02.02.10
Egyptian-Muslim Pleads for International Christian Tennis Association to Help!
ICTA Founder, Scott Paschal, and his wife, Mel, in St. Augustine, Florida.
Morning!
It’s early…about 5am. I don’t really do early. This morning my “God alarm clock” woke me and led me to connect you to a couple of emails I received recently.
One is from an Egyptian-Muslim. The other is from a Hindu.
Not sure why God wants you guys to connect with these emails, but here they are. I feel led to write to you about each one, as well.
Hopefully, my Hawaiian Kona coffee kicks in so you guys don’t have to call or email me more than usual about mistpelled wurds! 
I pray God’s purpose in my life this morning will be accomplished….
Please, note that one particular link in this article will lead to shocking pictures and a powerful story of Muslim extremists burning Christians alive in Egypt. I feel it’s important to add this link…to help you see the reality others may be facing around us.
And, if you would like, please share a comment/prayer for Hassan to read and be inspired. There is a comment posting section at the end of this article.
God bless!
Scott Paschal (Coach Scotty) Read Bio
International Christian Tennis Association, President
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Let’s begin with Hassan’s first email to me…
I’m an Egyptian -Muslim religion. I am 28 years old and I have a lot of faith in Christ and I want to become a Christian. I am right now in Kuwait, but I fear for myself of murder and injustice. Please help urgent.
Hassan
Kuwait
Hassan contacted me through International Christian Tennis Association’s online home, Christiantennis.net.
(Click here for pictures and articles to quickly gain a better understanding of situation in Egypt. Warning, very graphic.)
Hassan, please know…”He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” 1 Peter 1:19 (NLT) “The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them.” John 6:37 (NCV)
I would like to ask each Christian reading this to please pray for Hassan…that He discovers an eternal relationship with Jesus. And, please post a prayer or a comment for Hassan, and others like him worldwide, in the comment section at the end of this article.
“May you have the power to understand as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how tall, and how deep God’s love really is.” Ephesians 3:18 (NLT)
Hassan’s email really reached me…deep inside near where God planted the original vision/dream of global ministry through tennis.
I was Hassan’s age when I felt a need to begin a search for my purpose. I felt a need to know the reason why I was created. I, too, felt a need to know Jesus, but didn’t know what to do.
ICTA full time academy students, Ana & Mark. Have coached Mark for 3.5+ yrs and Ana for 3+ yrs. Ana Kharchenko plays tennis professionally now. Mark is transitioning from juniors to pro qualifiers/college this year. Proud of both for such incredible dedication and effort to develop into Champions for Christ and shine for Him through tennis in Godless countries worldwide...
Fourteen years later, I am blessed to see my purpose to strive daily to connect people to a living God, and disciple them.
The journey to reach this point has been a difficult, yet amazing one.
Let me say that seeing and realizing my purpose doesn’t mean I am perfect, or better than you.
Like a tennis player who double faults, hits the ball out or into the net, swears under his breath, loses a match…I’ve made plenty of mistakes.
Having discovered my purpose in life simply means that I now understand the “game”, the situation for which I’ve been uniquely created.
After teaching all levels of tennis for nearly a quarter of a century, after coaching players from 21 nations and 15 USA states full time at my tennis academy, after studying the game from among the best tennis mentors in the world…I understand how to build world class junior and professional tennis players.
I understand players and I understand the game. Combining the two creates a world class opportunity for success for those I choose to coach.
Yet, my purpose isn’t to teach tennis. That was just an analogy, an example.
The “game” I’m talking about is actually a war…a spiritual war we all live in and are surrounded by every minute of every day. Some are aware of the battle, most are not. Yet, all are in the war whether they see it or not…
It is a war for eternal souls. Heaven or Hell. Hassan accepting Christ and facing persecution on earth…or denying Christ and facing an eternity without Him.
The reason God uniquely created me was to connect people of different faiths worldwide with Him. Tennis is simply a tool God has gifted me in.
Scott Paschal sharing Christian faith, Christian Bibles & books...in ICTA Outreach Booth at world's 5th largest pro tennis tournament, the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open in Florida. Over 300,000 people from 130+ countries attend...
Some people sing, and through song they share their faith. Me, tennis is my song….
Hassan, like me and you, has a purpose through God.
