A Christian Tennis Welcome to Chris from Evert's!

Hello there!

This is Scott Paschal...

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity for my smalltown self.

I hope your week has been good and that God is busily developing your dreams and goals. He certainly will if you give Him the opportunity to come inside your life and be your guide. I'm living proof!

First, let me say how much fun I'm having with my new student, Chris!

What neat guy and a breath of fresh air to begin the new season. I've known Chris' family for over 3 years.

His mom, Susie, is a pediatrician in Miami, and his dad, Chuck, is a psychiatrist on staff at a Miami church. Both of Chris' parents are wonderful, caring supporters of the International Christian Tennis Association, and of me!

Chris had been at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca.

Susie called me to see if I could coach Chris. I had no openings, but after a few days I really felt God calling me to work with him, so I agreed.

Chris had been on a mission trip to Cuba ministering to prostitutes, thieves, drug addicts in the streets. That was his first experience being involved heavily in street missions. The experience changed him in many ways and he wanted to continue.

Also, he wanted to take his tennis to a new level. Susie told me they didn't want Chris to go back to Evert's.

Everything led to me feeling really positive about working with Chris.

Well, Chris is here now and is thriving! His personality is wonderful; calm, low key, funny, relaxed. He loves his improvement.

Let me tell you something, I am a passionate tennis coach who loves to see my students break through barriers and plateaus.

My students never stand in lines! They never get bored. They hit and hit and they improve. I have developed very intensive workouts that work. I make my player's think and become independent.

I teach them to work hard. They learn to focus. And I instill in them the ability to have fun! Tennis is fun! It is the greatest sport in the world.

Be focused, play well, have fun.

Speaking of the greatest sport in the world, let's talk about our tennis facility project.

Yesterday, I spent 1/2 the day meeting with the two gentlemen who are interested in donating land to the International Christian Tennis Association for our use in building a tennis facility.

The meeting was such a blessing. Both of these men are so special.

Our talks went well and we are still moving forward together towards a land acquisition for ICTA.

Originally, I wanted about an acre. Enough to allow me to build a modest approx. 7 court facility and have a nice proshop. Well, they decided that 1.25 acres wouldn't be enough! So, they upped the offer to 3 acres!

Both men said if we're going to do this then let's do it right!

Their thoughts are to allow us to really build something special that would stand out in the community.

By building in phases on 3 acres, the International Christian Tennis Association could build a tennis facility with 16 tennis courts, along with a shed to hold equipment and a nice 2-story pro shop with open-air seating on the top floor for guests to watch the tennis and golf... and even a small school building for our academy students which could double as a church on Sundays.

Much work needs to be done for this to continue forward.

I'm appreciative at this opportunity. Of course, I understand it may not happen at all when everything is said and done.

God has his plans and they could be much different than mine. I have become accustomed to God leading me in many different directions. (I sometimes feel like a puppy on a leash learning to heel.)

Sometimes, God changes my plans so quickly I can seem kind of goofy! Those are the times I have learned to laugh at myself! I have certainly learned to be flexible as God teaches me to be obedient.

My nature is to do what I want to do, so God has really had to work me over and over to get me to this point!

Let's talk mission trips for a minute...

Melody Snelen is back from her mission trip to Hammond, Louisiana where she reached the WTA players for Christ during an ITF $50,000 tournament.

Her mission work went well, and she had a great time competing in the event. Plus, Mel enjoyed a fantastic time with her host family! Carol, Jack, Dobbin, Braden, Garen, Kallen... thank you so much for caring for our special missionary!

Mel won her first match. She played a gal with a ranking of WTA 832 and beat her 6-3, 6-0. Mel is recovering from a nearly 4 month injury, so it was nice for her to have a complete match with no pain!

Plus, she beat a strong, ranked opponent!

In her second match, Mel lost 6-0, 6-0!

The good news was she had game points in over half of the games, and all but one game went to deuce. The difference maker was her opponent has much more experience and didn't get nervous on big points!

Melody's opponent went on to qualify into the main draw, then she lost a close match with the #1 seed, who is ranked 130WTA! This has helped give Mel loads more confidence!

Rachel Snelen is currently flying back from her mission trip to Toronto, Canada! She, also, did well. Discipling a new Christian and spending time with a seeker, God really used rach in special ways.

Tennis-wise, Rachel played great while winning a match against a Canadian junior national champion 6-1,6-2.

Then, she lost 6-2,6-0 to a much better player.

In her loss, Rachel also had many game points. Rachel's opponent went on to split sets with the 2nd seed, who is ranked 252WTA.

I am excited to see her develop at this new WTA level. It is realistic to see Rachel and Melody gain a top 500 WTA level by next summer.

Before I log off, I'd like to share with you what an AMAZING job Student Life at the Beach did last week!

You people are incredible! What a fantastic event. Over 7000 teens invaded Daytona Beach, Florida for this powerful Christian event.

My buddy led worship, so Mel and I took off Thursday nite to watch him and listen to his music. The worship and the speaking were unbelievable. The whole event had an impact on me.

I felt myself change and improve inside.

The next day is when Melody and I drove to Daytona Beach to pick up Chris. He had attended the whole week of SL@B with 300+ members of his youth group.

We picked up Chris, then picked up my ministry buddy who had led the worship for the week.

After that, we all headed to the beautiful Florida Tennis Center to play some clay court tennis! I was given a tennis court to play on even though there was a large tournament in progress. Thanks FTC!

After our great clay court workout, we all took my Jeep Wrangler to Chic-Fil-A for lunch. What a great day with good friends in sunny Florida.

Enjoy your week this week.

Your International Christian Tennis Association is busily preparing for our large scale mission trip to Cincinnati, Ohio for the largest men's ATP pro tournament in the world, The Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

As well as preparing our women's ICTA Pro Tennis Team to journey to Vancouver, Canada for a women's ITF $25,000 tournament.

Mission work is the best! I love telling people about Jesus!

Is there anything better!? No way!

God bless!

Scott Paschal
www.christiantennis.net