reality for more junior players. This Shootout is one of many clay court events we plan to host that will ultimately help juniors to become more well-rounded players,” said Pat Hanssen, general manager at Har-Tru. “From providing access to clay court play through ongoing tournaments to opening a training facility for them in the Bay area, our hope is that we will help produce Grand Slam champions.”
Many of the world’s top pros train or craft their games on clay. As a player who sometimes trained on clay courts, Gilbert is one of tennis’s top strategists. He shares Har-Tru’s passion for player development and clay court training.
“Playing on clay requires practice, patience and strategy, yet access to clay courts can be difficult,’ Gilbert said. “The more access to clay we can provide to American juniors, the more likely we are to develop the caliber of player needed to compete with and win against the world’s top players.”
In association with their California commitment, Har-Tru will host additional clay court tournaments, shootouts and other training events for junior athletes including a clay court training program on August 5 at Seascape Sports Club with former tennis professional athlete Justin Gimelstob.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Brad Gilbert, California tennis news, Har-Tru, Justin Gimelstob, Sports, Tennis, tennis court surfaces, USTA NorCal Player Development
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