Bernie McGuire Receives Top Tennis Coach Award

Local (to us) Hammond High School tennis coach, Bernie McGuire, has been named the Professional Tennis Registry High School coach of the year.

Bernie has taught some of my family and tennis friends and has been a huge asset to Hammond.

Read the article.





Also read McGuire Honored for No-cut Policy.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article16870739.html#storylink=cpy

Effective and Fun Survey App for Tennis Web Sites and Blogs

We are now recommending a free survey app for our web site and blog owners to take advantage of:

These can be used:

• To learn more about your members and the tennis community and what they think of your club or league and what you offer.
• To discover more about what tennis players are in need of from a teaching tennis pro.
• As a teaching tennis pro, to receive feedback from participants after you held a group drill or clinic.
• As a tennis club or league, to receive feedback after you've hosted a tournament.
• To help your members and the tennis community involved with your new blog.
• To help your students and prospective students get involved with your new web site.
• Have a survey campaign to gain whatever information, while also rewarding your audience for participation.
• For a variety of reasons and purposes.

Club Survey

Teaching Tennis Pro Survay

Again, The Effective Use of a Tennis Backboard

By now, you may know how much I believe the use of a tennis backboard may allow any tennis player to work on most any aspect of their game. Do you think boxers, swimmers or most any other athlete is always sparring or competing against a partner or competitor when they are in training? Is their coach totally responsible for their game, or your teaching pro, for yours?

No! Particularly not when working on the fundamentals and form. Can you afford to have a professional hitting partner who will ensure you repetitively work on your weakest stroke, your slightest missteps in your footwork or help you hone your biggest weapon?

Below is a video, by Ian Westermann, providing some effective techniques you may wish to consider the next time you take to court with that one opponent who will tell you no lies, nor let you down - the backboard.

If you feel so inclined, you may wish to check out our other articles related to Backboards.

New 2 Column Web Site Layout

We have over 50 web site themes from which to choose, but whereas before, most of our sites would be in our standard (3 column) layout, like this:

you can now choose our 2 Column layout which will look like this:

For more information please go to Standard Layout Versus 2 Column Layout.

Standard Layout Versus 2 Column Layout

What is the difference between our Standard web site layout and the 2 Column layout.

Well, actually the standard began as a three column layout, but wasn't referred to as being such as it was irrelevant until we came up with a two column layout.

We began using a two column layout because effectively eliminating the first (left) column allowed for a wider right column which may be better suited for some gadgets (apps) such as slideshows, video, Twitter feeds and the like.

This main or center (now left) column, or rather the page and posting column, remains the same width. Some simply find the 2 Column layout more appealing. You can easily change the layout at a later time, but you will want to re-position some of your gadgets as part of doing so.

You can choose if you would prefer a 2 Column layout for any theme when selecting your web site theme on our Baseline Info form.

Standard (3 Column) Layout

2 Column Layout

Things We Don't Do at 3rdToad Tennis

Here are a few things we Do Not Do at 3rdToad Tennis and they may be of no matter to you if you find value in FREE as it is deceptively used in TV marketing and on the Internet.

• We do not offer a FREE service which would effectively provide you absolutely nothing.
• We don't even offer a pay-for upgrade plan or two or three which would still not quite meet your needs.
• We do not require that you subscribe to a monthly service so that you may keep your web site online - you own it.
• We do not ask you to pay for every little app - we do our best to find no-cost apps and explain how to use them.
• We do not charge you for the first year of support. You may not need it after the first year, but we hope you realize we are providing so much more that you will want to continue and pay for our support. If not, we will have already prepared you to handle the basics.

Oh, we Do Not treat you as if we have an adversarial advantage, being versed in this crazy Internet world. Your desires and the knowledge needed for you to successfully manage a web site or blog is our top priority. We do our best to ensure this occurs.

Here's a tip from Captain Obvious:

If you see an advertisement on national TV for something free, ultimately, it is not. No company can afford such costly advertising while giving stuff away.

Thought you may want to know something extremely obvious.

New Tennis and Designer Series Web Site Themes

We have just introduced 4 new tennis web site themes at 3rdToad Tennis - 3 in the Designer series and another in the Tennis series.

We (along with the help of some artistic customers) plan on getting creative and introducing a few new Designer series themes each month, but you can easily get started with what we have now and make your own changes along the way.

Following are the three new themes from the Designer series:

SunDay

Tennis Web Sites To Go Themes

Below you will find the different series of themes (backdrops and color schemes) we offer at 3rdToad Tennis. 

