The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

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ALL IN THE FAMILY… Armonk Tennis Club Serves Up Fun & Fitness Year Round

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Since it opened its doors in 1958, Armonk Tennis Club has been a staple to the community, providing a spot for tennis lovers–and learners–to hone their skills. A family business that was taken over 20 years ago, by Tim Shea, the facility is now run by Shea and  his daughter Kelsey, 28, sporting indoor and outdoor courts, a swimming pool/lounge, and two turf playing fields field for other sports like soccer, lacrosse, and flag football.The club also has a pro shop that sells tennis clothing and accessories and does racket restringing.

Tennis has been a part of Tim’s life since childhood- from playing to coaching to eventually managing and owning the clubs.The love for the sport seems to be in the blood, as Kelsey played tennis at Colgate while taking business courses to prepare for running the club, which she’s wanted to do since she was young. At just six years old, she was part of the club’s first ever summer camp class.

For Tim, working with family means knowing you can trust your business partner. “I know Kelsey always has the club’s best interests in mind, that she has the ability to run it, and that she won’t hesitate to ask questions because she is comfortable.”

In addition to being run by family, the clubs have proven to be a respite for families looking to escape the quarantine blues.The clubs closed briefly last season to COVID, but were able to open last spring and summer, taking every measure possible to keep members and campers safe, implementing temperature checks, mask guidelines, and new traffic patterns.

“Tennis is the perfect sport for for social distancing because you’re separated by the net,” said Beau Shea, Tim’s nephew who does marketing for the clubs. “Even playing doubles, one player’s generally at the baseline and the other’s at the net, so there’s a natural spacing that a lot of other sports don’t have.”

Tennis is also a fantastic family sport: Beau comments that their players and members range from 3-90 years old, so you see multiple generations on the courts together. He notes that it’s truly never too early–or too late–to pick up a racket. “Regardless of age, there’s always that physical and emotional benefit to playing and especially playing together.”

With indoor courts, Armonk Tennis os open year round offering seasonal programs and teams, private and group lessons, after-school programs, and the Armonk International Tennis Academy, a higher intensity program. In the spring and summer, memberships are available for tennis, pool, or both as well as camps for kids.

“Our members are like family,” says Beau. We have people here who started at age four taking lessons and are now playing in tournaments with their kids. It truly is a family affair.”

Pro Tips

Image copyright Jane Haslam Photography 2015
It’s important to focus on movement skills and footwork as much as stroke technique; if you can’t get to the ball on time and under control, you won’t be able to properly execute the shot.

Recognize the mental aspect of tennis. All sports have a mental component, but it’s especially important in tennis, where you don’t have a group of teammates you can rely on; if you can control your nerves and your temper, you’ll be off to a good start before even stepping onto the court.

For more information visit www.armonktennis.com

Dive In: The Pool Clubs of Chappaqua

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There are four swim and tennis clubs in Chappaqua. The cost to join doesn’t vary too radically–there’s a bond and an annual fee–and all offer rental memberships so prospective members can try them out.

Each one welcomes visitors to come and see and consider joining. They’re all located pretty close together. Yet, with all their similarities, each club is different enough to inspire a loyal allegiance in many of its members.

Birchwood Swim & Tennis

681 Quaker Road

Ron Jendzejec, president of Birchwood, said he thinks the club has a particularly beautiful layout. On a recent snowy Sunday, Jendzejec pointed through a fence to show a reporter just where a family could sit to have a great view of both the wading pool and the playground.

Others must agree, because membership sales are ahead of schedule this year and “last year we had to turn people away for the first time in eight years,” Jendzejec said. The club borders Audubon land and features paddle tennis as well.

“I love the club,” Jendzejec, who has been president for 11 years, said. “I joke with board members that I’m like the Franklin Delano Roosevelt of board presidents–there are no term limits, I enjoy doing it and seeing the changes at the club and we have a great board.” His kids used to spend all day at the club, swimming and playing tennis. There’s also basketball and an outdoor ping-pong table.

Birchwood also offers special Golden Guest memberships to older members who no longer need family memberships.

Chappaqua Swim & Tennis Club

1019 Hardscrabble Road

Amanda Weinstein, membership chair for the pool’s board, said that at CST, nannies and caregivers come free with a family’s membership. The club, which features a sunny yellow and blue color scheme, has a cafe catered by Villarina’s. There’s regular tennis and platform tennis, a T-shaped pool, a basketball court and a putting green.

