Free tennis, anyone?

Calling all players who would like to play some extra free tennis!!!

We are adding to the sub lists for the Fall Singles and Doubles Seasons, so if you would like to be on the list for an occasional extra free match, just click here to let us know.

You do not have to be a Visionary Tennis member to be on the Free sub lists.

Thanks,
Player Services

	Simplify your Scheduling: Announcing the Visionary Tennis MatchMakerSM You've been hearing about it for awhile now, and with the launch of our Fall Doubles season, all you doubles players are finally able to see what all the fuss is about! Quite simply, the MatchMaker is a unique tool — the first of its kind anywhere — that can drastically cut the amount of time you have to spend scheduling your doubles matches. Let's face it — we're all busy. Flexible tennis leagues address this, of course, letting you decide when to play your match, but it's still up to you to contact all the other players involved to find a time that suits everyone. And that's no fun. It takes time, whether by phone or email — and you can only hope that no one's schedule has changed by the time you think you've sorted it all out. :-) Enter the MatchMaker. The MatchMaker is really two tools in one: a personal, visual reminder of your own schedule, plus a powerful comparison engine that provides instant information about your fellow players' availability. Let's start with with the first step, editing your Availability. Notice all the colored bars on this player's calendar? That's his Availability. This player (we'll call him Max) has already input most of his schedule for the first half of the month, and by using the Availability panel as a guide, we can see that's he's free all afternoon on Saturday the 7th, both Monday and Tuesday evening (the 9th and 10th) after 6 pm, Thursday the 12th in the late afternoon, and so on. Max is just about to add some more information, so let's watch.   He clicks on the date square for Thursday the 19th, then clicks the Availability panel's Edit button. Now he's able to edit his Availability using the panel at the bottom of the screen.   Max clicks on the blue bar to show that he's available sometime in the late afternoon (3 - 6 pm). As he does so, the date square for the 19th changes so that its own blue bar appears.   Next, he clicks on the bar below it to add the evening (after 6 pm).   Without hitting Submit yet, Max clicks on the following Saturday's date square and then clicks all four of the Availability bars, since he's going to be free all day. Then Max hits Submit.   Here we see Max's newly updated shedule.   Now comes the fun part — the MatchMaker. Max clicks on the MatchMaker button, which brings up a list of the other seven teams in his Super-8 league. Max knows that he and his partner need to play the team of Vanugovich and Underwood soon, so he clicks on their names to activate the comparison engine.   Notice the calendar has changed; everything that was there is gone, except for the MatchMaker data, displayed as color bars. See how some of the bars look a little dull, while others have ’MM’ inside?   Max moves his mouse overtop the first bar (the yellow one) on Saturday the 21st. He sees that Young (his partner) is the only one of the four who isn't available. If he wanted to, Max could simply click on this yellow bar to send his partner an email to verify this.   But Max sees the MatchMaker symbol in two of the color bars below, so instead he simply rolls his mouse over one of them. Here he sees that everyone is available (that's what the MM means) between 3 and 6 pm that day.   Now he clicks directly on this color bar and — voila — an email window opens up, ready with all the necessary information. All Max does is add a personal comment and hit Send — and suddenly, in the space of only about thirty seconds, he's done what would have taken perhaps 15 or 20 minutes (and often spread over days) to set up using traditional methods of calling or emailing everyone, processing everyone's replies, trying to negotiate a compromise and then contacting everyone again to see if it would work... Unbelievable!
	Let the MatchMaker start working for you. No more footwork; just a few clicks and that's it. Of course, the MatchMakerSM is only as good as the data that feeds it — meaning that, if you and your other league members don't let it know when you're available to play, it won't have anything to compare. So please make sure you take those thirty seconds once or twice a week to keep your Availability up to date. Now if only winning the actual tennis match were this easy. :-)

Summer Singles Tournament of Champions details:

Historic Bitsy Grant Tennis Center will host the Visionary Tennis Summer Singles Tournament of Champions semifinals and finals on Saturday, November 4th. Sunday, November 5th will be the rain date.

Preliminary rounds will be played throughout Atlanta during the months of September and October.

The top three players from each eight-player league will be invited to play for the legendary “Really Big Trophies” and 5000-PlayerPoint bonuses.

Every league member and their friends are invited for a day of fun, games and prizes.

Our Partners, Sponsors and Supporters

Nothing of real value can be accomplished all alone — it takes the hard work and support of many! Visionary Tennis would like to extend warm thanks to all those who have helped us turn the vision of America's most exciting tennis leagues into reality.

Advertise in VISIONS!

Reach a wider audience of tennis players and fans through this newsletter! Visionary Tennis welcomes all inquiries and will help style your promotion to best suit your needs. For more information, please contact Mimi Cain at 770-329-1219, or email mimi1951@comcast.net.

Message from the Editor

Last month Olde Towne Athletic Club in Marietta hosted the 2006 Wheelchair Tennis Masters Series. It truly humbled not only myself but all that were there to witness the ‘best wheelchair athletes’ in the world. That’s right – not just in the good ole US of A but the world. I’m writing about this because as able-bodied tennis players, we all take for granted our ability to play the game without the aide of a wheelchair.

