Page 7 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens- March '22

Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens, Page 7
Ibis Adds New Pros To Expand Prestigious Tennis Program

Few High-End Country for me to take the job. To be able – which includes 15 Har-Tru,
Clubs Can Boast The Tennis to work with Jay was the icing on fast-drying tennis courts with
a subirrigation system and a
the cake.”
Pedigree Of The Club At Ibis Like Berger, the 42-year-old cushioned hard court, the same
Clemens played the game at the surface used at the U.S. Open – is
Let’s take it from the top: Jay Berger, The Club at Ibis’ high level. He played at UCLA and a busy place. Berger said almost
director of athletics. was once ranked in the top 200 in 50,000 people played tennis last
Berger made it as high as No. 7 in the world rankings the world in singles. Like Berger, year at The Club at Ibis.
and played in two Davis Cups before knee issues cut his Clemens turned to teaching, first at “We had almost 6,000 in
career short in 1991. Berger went from being one of the SMU, then in Peru and the last six December,” Berger said. “The
game’s best players to one of its best teachers. He served 13 years running the tennis program at people love their tennis here.”
years as Davis Cup coach, also coached the U.S. Olympics The Weymouth Club near Boston. The tennis players at The Club
tennis team three times and spent nine years as the USTA’s “Tobias checked all of the boxes,” at Ibis includes honorary member
head of men’s tennis. Berger said. “I wanted someone Reilly Opelka, who’s currently on
Berger’s expertise is why Tobias Clemens took the job who has played professionally and the U.S. Davis Cup team and is
as tennis director at The Club at Ibis last fall. who has coached adult tennis, team ranked 29th in the world. But not
“Jay is an expert,” Clemens said. “He knows so much tennis and high-performance junior every member at Ibis has the ability
about the game. What he doesn’t know, he will find out. tennis. He is perfect for our club.” of the 7-footer, so the coaching staff
Ibis is a very highly-reputed club, so it was a no-brainer The Club at Ibis’ tennis facility has an opportunity to work their
magic with everyone else.
“We’re trying to create the ‘Ibis Philosophy,’ which
is very similar to the USTA’s,” Berger said. “When I’m
coaching Reilly or one of our members, the words I’m
saying to them are the same. The tools are the same.
Obviously, the talent level is different, but we use the same
language. We want our members to learn.”
Berger brought in USTA performance coach Paul
Lubbers to spend almost a week working with The Club at
Ibis tennis staff to make sure everyone is on the same page.
He’s also had other top tennis players and coaches come in
to talk strategy to the membership.
“Our ultimate vision is to be the gold standard of
every tennis club in regards to coaching, facilities and
atmosphere,” Berger said.
Clemens said the level of teaching at The Club at Ibis
almost rivals a tennis academy, whether it’s working with
8-year-olds or 80-year-olds.
“We rely a lot on video,” Clemens said. “It shows the
player exactly what they are doing wrong. ‘You don’t
bend your knee before you hit your forehand’ or ‘On
your serve you’re dropping your left arm.’ They don’t
think they are doing it, but when you see it on video, they
realize they are doing it.”
The Club at Ibis also recently hired:
• Scoville Jenkins, another accomplished player who was
ranked inside the top 200 in the world. Jenkins made it to
the semifinals of the Junior Wimbledon and has played six
years professionally, facing top opponents such as Roger
Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick.
• Maci Epstein, who was a tennis pro in Miami and New
York. She played four years at the University of Virginia
and was a top-four player in doubles.
Joshua Sturgis recently was promoted to lead coach.
Sturgis specializes with the juniors.
For complete orthopaedic and “We have one of the best staffs in the country,” Berger
said.
sports medicine care, there’s no other option. And they stay busy.
Here is a tennis tip from Tobias Clemens, who was hired
last year to become the director of tennis at The Club at
They’re your joints – don’t trust them to anyone else. From robotic assisted Ibis in West Palm Beach:
surgeries that speed recovery times to the very surgeons who helped Clemens’ tip: Be patient when your game improves.
Don’t level jump to play against better players. The rule of
develop and advance the technology, South Florida’s #1 hospital thumb is one-third of your matches should be players who
is your only choice for complete orthopaedic care. are on your same level, one-third should be against players
who are better than you and one-third should be against
players who aren’t as good as you. If you level jump, you
get frustrated and it slows down your game’s progress.
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