Unlike me, Hassan lives in Egypt, and travels to Kuwait.
He is Muslim. And, because he wants to know about Jesus and become a follower of Jesus, he is concerned about his safety. (Click here for pictures and articles to quickly gain a better understanding of situation in Egypt. Warning, very graphic.)
What about your situation? What is your religion/faith/belief? When you die, will you spend eternity in Heaven…?
Hassan has a choice. He can choose to follow Christ…to make Jesus his personal Lord and Savior. Or, not. Like all of us, he can worship a false idol or he can surrender his life to Jesus.
I know men who were Muslim and are now Christian. Yet, these men live in the safety of America. They are free to worship. Would these men be able to live in Egypt with their families and still maintain their faith in the face of torture and death? It’s a very real question.
John 3:16 in the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and whoever believes in this will never die, but will have eternal life in Heaven.”
That’s a bold statement. It’s also an eternal one.
I will continue writing to Hassan and we work together to bring Him to an eternal relationship with Jesus. This morning, I would like to ask you to keep Hassan in your prayers. He has much to consider and learn.
I’d also like you to dive deep inside of yourself.
Have you discovered your purpose for existing? If not, first ask yourself if you truly have an eternal relationship with Jesus.
I’m firmly convinced that true happiness and a true understanding of love is not possible unless we are united with our Creator and are walking step for step in the unique path He designed for each of us
Imagine the global impact if Roger Federer had courage to stand up for Christ with the boldness & love of Jesus' original disciples, Michael Chang, Chris Tomlin, or Billy Graham! I fully believe my tennis academy will one day develop top 10 ATP & WTA players w the courage to SHINE!
Your purpose in life is waiting for you. It is very real….
Will post a really special email from a Hindu man as soon as possible..probably in my next article.
Now, I have to do some office work…phone calls, emails, organizing…and coaching of my wonderful, Christian, international students who are here full time at my Florida based, high performance tennis academy program!
If you feel God leading…please post a comment and/or prayer for Hassan….
God bless each of you!
Coach Scotty
Galations 2:20
12.15.09
Questioning the Unspoken Rule…
David and Ana, ICTA tennis academy students, competing in 2009 ITF Pro tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.
It’s like an unspoken rule.
Like a natural order of things most simply abide by and don’t think to question.
I see it constantly. And, honestly, it’s driving me crazy.
I’m talking “religion” here…but, let me put it in tennis terms to see how well you rally.
Ever watch junior tennis players practice?
Listen up, here, I’ve been at this for a while…so, lean in and get comfortable.
Picture this… players are on the tennis court, their tennis coach or mom/dad in the back corner of the tennis court observing. Players hitting ball after ball after ball developing their skills.
Ever see tennis players train?
I have. For a long time. Longer than some of you have been alive. And probably at least 1/2 the lives of the rest of you.
David (Australia) and his Nigerian opponent. I've coached David full time for 2+ years! An amazing young man.
It’s bothering me.. this unspoken rule.
Look over here for a minute…
A kid pics up a racket as a brand new beginner. Mom or Dad shows little junior how to hit the ball. Or maybe the kid just learns on her own.
Junior begins hitting the ball. Junior gets better. Junior begins hitting with other juniors. Time passes. Junior gets better.
You see this, right?
Ok.
Know what I see?
I see junior begin each tennis workout by hitting forehands to the other junior’s forehand. And they both keep hitting forehands to each other constantly until someone messes up…at which time the other person is forced to hit a rare backhand.
I then see a couple of panicky backhands until they move the ball back to their forehand side.
They rip the ball back and forth… forehand to forehand like a couple of squirrels gathering nuts for the winter. Momma and Daddy and Coach are so proud of how well junior is hitting the ball and improving!
David practicing w pro player in Nigeria. Great opportunities to improve in tennis and share faith w players worldwide!
Time passes….
Then, tournament time! Time to show the world how junior has improved. Time to gain self esteem and recognition for all…
Junior walks onto the court to play his match..nervous and excited, yet ready to rip his forehand like he does in practice!
But, juniors opponent decides to hit to junior’s backhand.
Junior loses points, games, and ultimately the whole tennis match in a fit of thrown rackets, cussing, screaming, arguing line calls, bathroom breaks…. Momma and Daddy and Coach simply can’t believe that junior could have such a poor attitude, and play so “different” in matches.
