On the Road: Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen, Virginia

On the Road: Wintergreen Resort, Wintergreen, Virginia

You don't have to spend much time with Thomas Johnston to feel his infectious enthusiasm for tennis and tennis players. Sitting in the wooden bleachers beside Court 1 at the mountaintop Devil's Knob Tennis Center at Virginia's Wintergreen Resort, he becomes animated as he talks about sports psychology and its role in his Wintergreen Tennis Academy. "Our basic philosophy is have fun and show them something they're not getting at their club," he tells me.

His approach combines some work on technique with ample advice about what to do between points and how to cope with typical match issues like having an off day or getting a bad call. "We try to redefine success," he continues. "It can't be winning or losing because you don't have control over that. It can be about court position and shot selection. You don't necessarily have to improve your technique to get better."

A nationally ranked junior who grew up in Houston, he went on to become an All American at Pitzer College in southern California and then spent 18 months on the satellite tour—not because he expected to excel but because, he says, "As a sports psychology major I really wanted to find out what it was like out there." He subsequently coached the Pomona/Pitzer men's tennis team to a Top 10 ranking in Division III, completed his Master's and moved to Charlottesville, VA to continue his studies and coach the UVA men's team. In 1999, he took his expertise up the mountain to Wintergreen. He's assisted by Dave Huffman, who attended Clemson University under Chuck Kriese before joining the pro tour, where he beat none other than Andre Agassi and ranked in the top 200; and by George Elias, a veteran pro who has coached numerous regionally and nationally ranked juniors in his 25 years of teaching.

The sprawling 10,600-acre resort drapes across the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 38 miles southwest of Charlottesville. Although it begins in the valley at an area called Stoney Creek, the core of Wintergreen village is on top of a ridge, where in summer it's at least 10 degrees cooler and much less humid than in the lowlands below. The main tennis complex is a bit higher still, atop a 3,800-foot peak called Devil's Knob, where 15 outdoor clay and three indoor hard courts trail through an oak and hickory forest.

Wintergreen's adult tennis academy runs from early May into late October as a 2-, 3-, or 4-day package (see the tennis section of their web site for specific dates). Most are general camps, though several have specific themes such as "Mixed Doubles," "Stroke and Strategy," or "Advanced," the last for NTRP 4.0 players and higher. You do not, however, have to enroll in an academy to get solid tennis. During the busy summer months there are adult clinics and round robins every day, a version of cardio tennis they call "sweaty tennis," and a conscientious service of game matching. Also in summer there are daily clinics for kids ages 7-14 and those 6 and under. Johnston also tells me he's developing special tennis programs for advanced juniors ages 10-16. "We're trying to get a program where kids can just come and hang out at the courts," he told me. All this junior tennis is just one more element in a family-friendly resort that has an abundance of programs for kids, including fully supervised day programs and a Kid's Night Out Campout.

Tennis aside, the resort abounds with activity. There are two golf courses: one spectacularly scenic layout at Devil's Knob where it wraps around the tennis complex, the other at Stoney Creek in the valley below. Devil's Knob is also home to the Nature Center, which runs a variety of programs about the flora and fauna of the Blue Ridge Mountains and conducts guided hikes, and to the Wintergreen Spa and an adjacent fitness and aquatics center, the latter with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Hikers can take off on any of 30 miles of maintained trails, which range in difficulty from easy to demanding. The Out of Bounds Adventure Center pumps up the adrenaline level of people of all ages with bungee trampolining, rock climbing, paintball, downhill mountain biking, a skateboard park, and more. Stoney Creek, at the bottom of the mountain, adds horseback riding stables, Lake Monocan with a beach and watersports, four more tennis courts adjacent to another swimming pool, and fly fishing lessons and guided fishing tours.

The lodging choices range from rooms with kitchenettes to condos and homes with as many as seven bedrooms. Most now with high-speed internet connections. There are three restaurants atop the mountain and a fourth in the golf clubhouse at Stoney Creek. To see how other tennis vacationers rate Wintergreen and it's academy, see Wintergreen Vacationer Reviews. For more information about the resort, visit the Wintergreen web site.