Lions 10-and-under team with Coach Valter Paiva
Two junior Long Beach tennis teams proved they are the best in the region last week when the 10-and-under and 14-and-under intermediate teams were named the 2013 USTA Southern California Jr. Team Tennis League Champions after making it the finals their first year in the league. A third team of 10-and-under novices also won 2nd place in the league.
All teams are based out of Long Beach’s Billie Jean King Tennis Center and are coached by Valter Paiva, the Center’s Head Tennis Pro and owner of the Valter Paiva Tennis Academy. Paiva has coached up to 50 kids a week since he took over the Center’s junior program in 2007, but 2013 was the first year he entered teams into league competition.
“I’ve had the kids all these years and there were just classes and drills,” Paiva said. “I’ve been trying to search for ways to have them practice more than two or three times a week. I’m reaching for things that will engage them even more and bring out the best players in each of them.”
Paiva divided his students into three teams based on age and skill level and entered them in the Orange County USTA Fall Jr. Team Tennis League, where, starting in October, they competed against kids from ten other tennis centers in nearby cities like Lakewood, Seal Beach and Irvine. Each season includes three doubles and six singles matches, which for the smaller Long Beach teams, meant that most of the kids played multiple matches during the season.
At the end of regular season play, all three Long Beach teams advanced to the semi-finals, which took place January 25 at the El Dorado Park Tennis Center. The next day at the Racquet Club of Irvine, the 10-and-under and 14-and-under intermediate teams both had solid wins in the finals and were named league champions while the 10-and-under novice team took home second place.
“I think [entering them in a league] is the best way to motivate the kids,” Paiva said. “In Long Beach, kids play one season of football and one of tennis–they don’t play tennis year round, so I’m trying to find ways to help them play tennis year-round so they can get better.”
The “Under Dogs 14” intermediate team features Jacob Chaffee, Michael Doria, Mark Espiritu, Natalie Quinn, Jana Reyes, Sara Soderberg, Robert Turigliatto. The “Lions 10” intermediate team is coached by Christan Doria and Valter Paiva and features Jack Casey, Jonas Corona, Maxwell Mayo, Ian McKeever, Carlo Reyes and Kurt Scheidker. And the “Little Cats,” a 10-and-under novice team, features Gigi Arrua, Tate Christopher, Dylan Dempsey, Ava Deguzman, Kate Hone, Isaiah Lott, Kalli Minor, Alessio Protano, Jennifer Robbins, Joshua Robbins and Madelyn Tadd.
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