No one really knows what went wrong.
Momma and Daddy are embarrassed by junior’s poor behavior and poor play….
You can see it now, right. The unspoken rule? From day one the unspoken rule dominated. Not only dominated…nurtured and guided… and ultimately destroyed.
Makes me cringe. I see it ALL the time.
Ana, Hiro, Aussie in shuttle bus to host home in Nigeria. I have coached Hiro fulltime for 2+ years! Great gal!
You followed my tennis story pretty well, right?
Ok, put your feet up and get comfy while I make my point and wrap this up…
People are born into religions worldwide.
Momma and Daddy watching junior “hitting forehands” of religious faith… following whatever god dominates the region…
Blindly believing because they’ve never had eyes of their own, blindly living because they’ve been allowed to follow what makes family happy, blindly dying without knowing that from day one they had already lost….
Makes me cringe. I see it ALL the time.
Let me ask you something…
If you were born in France to French parents what language would you grow up speaking? French, right?
Ok, what if you were born in Italy to Italian parents? You would most likely learn to speak Italian from birth, right?
Anastasia Kharchenko reaches pro players w her faith. I've coached Ana for 3+ years now. Ana has a career high singles ranking of WTA #598...
What about maybe someplace in the Middle East like Iran?
You’d speak Farci.
From birth Mom and Dad would speak to you in their native language and guess what you learn…Farci.
Hello?
Let’s talk religion, junior.
If you were born in Utah and Momma and Daddy were Mormon..ummm.. what religion would you be brainwashed from birth to follow? Sure, Mormonism.
You would believe “with all your heart” in Mormonism.
Let’s say you were born in Iraq and Momma and Daddy were Muslim. Yep, you’d be brainwashed from birth to follow Islamic teachings.
You’re seeing it, right?
India..Hindu. China..Buddha. You get the point. Basically brainwashed from birth from parents who were brainwashed from birth.
Ana and Aussie having lunch with an African tennis player. Many great opportunities exist for ICTA missionaries to share their faith at pro tournaments!
Ok, my turn…
I am a follower of Jesus.
No, Jesus doesn’t have Twitter. 
What I’m saying is that I’ve made a decision to accept Jesus as Lord over my life.
An un-brainwashed decision.
I didn’t blindly make the choice.
Honestly, you could say I angrily made the choice. My Dad had committed suicide in my car when we were supposed to be celebrating my 17th birthday. My “Christian” Dad.
Years of confusion came into my life, then years of rage. Internal rage. Then, years of depression. I often didn’t even want to live. Really, I shouldn’t still be here.
To say I felt unwanted and useless would be a drastic understatement. And I didn’t want to hear about God. Where was this “God” when my Dad needed him?
Time passed and in my journey into manhood…I discovered God is real, and my Dad wasn’t abandoned by Him. My Dad’s sin led to his death.
I discovered God is real by trying to prove He wasn’t. I couldn’t and my life began to change. Still is changing.
Just as I question parents, players, and coaches as to why they mainly hit forehands in tennis practices…and I explain the deep need to hit backhands, too…
…I’d like to ask you to question your religious faith.
Ask yourself why you believe what you believe.
To truly improve in tennis means you will have to train aspects of your game that you generally don’t like to train…maybe it’s your backhand, or your fitness, or whatever.
And to reach a world class level of play…you will have to push way beyond normal and discover how to master a truly difficult side of yourself.
Same with your faith. You need to discover who you are. Not who Mom and Dad are, but you.
To reach Jesus you simply need to call on Him…yet, for some, this will require you to push way beyond normal and to discover how to master a truly difficult part of your being.
John 3:16.. Romans 10:9.
Read the Bible. Start with the New Testament…and call or write me if you have any questions…
The people in charge of “growing” tennis want you to think tennis is “easy” to learn. Ok, maybe at the absolute most basic level I can see their point.
But, honestly, nothing about tennis past “baby steps” is easy. To me, tennis is the most amazing sport in the world. The levels and depth of skill one can attain with hard work and dedication is fantastic!
And that is how I tell it. If you want to play the game, I will tell you how difficult it is to master and I will carefully explain the steps required to reach your goals. You won’t hear “fluff” from me.
ICTA President, Scott Paschal, in St Augustine, Florida
Same with Jesus. I will tell it to you like it is.