We want you to be able to choose one that suits or pleases you so that you may help us begin building your web site, yet remembering you will have the ability to effect the look and functionality of your new web site later as you become familiar with a plethora of tools and applications.

The following are not the ultimate end to your presence on the Internet, but a fantastic beginning to enable you to personalize your web site, changing the appearance and feel of it over time, on your own or with our assistance.

Effects, like colors (hues, shade, etc.), accents, links, backgrounds and much more can be changed or added by you at a later time.

Pete's Payback - Referral Rewards for Our Customers

Okay, so Pete's Payback is not always cash, but you can be rewarded for referring a tennis friend or acquaintance to 3rdToad Tennis and our Tennis Web Sites To Go.

To learn more please go to Referral Rewards.

Grow Your Tennis Business - A Resource for Tennis Club Managers, Pros, Coaches and Parents

Somehow we discovered 3rdToad Tennis and I Toad You So had been mentioned back in October on a tennis blog and I went to see more about what was said. 

Well, I contacted the author, George Lowe, to thank him and also to update him on all that had happened in the last two months with 3rdToad Tennis - a lot.

Obviously I spent time perusing his site to see what is going on with Grow Your Tennis Business and I liked what he has done in just a few months and I hope he continues to do so, very well and successfully.

I only hope you who visit his site will share any input, ideas or experiences with George, if you have some, just as we hope for from our readers and followers.

Check it out!

Designer Series - Web Site Themes

Other available series:

• Simple
• Bevel
• Tennis
• 3rdToad

To view a demo site please go to Pro Web Site Demo or Captain Web Site Demo.

All of the following themes can be selected for

Web Sites for Team Captains or Web Sites for Teaching Pros.

IMPORTANT! Any of our themes can be produced in a 2 Column layout. The first two shown below are in this format. This layout may lend itself more easily toward placing apps such as videos, slideshows, etc. or you simply may prefer the look. You can choose which version you want when selecting your theme on our Baseline Info form.

Click on any image to see it in a slide show along with the others.

SunDay - 2 Column

Making Tennis Gift Giving Easier

Some of you may already make gift certificates available for anyone to purchase your services and perhaps some tennis or health products you handle as well. Many of you may not.

In either case, this is a wonderful way to make the gift giving process easier, more attractive and more fun for both the giver and recipient.

Typically, producing or having gift certificates made is not terribly expensive and the return on investment is pretty good unless you go to your local printer and have a thousand made.

Mark10SPro, one of our web site customers, recently announced the availability of gift certificates on his web site via a post he created. Notice he asked some great teaser/discovery questions in his announcement.

These aren't too difficult to make using a computer and some basic software, but you do want to pay attention to detail and spacing. Keep it simple or get extravagant.

We use Photoshop for ours, as well as for other things, but this would be one expensive piece of software simply for making gift certificates, unless you already have it. Power Point and Word can also be used, but we aren't giving instruction here as there are way too many scenarios. 

To find how to produce your own simply type diy gift certificates in your favorite search engine. You will either find instruction on how to do so or services that will actually help you produce them on-line, some for free.

If you definitely wish to find services which produce them for you, then type in just gift certificates as well as the name of the area in which you live if you wish to deal with someone locally.

However, if you do so you will want to print or have the certificates printed on a weightier paper, at least card stock thickness, perhaps glossy. Also, don't try to cut your certificates to the desired size using scissors. Most mail or office stores have the tools to do it right. Our local FedEx Kinkos allows us to come in and use their cutter at no cost.

If you have a web site from 3rdToad.com Tennis and you want to learn how to sell your services on-line, including products and gift certificates, then please go to Buy Buttons and Gift Certificates.

Begin using gift certificates year round, let others know they are available via your web site, e-mail or however, and increase your revenue while possibly gaining some new students and more appointments.

Simple Series - Web Site Themes

Other available series:

• Bevel
• Tennis
• 3rdToad
• Designer

To view a demo site please go to Pro Web Site Demo or Captain Web Site Demo.

All of the following themes can be selected for

Web Sites for Team Captains or Web Sites for Teaching Pros.

IMPORTANT! Any of our themes can be produced in a 2 Column layout. The first two shown below are in this format. This layout may lend itself more easily toward placing apps such as videos, slideshows, etc. or you simply may prefer the look. You can choose which version you want when selecting your theme on our Baseline Info form.

