An Invitation from Inside the ATA Ecosystem

By Duey Evans

When EKH Media first arrived at Austin Tennis Academy in April of 2019, our goal was simple. We planned to create a set of videos that captured the essence of ATA. We interviewed twenty two people from across the community. We expected the dominant storyline to revolve around tennis, training, competition, and technical development. What emerged surprised us. Every story and memory returned to a deeper truth. ATA was built on community. The tennis story was the final piece we produced because everything else rested on a foundation of human connection.

That early discovery changed how I see this place. ATA communicates, shares, and supports in ways most programs never figure out. Parents do not drift through their child’s development lost. Coaches speak openly about the growth arc. Information moves freely and people look out for one another. It is easy to take this for granted when you live inside it daily. Families in other parts of the country are not as fortunate. I have spent the past few months talking with parents who navigate junior tennis without a roadmap or guidance. Their world feels confusing in places where ours feels structured and steady.

This contrast is why ParentingAces matters so much. Lisa Stone created a gathering place for parents who want clarity and support. ATA has been part of that story for years. Lisa sent her son to train here. Coach Newman has been a regular guest on the ParentingAces podcast. Beginning in January, several ATA coaches will be featured in Season 15. The alignment between the two communities is natural. Both value transparency, education, and long term development for families.

This is the reason I am making a request during the holiday season. Parents across the country are trying to understand tournament layers, emotional patterns, competitive readiness, and the long arc of growth. ATA parents have lived inside a culture that teaches these things clearly. The insight you carry can help families who may never step foot in Austin but still need direction and reassurance. What feels ordinary to you is often rare in the wider tennis landscape.

I am not asking for a donation. I am asking for something more meaningful. Join the ParentingAces Facebook group. Read with empathy. Share when you can. You may never meet the families you help. They may not know your name. They will feel the steadiness and generosity that define ATA.

ATA has always said it is committed to developing citizens of significance, not only accomplishment. It is easy to treat that phrase as a slogan. It is harder and more important to live it. The holiday season gives us a chance to show what significance looks like in practice. A single insight offered at the right moment can lighten the burden for a parent who feels alone in the journey.

I look forward to seeing our ATA parent community demonstrate that this is not a tagline. It is who we are when the tennis stops, the holidays begin, and the deeper values of this place find expression through kindness and contribution. When you help a family you will never meet, you extend the spirit of ATA beyond its own walls. That is significance. That is community. That is ATA.