30 FEBRUARY 2023 By Jennifer Marshall In 2012, Arcadians Chadwick and Elana Campbell spent some time in England. While there, their children took tennis lessons with an Australian coach named Matt Sunter. They were so impressed with Sunter’s techniques that they decided to bring them back to the U.S. and open a program called International Junior Performance (IJP) Tennis. Sunter’s techniques included the instructional “Red, Orange, Green, and Yellow Ball Junior Tennis Pathway.” The Campbells noticed this technique was underused in Arizona and wanted to share it with tennis players around the Valley. “Sunter joined as the director and became my business partner,” Chadwick said. “He has over 20 years of experience coaching junior tennis in the U.S., Australia and Europe, and he’s worked with elite juniors and professional tennis players.” In 2016, the Campbells brought IJP Tennis to Arcadia with the inauguration of its high- performance junior tennis development program for players aged four to 18, from beginner to elite. “IJP Tennis is dedicated to developing junior tennis players into elite athletes while introducing the sport to the next generation of players and generally promoting it,” Chadwick said. They now employ five tennis professionals for over 150 players. The program utilizes a systematic approach to develop young players as they advance through Red, Orange, Green, and Yellow Balls. They offer group and private lessons and match preparation sessions that include tennis- specific strength and conditioning. “Countries around the world have used the development pathway,” Sunter said, “and I’ve seen how successful the program was in Europe and Australia. We don’t believe in kids standing in lines; we want to make every lesson interactive for the players.” Sunter said that the program challenges the kids every time they practice, which helps build characteristics they will need both on and off the court. “We love to take beginners and develop them into high-level players,” he said. In 2016, Chadwick and Elana learned that their son, Euan, was on the Autism spectrum, which is how they learned about ACEing Autism. “ACEing Autism is a nonprofit organization that started in 2008 in Wayland, Massachusetts,” Chadwick said. “Its mission is to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder grow, develop, and benefit from social connections and fitness through affordable tennis programming.” Chadwick explained that Richard Spurling, a tennis professional with a degree in International Business and an MBA in entrepreneurship, and Dr. Shafali Jeste, an autism researcher and pediatric neurologist, created a curriculum to use tennis as a means to provide unique social and developmental benefits to children with autism. With IJP Tennis serving as the host, the Campbells founded the Phoenix Chapter of ACEing Autism in 2017. Autistic players are partnered with IJP Tennis volunteers. According to Chadwick, “the program ‘pulls’ the community to autism as much as it ‘pushes’ the kids with autism into the community.” “It’s been an honor for us to host ACEing Autism over the years,” Sunter said, “and I love seeing the kids volunteer their time to help with this program.” “The kids learn how to work in a group in a structured environment with people who aren’t family members or school teachers,” Elana said. “They are given a chance to talk to others, exercise and have fun.” Local tennis program brings lessons to all ACEing Autism Phoenix Program Directors Elana and Chadwick Campbell with longtime participant Marinda Moran. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHADWICK AND ELANA CAMPBELL If you are currently working with an agent, please disregard. NATHAN ANDERSON + PAUL NICOLETTI 480.888.5800 | NATEANDPAUL.COM SCAN HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR PRIVATE TOUR. to all that joined us for our Scandinavian Ranch Viewing Event. Because of you it was a tremendous success! We had a wonderful time connecting with the neighborhood and sharing our latest projects with you! THANK YOU 5151 E EARLL DRIVE | ARCADIA | OFFERED AT $2,850,000 SCAN HERE for our latest videos! ROC #314154 JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY FEELING LEFT OUT?