Question your faith, Christian or not.
You don’t want to get to the match and discover you didn’t prepare to win.
The unspoken religious rule in your life..the one that dominates your family… question it!
God bless,
Coach Scotty
Scott Paschal
International Christian Tennis Association, President
09.05.09
Melanie Oudin Tennis Scandal!
Congratulations to USA’s Melanie Oudin for reaching the 3rd round of 2009 US OPEN by defeating Maria Sharapova!
Great job!
Melanie Oudin, a 17 year old kid who lives in Georgia, has been competing on the ITF Pro Circuit.
It’s so great to see a nice person, particularly a teen, doing well in a major tennis event.
Which brings me to a good point…
People are already beginning to slam Melanie Oudin! Why? I have no idea!
Melanie Oudin’s tennis coach, Brian De Villiers, recently said Melanie Oudin still helps sweep the tennis courts at his club…basically saying she is still grounded and humble and appreciative.
But, the media has began saying she should to stop such behavior! And inferred the coach might be holding her back! Crazy!
People are also going after Melanie Oudin’s boyfriend…because he is 16 years old!
And now, I’m hearing that she is annoying to be around…too small…too weak of a slice backhand.
Hmmmm….
Melanie Oudin is loyal to her coach, cares about the tennis club where she trains, and is dating a clean cut kid! She seems to truly care about people.
Scandalous in this world of Godless tennis!
And, funny, but the slams on her tennis game are the same ones we heard about Justine Henin and Amanda Coetzer!
I look forward to seeing Melanie Oudin develop her game…! She seems like a great kid with tons of potential on and off the tennis court!
And, Mel, if you ever read this…back when I first began International Christian Tennis Association I had plenty of critics/bashers, too. (Don’t listen to them! They like to create the news they report
I stayed focused…and God blessed! ICTA has a worldwide membership in over 2000 cities in 60 countries! We have reached over 1,800,000 tennis fans for Christ at WTA/ATP tournaments from booths we lease, jr and pro tennis players from 21 countries and 15 USA states have trained w me full time at my Florida tennis academy, my blog has 120,000+ hits, and my web site gets over 100,000 hits yearly!
That said…stay focused, Mel, and know Coach Scotty will be praying for you, your family, and your coach.
God bless,
Scott Paschal
08.20.09
100,000 ICTABlog Visitors…!
Some of my tennis academy players in St. Joseph, Missouri, during mission trip. This pic taken at original Pony Express headquarters that is now famous western museum.
100,000!
Wow!
100,000!
Almost can’t believe it. So neat how ICTABlog has not only survived, but thrived.
To me, a couple years ago, 100,000 was too big of a number for me to wrap around. 10,000 seemed huge!
I get phone calls and emails from people who read something I’ve written and it reaches them in some way. Some folks are really positive and supportive…some are really nasty and mean. But, either way it’s good to see faith & tennis being connected and discussed.
Btw, remember my Gasquet article? I think it was just a few articles ago. Anyway, his suspension has been lifted! Turns out he didn’t do anything purposefully wrong. Never did cocaine!
But, he did kiss a girl at a party who did…and that caused him to get the equivalent of a grain of sand of cocaine in his body which caused his blood to test positive for a banned substance.
I’m glad Rafa kept speaking out about how Gasquet doesn’t do drugs! And I’m glad you guys told your friends to tell their friends to tell their friends to read my article.
Finally, thanks for your support of my Twitter micro-blog! Great to hear you guys like receiving the updates…either by coming here or christiantennis.net... or some of you have updates sent to your cell phones in real time!! Awesome!
God bless,
Coach Scotty
International Christian Tennis Association
President
386 793 0557/ teamICTA@yahoo.com
06.15.09
International Christian Tennis Players-Visiting Florida!
International Pro & Junior Tennis Players Who Train Coach Scotty's Academy in Florida! Pic taken at church this Sunday...
I am really proud of this picture.
Most of you have no idea the amount of work required to make this picture a reality.
I’m not talking about the actual taking and posting of the pic.
I’m talking about the incredible miracles divinely created by God to bring each of these amazing kids to become a special part of my life and my tennis academy.
And of the incredible miracles which developed International Christian Tennis Association from a seemingly impossible dream in my heart into a passionate reality changing the landscape of tennis world wide.