The 24 players (the world’s top) that competed over the weekend have no illusions of ever walking again, but the fact that they can still play a sport is amazing. Except for the wheelchairs and the double-bounce rule (which isn’t necessary on all points, since most players get to the ball after only one bounce), the game is the same. Their athletic ability is the real thing. It’s not unusual to see an amputee play a paraplegic. Some use their toes to balance the tennis ball, then kick it in the air to serve. One such serve was performed by Nick Taylor who has perhaps the most exceptional serve in tennis. And to prove that they are the real thing, Todd Martin, former ATP Pro and Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech’s # 1 player and former #1 in the US, were strapped into a wheelchair and then tried to serve and volley. Guess what? The wheelchair players, Esther Vergeer, Worlds #1 and Michael Jeremiasz Worlds #3, outplayed them. In all, it will be a highlight of 2006.

Next time we step onto the tennis court, let's all think about these wheelchair players. They NEVER complain; they’re always smiling and appreciating that they CAN play the game with honesty and integrity. I love tennis, and I thank my lucky stars that I have my legs and arms to compete in a sport where we too often make excuses about why we missed an overhead or hit the ball out.

Let’s continue to make Visionary Tennis Leagues the best that Atlanta has to offer. And just maybe in the next year or two, the best in the world. Remember to work hard ... play hard ... and just have fun!

MiMi Cain
VISIONS Editor

Lifestyle & Leisure

Chef of the Month — Mark Sublette  — President and Executive Chef, Napa Valley Restaurant

Marc Sublette, executive chef for TLM Restaurants Inc., graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina in 1991. He has worked in some of Atlanta's most popular restaurants including Pricci and Pano's & Paul's, both part of the prestigious Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. Chef Sublette joined the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group immediately upon graduation and was hired as part of the opening team at Pricci as a sauté cook. Within two years he was promoted to sous chef and eight months later he was named executive sous chef under John Carver. From there he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine at Pano's & Paul's, the Buckhead Life Group's flagship, working under the expertise of Chef Paul Albrecht.

In 1997 Chef Sublette moved to Destin, FL where he was hired as the executive chef at Seagar's Prime Steaks & Seafood. Seagar's was part of the Hilton Sandestin's $48 million expansion and renovation. As the opening executive chef, Chef Sublette was afforded the opportunity to participate in all the major operational decisions of opening the restaurant, including kitchen design and menu development. During his tenure, Seagar's earned the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award. Chef Sublette returned to Atlanta in 1999 to rejoin the team at Pricci as the executive chef where he remained until the fall of 2004. Chef Sublette was then approached by Norsan Group owner and C.E.O., Norberto Sanchez, and offered the position of corporate chef. With Norsan Group, Chef Sublette refined the traditional Argentine menu at Pampas Steakhouse in Alpharetta. In 2006 Chef Sublette was honored by Jezebel Magazine as a "Chef of Distinction" as Pampas was listed in the "Top 100 Restaurants".

Chef Sublette began his culinary career in high school at a small Italian restaurant as a dishwasher. He moved from there to a country club where after 4 months he was on the line cooking breakfast, then lunch and finally dinner. At the Peachtree Executive Conference Center in Peachtree City, Chef Sublette worked closely with the executive chef who was a Culinary Institute of America graduate and it was there that he honed his knife skills. His grandmother was born in Nice and raised in Paris and cooked simple country French food. Chef Sublette inherited from his grandmother her copper pots, knives, childhood memories and an affinity for his place in the kitchen.

Restaurant of the Month — Napa Valley Wine Market and Trattoria

Napa Valley — the name alone conjures up images of Northern California's wine country; lush vineyards, rolling hills, wine tastings and of course, the restaurants that dot the Valleys landscape. But one doesn't have to travel 3,000 miles to visit Napa Valley. This quaint, Duluth restaurant offers the diner traditional Italian food featuring regional meat and seafood entrees, a selection of domestic and international wines and an adjoining market with an excellent selection of imported meats and cheeses. Their retail wine store is stocked with over 500 bottles of wine consistently priced as the areas lowest prices.

Napa Valley is nestled in a strip of shops on SR 141 near St. Ives Country Club. The managing partners Thomas Taylor, Chef Marc Sublette, Leo DeSouza and John Agri together have over 100 years experience in the food & wine industry. Each year, they take multiple trips to THE 'Napa Valley' in California to treat their palates at the Valley wineries. They bring back their favorite wines with a colorful story behind each bottle.

Lunch is served 5 days a week, Tuesday through Saturday starting at 11am. The house specialty is the 'famous' blue cheese chicken salad along with paninis, salads and appetizers.

The dinner service begins at 5pm and is enticing for the romantic couples who enjoy the ambiance of candlelit tables with white tablecloths in a beautiful yet relaxed atmosphere. Begin your evening with an appetizer of baked goat cheese marinara, but a sure favorite is the grilled artichokes with pancetta, lemon, garlic and fresh parsley. Entrees include homemade Gnocci with 4 cheese cream sauce, Lasagna Bolognese, Penne ala vodka, Veal and Chicken Scallopinis, Regional Seafood and Meat dishes.

And to top off a perfect evening, save room for their tempting & delicious desserts: traditional homemade tirimisu, made to order canolis and gianduja (chocolate hazlenut mousse — my favorite).

Each month The Napa Valley Wine Club hosts a wine-tasting event at their wine bar starting at 7pm. Visit their website for each months featured wines.
Reservations are accepted and Napa Valley is wheelchair accessible with ample parking.

9810 Medlock Bridge Road, Duluth, 770-497-0021
www.TheNapaValleyWineClub.com