Juarez, MexicoLast night we decided to add a mission trip to the ICTA Womens Pro Team schedule. Our wonderful International Christian Tennis Association tennis missionaries will tavel to Juarez, Mexico for an ITF Womens $10,000 tournament.
This is the second year we've been to Juarez. Last year was amazing!
This is the second year we've been to Juarez. Last year was amazing!
Downtown JuarezJuarez is right on the USA border directly next to El Paso, Texas. The area is stunningly beautiful. Mountains... desert... cactus... brilliant sunsets.
The girls will fly directly to El Paso, Texas next Thursday.
I have a friend in El Paso the team will stay with Friday as they get acclimated to the altitude.
My friend, Andy, is a great guy. I coached his son, Rob, last summer! Rob also went with us on a large-scale ICTA Mission Trip to the 51st Anniversary of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island during the Campbell's Hall of Fame Classic, which is an ATP International Series tournament.
Andy's family has hosted our tennis missionaries before and is a terrific supporter of the International Christian Tennis Association.
In El Paso/Juarez, the altitude and weather is much different than here in Florida!
The girls can expect very little humidity, plenty of wind, and the ball will be difficult to control because the area is about a mile higher than here. They will need to shorten their backswings and use plenty of topspin.
In addition, at 3800' above sea level, the air is much thinner. It will be harder for a player from Florida to catch their breath after long rallies. We're preparing for that by running longer springs on the soccer field.
Plus, the tournament is on clay. It'll be good for the girls to arrive a day or so early to help them get used to these conditions.
Tennis missionaries doing their schoolwork via Christian distance learning high schools.
Pic of the girls cleaning up one of their rooms.
The girls will fly directly to El Paso, Texas next Thursday.
I have a friend in El Paso the team will stay with Friday as they get acclimated to the altitude.
My friend, Andy, is a great guy. I coached his son, Rob, last summer! Rob also went with us on a large-scale ICTA Mission Trip to the 51st Anniversary of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island during the Campbell's Hall of Fame Classic, which is an ATP International Series tournament.
Andy's family has hosted our tennis missionaries before and is a terrific supporter of the International Christian Tennis Association.
In El Paso/Juarez, the altitude and weather is much different than here in Florida!
The girls can expect very little humidity, plenty of wind, and the ball will be difficult to control because the area is about a mile higher than here. They will need to shorten their backswings and use plenty of topspin.
In addition, at 3800' above sea level, the air is much thinner. It will be harder for a player from Florida to catch their breath after long rallies. We're preparing for that by running longer springs on the soccer field.
Plus, the tournament is on clay. It'll be good for the girls to arrive a day or so early to help them get used to these conditions.
Tennis missionaries doing their schoolwork via Christian distance learning high schools.
Pic of the girls cleaning up one of their rooms.
Pic of the girls stretching at the house before practice. Sue, Joe's mom is here with us for a few days!
A 2 on 1 warmup at the beginning of workout.
The ICTA Womens Pro Team is certainly working hard both on and off court to prepare for their upcoming tennis mission trips to ITF pro tournaments!
I'd call this mission trip to Juarez a great practice run for our ICTA Womens Pro Team. Already, these ladies have tremendous teamwork and all love being with each other. So, I think they are ready to roll! With six WTA top 500 ranked players, the Juarez tournament has a very strong draw. And the Juarez area is hungry for Christian examples from professional athletes. This will be a good experience.
Are the girls ready? I think so. Our ICTA Pro Team Missionary Program has been up and running for 2 years. We have developed a strong system of missions planning and preparation. God has blessed us with a tremendous host home network and international supporters.
Our missionaries spend literally hours and hours in ICTA Discipleship Training preparing for missions. They know their main focus is sharing the Good News. As professional athletes our missionaries have a unique platform to reach others for Him. Yet, they need knowledge to know what to share from that platform. Thus, they study and study about Jesus!
In Discipleship Training, I'm also focused on developing their leadership skills.
From learning to manage their daily routine, they learn successful habits. Those habits form who they are and where they will they will go in life. Learning to lead yourself on a daily basis in successful, healthy ways is a first step in learning to lead others.
With me, everything comes down to leading someone to Christ. Thus, my leadership training is Christ-centered and Christ-focused.
I'm excited to get the ICTA Womens Pro Team mission trips rockin! This is going to be such a life-impacting time for these girls!
You know, these girls have made the committment to rise above and do something more with their lives. They have a purpose developing inside of them. They have a passion to tell people about Jesus. And they have a passion to play world class tennis.
They are stretching their minds outside the box, breaking out of the typical rut, streamlining their goals for less of them and more of Him.
This is an exciting time for me. I'm a really fortunate coach.
Please keep these young ladies in your prayers as they set an example for players worldwide! This blog is a heavily trafficked area! What is written here gets seen...
People worldwide are seeing amazing examples of what can happen when young adults, and their parents, can take the focus off of themselves and place it on allowing Christ to work through them.
Please keep these girls in your prayers as they travel to Juarez to shine for Christ and serve hard!
God bless,
Scott Paschal
386 793 0557
ballboy4Jesus@yahoo.com