Scott Paschal has coached Mark full time for 3 years. Mark arrived at 15 a near beginner. Mark is now a top 200 Florida junior and an ICTA teen leader.
Represented here are eight Christian tennis players from eight countries.
Several of them I have coached full time 3-4 years… a couple 1.5-2 years.
Not all were Christian when I met them, either.
Each player has parents, brothers and/or sisters, grandparents who deeply care for them.
Eight countries, eight cultures. And me.
God sent them to me… here in Florida to train for world class tennis and to deepen their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine, USA, Nigeria, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica.
As you can read from my Twitter micro-blog, a player from Czech is coming in full time, as well.
I’m so grateful, now, to be able to say I have coach players full time from 19 countries and 15 US states since beginning this faith-based, high performance tennis academy dream.
Scotty has coached Jon for 4 years. Jon is leaving this summer to play college tennis and has become an outstanding ICTA teen leader.
In a couple of weeks… I’ll be able to say 20 countries. Awesome.
When God blesses my life with the opportunity to be part of my players’ life stories, I am always grateful and excited He has created the opportunity for each of us.
Sure, I see them as teens and young adults, but mainly I see them as our future leaders… Christian men and women changing the world.
I see them as parents and grandparents and I daily ask myself what can be done to strengthen and improve not only their tennis and athleticism, but also their character, faith in Christ, ability to see the world through servant’s eyes…
A special note about the Czech player. His parents are atheist.
Another one of my full time students has a dad who is atheist…but he knows I am Christian and knows my ministry to tennis. He’s come to visit and he likes me a lot. He also loves the incredible changes happening with his child!
Awesome testimony there, huh!?
This new kid hasn’t told his parents at all about my international tennis ministry!
He and his Czech coach (also a Christian) have strategically focused only on the extremely intensive world class tennis training aspect of my program.
AWESOME! I love it.
And I can’t wait til this kid is surrounded by Christians his own age for the first time in his life. He is really excited, too.
I’ve also invited his Dad, who doesn’t speak a word of English, to stay with me at the condo for a day or two when they both arrive, and to go with us all to Disney. He agreed!
What a great opportunity to share my faith in Jesus through my actions and deeds…
Matthew 28:16-20 (New International Version)
The Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I take this seriously.
Reach em and disciple em. Then, send em…
And as I do… Jesus says he will be with me no matter what. That’s big to me. I want Jesus with me always, no matter what.
My prayer for you is that God is working in your life.
That He is made Lord over your self-created idols… work, finances, worry.
Do you need a purpose for living?
Sure, we all do. Simply memorize that bible verse, then spend all of your living minutes doing what it says.
If you do, your life will forever have a purpose and Jesus will walk with you step for step no matter what.
It’s His promise.
Me, I’m not making this promise. Jesus is.
I’m a moron. I’m full of flaws and have a complete understanding I am an idiot. I’m simply a guy who clearly saw Jesus present himself in my life.
I am not Mr. Righteous. I am Mr. Moron.
And I am living proof Jesus can take the dumbest and most clueless of us… and work through us to change the world for Him.
It’s my purpose.
You can have a purpose, too.
God bless you guys!
Coach Scotty
International Christian Tennis Association
Founder
06.05.09
Video: Scott Paschal Snickers at ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team Member!
Those of you who know me have a pretty good idea I like to make people laugh.
Recently, ICTA welcomed a new player to the ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team. Her name is Lo and she is from Nigeria. I know her Dad.
Lo attends a college in the US where she competes on the school’s tennis team. She is training with me for the summer to strengthen her tennis, and to deepen her faith in Christ.
In the first 12 days I’ve coached Lo she has taken a bus to meet us in Sumter, SC where she trained for 4 days… drove with us to Palm Coast… drove a day later to Hilton Head Island, SC. where she trained for 4 days… drove back to Palm Coast yesterday… and will fly to El Paso, Texas at 7am in the morning.
Her schedule is stacked and packed. I don’t think she has ever experienced anything like this before.
Welcome to pro tennis… and Christian missions outreach.
Honestly, people really have no idea how much we do on a daily basis to follow the Great Commission…
I’m focused on developing Lo’s leadership skills, and on showing her facts about Jesus… that He is Christ.
Sure, her tennis will improve a lot. But, that’s the easy part.
