Brad Kelly

Age: 38
Married: Jenny
Children: Lauren (11), Anna (9) and Ben (6)
Born: Charleston, WV
Resides: Pittsburgh, PA
Education: BA Business Marketing WVU (1991)
Occupation: Director of Brokerage Services ECHO Real Estate

Like many of the top platform tennis players, Brad Kelly was a full-scholarship, Division 1 college tennis player. At WVU (Top 20 national college tennis team), Brad captained his team to nine conference championships in singles and doubles. He was one of three Division 1 All-Americans in WVU tennis history and he also earned a USTA National Indoor Doubles Championship title.

Brad moved back to Pittsburgh in 1995. He recalled, “I knew a lot of guys that played platform tennis at The Pittsburgh Field Club and they got me out there to give platform a try.” He added, “At first, I relied on the similarities with tennis – really the basics such as strokes and footwork. Over time, I learned the mental aspects. In tennis you look to finish points and that is the exact opposite of what you need to do in platform tennis.”

For several years, Brad played league matches as a social outlet. He said, “I met Brett through paddle in our league play. One night after we played each other we decided that it might be fun to try a few tournaments together. That was four years ago.” He added, “I think that the biggest help for my game has been to travel and play tournaments. When you play the same people all of the time it can be misleading. There are lots of different styles out there and it makes you better to play different people.”

Brad added, “I like the competition, the challenge, and probably most of all the people within the sport. Brett and I have traveled to several cities to play and the people are always very fun, good people to hang with.”

He concluded, “Brett and I have always set goals with our ranking… they are getting tougher to reach. We have reached our goal every year so far but this year will be the hardest (can’t tell you what it is).”

Brett Englesberg

Age: 33
Married: Melissa
Children: Sophia (5), Isabella (2) and Gabriella (4 mo.)
Born/Resides: Pittsburgh, PA
Education: BA Business Marketing PSU (1996)
Occupation: Senior Planner / Dick’s Sporting Goods

Tennis was always a natural for Brett Englesberg. In high school, he was the Pennsylvania State Champion in 1991 41′ and a finalist in 1990, earning him two all-American awards. In college, Brett played 3 and 4 singles for Penn State and 1992-1996.

“I got interested in platform tennis through local friends who really enjoyed the sport. I then joined my local township paddle team. That was seven years ago.”

He added, “Brad and I have become great friends through paddle. We have improved over the years by learning intricacies of the game and how to play strategically as a team. Playing tournaments has helped us tremendously because you can learn so much from both watching and playing the top teams.”

Comparing the similarities of tennis and platform tennis, Brett said, “Striking the ball is the only similarity. Everything else is different in platform tennis: strategy, effectiveness of spins, playing the screens, volleying closer to the net, softer overheads, driving at the body, importance of good lobs, shorter swings, and faster hands.”

He said, “I like the teamwork, strategy, and fast pace of the game. As we all know, it is also a great way to get exercise during the winter.” He added, ‘Tennis players will be frustrated at first but if they stick with it, they will learn to love platform tennis.”

Brett concluded, “Watch tournament matches and read what you can. The instructional tips in PTM are generally very helpful.”

Jean Kempner reported for PTM:

As the first “major” of the year, the Chicago Charities tournament picked up where last year’s Nationals left off. Story lines were continued, rivalries were resumed and new partnerships featured exciting and fresh dynamics.

The Women’s tournament showcased all of last season’s top teams and, though the pairings hadn’t changed, the results were clearly different. Mary Doten and Susie Keane came in as defending National Champions and made it to the final without dropping a set to stage a rematch of last season’s National final against Kerry Delmonico and Aila Main. Delmonico and Main had a tougher road and won a three-set semi against Cynthia Dardis and Amy Shea 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Doten and Keane had beaten Sally Cottingham and Chris Sheldon in their semi in a 6-3, 6-3 slugfest. Cottingham and Sheldon had broken through to their first Chicago semi by defeating Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan in a three-set quarter ending an “0 for 5” losing streak against the always-tough east coast team.