“My kids don’t go to camp–they spend the summer at the club,” Weinstein said. “People ask me, ‘aren’t they missing out on the camp experience?’ and I always say no. There’s a real mixing of the ages at the club. I’ll see Harry playing tetherball with a 16-year-old and so on. It’s really beautiful.”

CST’s swim coach, Dan Levy, is a teacher who is great with kids; “he really makes the swim team accessible for all levels of swimmers,” she said. The tennis pro also works at Club Fit. CST also holds the Swim Across America event annually which is open to the public and is a top site raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

Seven Bridges Field Club

160 Seven Bridges Road

Marianne Dorner, membership chairperson for the club, said her family has belonged to the club for about 15 or 16 years. “It’s one of the oldest clubs in the area,” Dorner said. “It was established in 1936.” The pool was actually hand-poured by members in the 50’s–prior to that, swimming was in the club’s pond. Dorner said that’s probably why the swim team name is the Swamp Rats. “We have many old-time members who stop by and say they were a Swamp Rat way back when.”

In the beginning, Dorner said, the club only admitted members from the Seven Bridges area. “That was many, many years ago. We now accept members from all over, including Yorktown, Mount Kisco and Ossining. We’ve diversified and we love to have people come visit.” Seven Bridges, besides offering trial memberships, also allows trial weekends.

There is paddle tennis open all year, and special paddle tennis memberships. And at Seven Bridges, Dorner said, they “get their tennis courts open before anyone in town. We call it the best-kept secret in Chappaqua because people don’t realize how beautiful it is until they come visit,” Dorner said, adding that the club does not charge guest fees.

Willowbrook Swim & Tennis Club

586 Millwood Road

“We have been members since we moved into town 13 years ago and we just never looked back,” Harriet Engel, the board marketing chair for Willowbrook Swim & Tennis, said. “It’s such a warm and welcoming club.”

Engel’s children started swimming at Willowbrook, then began swimming year-round; her eldest son now swims at Greeley. Willowbrook reports that it has the most competitive swim team of the four clubs. But to Engel, besides the swimming, what stands out about Willowbrook is head coach Kelly Blacker’s focus on water safety. “She considers it her most important task to get every child to learn to swim,” Engel said. “Between swim team and tennis camp, my kids and many kids spend all day there.”

Willowbrook has also made arrangements for members to play golf twice per month at Anglebrook Golf Club in nearby Lincolndale at a special rate – two visits per month per membership.

Blacker said she values the family-oriented nature of the club, and considers the setting lovely. “It’s in the woods and it’s so peaceful; it’s very beautiful in the evening.”

The Little Pool That Could!

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Swim across America

By Isabella and Margaux Weiner

The best of Chappaqua was on display on Sunday morning’s Swim Across America fundraising event at Chappaqua Swim & Tennis, the picture-perfect sunny weather reflecting the optimism of this broad community effort. What started eight years ago as an off-site, four-person swim has grown to a home event involving more than 80 swimmers with ages ranging from six to nearly sixty. Each swimmer swam a half-mile or mile, and money pledged for the swim funds cancer research and treatment.

Swim for America Volunteer Committee
(Left to right): Maija Cekic, Stacey Sayer, Lori Shay, Carrie Dillon, Beth D’Alessandro, Dan Levy, Judy Simon, Katri and Bill Coster–all local volunteers for Swim Across America

The fundraising results of the Chappaqua swim have increased dramatically, with more than $60,000 in contributions so far this year! This puts the Chappaqua Swim & Tennis swim in the number one spot for fundraising among all the pool swims in Westchester and Long Island. This is an outstanding accomplishment for an event that held its first home swim only four years ago, thanks to our community! Olympic silver medalist Bobby Hackett of Katonah helped kickstart the Chappaqua swim, offering a swim clinic to participants.

Many local businesses contributed food and refreshments for the event, as well as wonderful prizes for raffle and high-end items for silent auction. Beneficiaries of SAA-LIS funds include the Cancer Support Team–Purchase, NY; Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at New York Presbyterian, New York; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center-New York, supporting the Swim Across America Research Laboratory.