The hard part can be looking inward and honestly seeing what needs to improve in your life.
In less than 2 weeks, Lo has been challenged intensely, and she can see her weaknesses… on and off court.
Part shocked and part excited for the challenge, Lo is undergoing massive training.
From extreme 2 on 1 tennis workouts, 10 mile bike rides, tennis matches in pro tournaments, travel to 4 new cities in 12 days by bus, van, and plane…
… to meeting new people from 6 countries… Lo has been busy.
In addition, I have Lo studying Lee Stroebel’s book A Case for Christ and John Maxwell’s book Failing Forward. My hope is Stroebel can deepen her belief that Jesus is Christ, and that Maxwell can teach Lo that mistakes can become our motivation and our guide to improvment.
That said, we have a ton of fun in between tennis training, matches, and discipleship.
Lo mentioned she’s laughed more in these 10 -12days than in the last 5 months combined since she has come to the USA!
On to the video…
Lo loves Snickers. She bought a whole bag of the little Snickers when I first met her. She loves to eat them when no one is looking!
When we were all in Sam’s Club (huge wholesale food warehouse owned by Walmart) in Hilton Head Island during our Christian outreach to a USTA Pro Circuit tournament recently, I saw a bunch of boxes of Snicker’s bars… so I wanted to take a pic of Lo with them.
But, instead of a picture I took a really fun video!!
Lo LOVED it minutes later when she found out!
Enjoy the video and please keep Lo in your thoughts and prayers. God is doing a big work in her life!
God bless,
Coach Scotty
05.28.09
Sumter, South Carolina
ICTA Founder, Scott Paschal, at Pacific Life Open during ICTA Outreach to 300,000 tennis fans
Spent 6 awesome days on a Christian outreach in Sumter, SC.
Great little town. Good food! Interesting mix of cultures in Sumter. Deep South meets preppy…
Our outreach was to an ITF Pro Circuit tournament.
Enjoyed a 5-6 hour drive to get there. Road trips rock!
A player from Nigeria came in to join us for the summer as a member of the ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team.
Will be fun coaching her. I have come to really care about Nigeria, so I hope I learn a lot from her lifetime of experience growing up in Lagos!
My player, Anastasia Kharchenko, and Vasilina Bardina (Russia) competing in main draw doubs together.
My hope is she will benefit, too.
That her faith will be challenged and strengthened.
That God will grow and develop her to see new things, to see the world through the eyes of a Christian athlete who can inspire….
One highlight for me in Sumter was meeting and talking with a player. I don’t want to mention her name, but I do want to mention her to you. She is at a crossroads in her life and can use your prayers.
Life for some players is really easy. For others it isn’t. This player is pretty much in the Life is Bad section. I’ve enjoyed talking with her each day. I hope I made some kind of an impact.
Anastasia Kharchenko forehand in qualifying match.
My players and I drove back to Palm Coast, yesterday. Fun drive. Went by fast.
Newb was here mowing my yard when we got in.
Newb, aka: Jonathan… is heading off to college next semester.
Have coached him for 4 years. Great kid.
Did I mention Newb has lost around 50lbs of body fat in the last 5-6 months!
He’s done a great job disciplining himself and getting into shape!
Look forward to watching him play matches in college.
Leaving for Hilton Head Island, SC., in a couple days for another Christian outreach on the pro circuit…. I’m looking forward to the road trip with the players. Road trips are great times to talk. Hilton Head is a good place, too.
The tournament is at Van Der Meer’s tennis academy. Stan Smith’s tennis academy is nearby. Will be a lot of good players… and a lot of good ministry opportunity.
I think we are leaving Saturday.
Sorry I haven’t written lately. Been pretty busy. Will try to write from Hilton Head and maybe post some pics/video for you.
God bless,
Coach Scotty
05.16.09
Mark, Jon, Anastasia… Three AWESOME Christian Teens at ICTA!
Mark, Jon, Anastasia in Florida
Three people. Three life stories.
On the left is Mark from Mexico. In the middle is Jonathan from Florida. On the right is Anastasia from Ukraine.
This is a picture of them jogging here in Florida before a junior tournament.
I have coached Mark full time for 3 years. Came in a scrawny, little 15 year old with no serve or backhand or fitness or ability to handle pressure….
Now, Mark is a big, strong all court player with a great all court game.