Click on any image to see it in a slide show along with the others.

Simple - Periwinkle - 2 Column

Tennis Balls for Christmas? What About Some Lessons?

What have I given my father for most of the last twenty Christmas holidays, along with some other small, more personal gifts strewn over the years? Tennis balls.

It's like buying socks and underwear for kids (circa 1964) - you know they need it, but do they truly want or appreciate such for a Christmas gift? This ranks a close second behind getting coal in their stocking.

Well, after a decade or so of never inquiring as to what my family wanted, for which I had a lot more fun just giving fun or unique gifts, the dreaded, but more sane drawing-of-names routine became reality.

New Web Site Theme - Tennis Court - Chrome Fuze

Below is the latest addition to our web site backgrounds - Tennis Court - Chrome Fuze.

The image shown is for a Tennis Teaching Pro web site, but can be used for a Tennis Team Captain web site as well.

See more at Web Site Color and Background Options.

To learn more about our Web Sites for Teaching Tennis Pros and Web Sites for Tennis Team Captains, please go to 3rdToad.com Tennis.

Tennis Series - Web Site Themes

Other available series:

• Simple
• Bevel
• 3rdToad
• Designer

You may want to check out the Designer series for other tennis themes.

To view a demo site please go to Pro Web Site Demo or Captain Web Site Demo.

All of the following themes can be selected for

Web Sites for Team Captains or Web Sites for Teaching Pros.

IMPORTANT! Any of our themes can be produced in a 2 Column layout. The first three shown below are in this format. This layout may lend itself more easily toward placing apps such as videos, slideshows, etc. or you simply may prefer the look. You can choose which version you want when selecting your theme on our Baseline Info form.

Click on any image to see it in a slide show along with the others.

Tennis Balls - Blue - 2 Column

3rdToad Series - Web Site Themes

Other available series:

• Simple
• Bevel
• Tennis
• Designer

To view a demo site please go to Pro Web Site Demo or Captain Web Site Demo.

All of the following themes can be selected for

Web Sites for Team Captains or Web Sites for Teaching Pros.

IMPORTANT! Any of our themes can be produced in a 2 Column layout. The first three shown below are in this format. This layout may lend itself more easily toward placing apps such as videos, slideshows, etc. or you simply may prefer the look. You can choose which version you want when selecting your theme on our Baseline Info form.

Click on any image to see it in a slide show along with the others.

3rdToad Going Green - 2 Column

Bevel Series - Web Site Themes

Other available series:

• Simple
• Tennis
• 3rdToad
• Designer

To view a demo site please go to Pro Web Site Demo or Captain Web Site Demo.

All of the following themes can be selected for

Web Sites for Team Captains or Web Sites for Teaching Pros.

IMPORTANT! Any of our themes can be produced in a 2 Column layout. The first two shown below are in this format. This layout may lend itself more easily toward placing apps such as videos, slideshows, etc. or you simply may prefer the look. You can choose which version you want when selecting your theme on our Baseline Info form.

Click on any image to see it in a slide show along with the others.

Bevel - Champagne - 2 Column

Featured Tennis Web Site Owner - Teaching Tennis Pro Mark Sheldon

We hadn't met Mark Sheldon personally, although we had assisted him via e-mail, until we did a Free Web Site Review with him. He had done so well with his web site; we asked if he had any experience with doing so or with the Internet. His answer was, "No, I just took your instructions and ran with it."

We truly loved hearing this. Providing tennis web sites which teaching tennis pros and tennis team captains actually own, not rent, with no hidden fees, is our goal.

Mark took the slideshow gadget and ran with it and then he also added the stats gadget to his web site. He then added a list of upcoming tournaments using the list of links gadget - nice touch. 

We hope teaching tennis pros and others, like Mark, will want, not need, the support we provide for years to come, but if not, okay. Perhaps he's doing just fine on his own. We are simply thankful we had the opportunity to get him started toward having a web site he will actually use for many, many years to come.

Please visit his web site at MARK10SPRO.

New Web Site Background - Tennis Balls

Below is the latest addition to our web site backgrounds - Tennis Balls.

The image shown is for a Tennis Teaching Pro web site, but can be used for a Tennis Team Captain web site as well.

The background is also availabe in Blue, Garnet and Black.

See more at Web Site Color and Background Options.

To learn more about our Web Sites for Teaching Tennis Pros and Web Sites for Tennis Team Captains, please go to 3rdToad.com Tennis.