Terry (Fairfield, CT) and Liam (Westport, CT) are headed into their third year as partners on the junior circuit. Both competitive tennis players, Liam has given up playing competitive hockey to be able to play more paddle. He still plays baseball and soccer, but paddle is his favorite! He loves the different tournaments on the Viking junior circuit and getting the chance to meet other juniors from outside his region.

Terry spends plenty of his time playing many sports including soccer and water polo. He is currently in training for his first triathlon and figures the 3-mile run will be the hardest part. His favorite athlete is Andre Agassi and he loves the Yankees. His favorite classes are gym and geography, while Liam enjoys math class the most and says Arthur Ashe is his favorite athlete!

Terry and Liam played many of the Viking junior events last year and look forward to playing even more this year. Besides their win at The Nationals last season, they also won The Patterson Tournament and The Fox Meadow Tournament.

Liam thinks his Viking championship chair was the coolest trophy he ever won in his life and uses it daily when sitting at his computer. Terry’s chair is in his room but gets used mostly for his laundry. Both have their gold medals prominently displayed on the walls in their rooms.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue 2, November, 2003

Gary led the way for the first five years of the Association’s existence and with his energy and leadership the PPTA had made great strides in its mission of raising the standards of teaching platform tennis as a profession and increasing interest and awareness of the sport. Patty Hogan stepped in to fill his shoes.

Henry Burchenal (Summit, NJ) and John Donnally (Madison, NJ) have played together now for three years. Henry • and John won the 12-and-under Nationals in 2002 and lost in the semi-finals of the 14-and-under Nationals in 2003.

They are both 8th graders who also excel in tennis, hockey and lacrosse. They are looking to improve on their semi-final finish in last year’s nationals by practicing more before this year’s tournament!

Henry plays the ad court but his strength is at the net where he loves to hit his favorite shot, which is his backhand volley. John’s strength from the deuce court is his return of serve. Both players love the challenge of difficult screen shots.

Henry keeps his 2002 Viking National Championship chair in his room along with his gold medal prominently displayed. John doesn’t know where his gold medal is and thinks his brother traded him something for the chair.

Henry’s favorite subject in school is history while John’s is a toss-up between gym and lunch. They are both big NJ Devils fans and have gotten to see the Stanley Cup in person!

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue 1, September, 2003

Viking Athletics announced Viking Kids’ Day 2003 would take place Friday, October 31st at the Chicago Charities Platform Tennis Tournament.

Dave Ohlmuller, National Sales Manager, Viking Athletics had this to say:

“Viking Kids’ Day is going to be a wonderful experience for all the kids that participate in the event. We are thrilled to have such incredible support from the top regional and national teaching professionals and top ranked players for this event. The extent of the player commitment is a testament to what a worthwhile experience Kids’ Day is going to be for the participants. The kids will have the opportunity to receive instruction from many of the top instructors and players in the game of platform tennis.”

The following Viking Professionals and top players committed to participate in the Viking Kids’ Day:

Mike Rahaley, Mike Marino, Tim Mangan, John Milbank, Scott Mansager, Mary Doten, Lauren Zink, Marina Ohlmuller, Flip Goodspeed, Chris Gambino, Greg Stipa, George Zink.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue 1, September, 2003

The first platform was built in Scarsdale, NY and was ready for play in late November, 1928.

Initially it was used for badminton and deck tennis but the discovery, soon afterwards, of the racquets and balls used in paddle tennis¹ lead to the creation of the game we know today.

Despite a number of experiments with modifying the physical dimensions of the court over the years the court configuration adopted by the Founders has stood the test of time, as did the one-serve rule and playing the ball off the wires.

For more details on the initial experiments with the game please see The Early Years 1928-1934.

Note 1: Paddle Tennis was developed by the Reverend Frank P. Beal as a child in Albion MI. Later in life when he had moved to New York City and was the Associate Minister of the Judson Memorial Church he introduced the game to New York City playgrounds in the early 1920s

Gary Horvath paid tribute to those that made it happen:

The quiet resurrection of the junior circuit has to be included in this list of events that will shape the game in the years ahead. Junior paddle has seen its rebirth as a result of renewed support for the APTA Junior Nationals, increased programming by teaching professionals, and the creation of the Viking Cup and Viking Junior Tour. This season, over 180 players participated in the Junior Nationals. Patty Hogan, Junior Nationals Tournament Director, was impressed both with the level of enthusiasm and the improvement in the level of play.

This season also marked the first year of the Viking Junior Tour. There have been four junior tournaments held so far this season with over 350 participants. Two more are definitely scheduled and two additional tournaments are tentatively scheduled for this season.

A year after entering the platform tennis industry, Viking sponsored the first Viking Cup. This is a series of 18 tournaments held throughout the country in November. The subtly named Child/Adult event wants to place the emphasis on the junior players. While it is possible for junior players to play with their parents, it is also possible for them to play with other adults. This past season, the events had 206 total participants – an increase from 75 the first year.

David Kjeldsen of Viking, the major sponsor of junior events, said, “I think the participation in junior paddle has doubled in the past three years. We have again reached the point where some of the juniors are starting to play multiple tournaments in a season.” Kjeldsen also agreed strongly with Hogan’s sentiment that the caliber of play has risen dramatically each year. Kjeldsen added, “All of the
juniors are fun to watch. Seeing Peter Hissey and Lauren Cash, two great juniors who can hit backhands out of the wires all day without missing, one knows the future of platform is in good hands.”

The importance of the junior game became more evident to me when I asked myself the question, “How many of the people who I play against learned to play platform tennis as a junior?” Most of my peers learned to play after they were out of college. Hats off to Patty Hogan, Viking, the professionals who run junior programs, the parents who are involved in various ways, and most importantly to the juniors who will ultimately introduce this great sport to the next generation.

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 4, March 2003