In singles and doubles Mark has began frequenting the Quarters, Semis, and Finals in Florida jr tournaments.
He has worked incredibly hard. Tennis & fitness workouts of a combined 6-8 hrs a day 5-6 days a week are common stuff for him.
Mark has adapted to my hard core, world class tennis program like a fish to water…
Mark was born and raised in Mexico to American missionaries. In Mexico Mark went to a school which spoke Spanish.
When Mark came here he did all of his education in English. In fact, Mark did his entire high school on-line through the Abeka DVD Christian curriculum.
It was impressive and interesting to see him mature and grow through the discipline needed to control his own education, particularly as his teachers all spoke English and Mark was training so hard in tennis.
Jon is 19 years old, now. He first came to train with me 4 years ago. Short and fat and with no patience, Jon pretty much had a long way to go.
Jon met Josh McDowell at Christian youth conference last December with ICTA in Gatlinburg, TN.
We have been through a lot together. Four years is a long time. Jon trained with me full time for the first year. Part time for two years. Then, full time this last year.
During that time Jon’s parents divorced. He was pretty devastated. They recently remarried. I know… amazing.
Jon has been really focused about his tennis for the last 10-12 months. He has lost about 50 lbs of fat (about 20kg) and has added about 10 lbs of muscle.
His tennis is looking good. Jon is looking really great, too. I really proud of him for his dedication to improving his life. Taking the year off to train after he graduated from high school was one of the best decisions Jon could have made.
Jon is trying out for different NCAA tennis teams here in Florida. He will be a positive example on whichever team he joins.
Anastasia is student I met and began coaching by Divine intervention. Call it God’s gift…
Ana is truly a ICTA Champion for Christ! First year on tour... wins 2 ITF Pro Circuit tournaments and made Quarterfinals of 2 others!
Ana never applied to train in my academy program. I hadn’t met her parents. There was no parent-player-coach interview.
In fact, I had grown to not really like Ukrainians (long story ) and had no interest in coaching another one.
How did I become Ana’s coach & USA Dad?
Our ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team found Anastasia in Juarez, Mexico!
The team was in Juarez competing in an ITF Pro Circuit tournament, and had learned Anastasia was in a difficult situation from her abusive tennis coaches.
The team contacted me and after much prayer and consideration I agreed to help Anastasia escape the difficult situation. We then flew her to International Christian Tennis Association’s ministry home base in Florida.
A month after arriving, 16 year old Anastasia Kharchenko became a Christian.
Now, about 2.5 years later Anastasia is WTA ranked and travels worldwide competing in pro tournaments! She travels as a member of the missionary tennis team which rescued her!
Ana knows God found her in her deepest difficulties… His lost sheep whom He dearly loved! Her testimony is truly amazing.
Mark, Jon, and Anastasia are three tremendous kids I feel really blessed to have an opportunity to be part of their life story.
Right now, they are young. Yet, when I coach/mentor them I see them as the parents/grandparents they will become. I picture them with their future families, or in their future careers….
Honestly, it is such an incredible privilege to be a coach who has the real opportunity to impact lives in a substantial way for the Kingdom. It’s really all about Kingdom impact.
Wow… in just the last few years I’ve been able to invest in the lives of full time players from 17 countries and 15 US states! That blows me away!
And in a few days I welcome in a young lady from Nigeria who is joining ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team, so that makes it 18 countries!
Please keep our very special and unique Faith & Tennis programs in your prayers as God uses International Christian Tennis Association to impact nations.
And, also, please keep Mark, Jon, and Anastasia in your prayers as God further shapes and molds them into amazing, Godly athletes… Champions for Christ!
God bless,
Coach Scotty
President ICTA Inc
386 793 0557 / ballboy4jesus@yahoo.com
05.10.09
Richard Gasquet Busted for Cocaine!?
Richard Gasquet, one of the world’s top pro tennis players, has acknowledged he recently tested positive for cocaine.
Gasquet admitted a couple of doping tests recently taken at the Sony Ericsson Open have confirmed cocaine, or a metabolite of cocaine, was in his system.
Yet, he says he is innocent.
Sounding a bit Martina Hingis, isn’t it?
Or Coria, sort of?
My take… he didn’t take any banned substances.
As a coach, as a person who develops world class athletes, as a guy who basically studies people for a living, as someone who knows this sport…. he didn’t do it.