To say that the women’s final was a great match would be an understatement. The best two teams over the last three seasons squared off and, after some early jitters on both sides, the match settled into a rhythm of great shot-making and subtle momentum changes. Delmonico and Main took the first set 6-3 before Doten and Keane ratcheted up their offense to win the second set, 7-5. Responding to the aggressive attack, Delmonico and Main picked up their volleying and, as is the case in tight matches, they managed to win one or two more key points than their opponents and took the final set and the championship, 6-4.

Aila Main described the match as “the best match Kerry and I have ever played. Doten and Keane are great competitors and the match easily could have gone either way.”

Back-draw winners were: Cooper/Rohrbach (64’s), Blackwell/Yamada (32’s), Frei/Sierks (16’s), and Prop/Schneebeck (quarters).

The Men’s draw was made more interesting by the debuts of some new top teams and the resurgence of Chris Gambino and Dave Ohlmuller. Flashing back to their amazing run of three years ago, Gambino and Ohlmuller won the Championship without losing a set and defeated the winners of the last two Nationals Championships in the process.

The semis featured Gambino and Ohlmuller against the 2006 Nationals winners and top ranked team of Dave Keevins and Brian Uihlein. After being down 2-5 in the first set, the former number one team steamrolled the rest of the way for a 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory. Gambino-Ohlmuller had defeated 2005 Nationals champions Bill Anderson and Mike Stulac in the quarters in dominating fashion 6-1, 6-1.

The other semi was a great clash of a legendary team and a new team of two players who are knocking on the door. Mike Cochrane and Scott Estes, partnered just this season, took down Flip Goodspeed and Scott Mansager, 6-1, 7-5. Cochrane’s all-court play and Estes’ brick wall consistency proved too potent a combination for the veteran Goodspeed-Mansager team. Cochrane and Estes had beaten Bill Fiedler and Mike Marino in three sets in the quarters to avenge their finals loss at this year’s Premier Cup in what was the most entertaining match of the tournament.

With a “we’re back and we’re serious” confidence, Gambino and Ohlmuller showed what made them such a dominant team in the past. Ohlmuller’s unique and spectacular volleying style left the opponents and the crowd shaking their heads, and Gambino’s solid and intelligent all-around play was too much for Cochrane and Estes to overcome. The winners unforced error count was in single digits and they fashioned a methodical 6-3, 6-3 win to take the Charities title.

Back draw winners were: Kepner/Sturges (128’s), Baladad/Martin (64’s), Albrikes/Jonason (32’s), Broderick/Moore (16’s), and Anderson/Stulac (quarters).

The Men’s 95’s event was won for the second year in a row by the father/son team of Scott Estes Sr and Scott Jr. Their victory this year was over Mike Sullivan and Rick Johnston in a hard fought three setter.

All three events fielded a total of 130 teams and made for a great weekend of platform tennis.

The Glen View Club staff did it’s usual first-class job and helped to make the Chicago Charities one of the stellar tournaments of the season.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 8, Issue 3, January, 2007

Springfield, IL demonstrated yet again why it is the oasis of right-minded paddlers, opting to join its brethren from the east in embracing Premier Purple courts during resurfacing in September.

Prior to the resurfacing, Premier’s Dave Dodge, with assistance from friend and competitor Bullet Brown, re-welded two of Springfield’s courts. This eliminated dead spots that some locals referred to as a “Clark Spot,” or a “Bean There.”
“Premier and Bulletworks work together on a number of each other’s bigger projects,” said site impresario, Dan Kepner. “It’s nice to see that kind of cooperation amongst rivals in a sport so small that clashing personalities and interests could bring it down.”

The decision to go purple was difficult. Local players were evenly divided between “traditionalists” and “innovators.”………..(cont.)

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