The theme of the day for the USTA National School’s Train the Trainer Workshop was inspired by the 1970’s iconic movie “Star Wars” joining enthusiastic tennis curriculum and an “intergalactic” oncourt production. The event was entitled “ May the 4th Be With You” held on May 4 at the new USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida.  It was a gathering of approximately 90 of the country’s top tennis staff, pros, trainers and instructors, who gathered from the 17 sections.

“We wanted to make this a great learning opportunity and Star Wars seemed to be the perfect theme,” said Tony Stingley, the National Manager of Schools Tennis. “We are excited to share this new program and offer support to everyone.”

The event was divided into three groups aptly named Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The oncourt morning session was held indoors followed by lunch, a tour of the National Campus, and an introduction to the new USTA’s National staff. The day was capped off with a small group question and answer session with leaders of the various tennis departments.

“This is a new and refreshing look at the USTA School’s program,” said Tiffany Geller-Reed, Manager of the Southern California Tennis Association’s Schools program. “This training gave us a lot of information to share with everyone in our section. I think it’s great that the plans and games were geared to meet the needs of the individual grade levels. I am very enthusiastic about the changes.”