Just like I said about Hingis… didn’t happen folks.
And the ITF mafia tribunal is gonna blow it again, too.
Can I just simply explain something… and you just simply read, then go tell your friends….
Ok? Ok. Here I go…
It is ridiculously easy to put banned substances into the bodies of any top pro tennis player!
Got it? It’s ridiculously easy, folks.
How?
Here’s an example for you…
A few years ago I was coaching my player at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is a major ATP tournament where the top names show up… Bryan Bros, Hewitt, Blake, etc.
My player, Julia Vakulenko, was competing in the women’s event main draw.
As her coach I was given a coaching credential which allowed me access to basically everywhere.
As I am a big guy, I enjoy food. And, I really enjoy the free catered food at tournaments.
Now, the food at tournaments is often for everyone who has a credential to eat. Players, coaches, entourages, line judges, chair umpires, special tournament guests, media…
What would happen if I had sprinkled some cocaine on the rice? Or steroids on the pasta? Or put some banned substances in the salt shakers? Or in the soup?
Or if I simply left cocaine powder on a door handle… or sneezed some in the direction of a player I want to see banned!?
Are you feeling me here, folks?
It’s easy to cause any of the world’s top players to test positive for banned substances.
Heck, simply give $2500 and a sugar-sized packet of anything banned to the guy who cleans up the area around the food for $7 an hr.
Did Gasquet do cocaine? I don’t think he did. Wouldn’t make sense. He stands to lose too much. Is it possible he did? Yes. Is it probable he did? No.
Some moron in somebody’s entourage could have been snortin’ coke, then grabbed a chair or door handle or water fountain or whatever and left cocaine residue on it.
Or somebody could have purposefully sabotaged Gasquet.
Personally, I’m not a big Gasquet fan. Mainly because I don’t know him, and he tends to choke under pressure in big matches.
I’m not writing this in support of another spoiled millionaire athlete. I’m simply hoping to open some eyes to reality.
Tennis has buried its head in the sand for a long time. I remember a few years ago when I was blowing the lid off of gambling. Few would listen! Now, they listen.
Or when I was opening the can about the tennis sex slave trade industry! Few would listen. Now, the WTA orders major background checks on all coaches at it’s events!
Ok, enough from me. You get my points here. Give Richard Gasquet the benefit of the doubt for now.
Please understand that tennis has a very dark side. For every success story, there are 1000s of horror stories. You, honestly, have no idea.
Tennis is not Rafa vs Roger at Wimbledon.
As awesome as those two are… it’s not reflective of the global tennis industry’s gambling, sex slave trade, drug addiction, physical abuse.
Tennis is Godless. You can figure over 80% of the world’s tennis playing population isn’t Christian. China, Japan, India, Africa, France, Iran….
All that is in the world is in tennis.
That’s why it’s so important we all work together to share our faith in Jesus. To establish Godly principles in the lives of players and fans.
There is only one answer for Tennis.
It’s Jesus.
Not Rafa, not Roger… Jesus.
God bless,
Scott Paschal
05.04.09
Scott Paschal Goes to Church!
I really love attending church.
I know it’s a special privilege to be able to worship God at a Christian church.
This is a picture of me, a couple of my full time tennis academy students, and a special visitor a couple days ago before church started.
On the left is Hiromi Takeuchi who is visiting ICTA as she journeys around the USA and travels to different parts of the world. Hiromi is Japanese and has a passion to become a translator for people who journey to Spanish speaking countries or Japan! When visiting ICTA Hiromi also loves to hit tennis balls with my students! In front is Luke from Costa Rica. Anastasia from Ukraine is on the right…both Luke and Ana are full time students of mine.
My life is so blessed.
I am able to coach full time amazing young men and women from countries worldwide. I get to plan and implement large-scale mission trips to prestigious pro tennis tournaments. I have friends who care about me. I attend a tremendous church and am friends with my pastor, missions pastor, and worship leader. I am the director of an international sports ministry.
Wow. God is so good.
I pray God is leading you in your life. That you know the peace that comes from giving Him all.
That you ignore Satan’s lies as he works to destroy your confidence….
Regardless of how young or how old, how rich or how poor… God can and will use you, if you only open your heart to Him.
God bless,
Scott Paschal
