When I look back now to answer the question – “how did you get so good?”  I could tell you it’s my 10,000 hours of practice or the fact that I picked up my first racket when I was only 5. But the truth is I didn’t start training seriously until I was 11 years old and within a year I was playing national tournaments and eventually went on to play Division 1 Tennis at Virginia Tech. Since that time, I’ve been able to hone in on three specific things that turned out to be the most potent of all game changers: work ethic, coachability, and the skills I picked up from other sports. This is what guides my current work as a coach and this is what I look for and cultivate in my star players.

Unfortunately, these are not traits that are commonly valued in today’s athletic culture. The main focus always seems to be natural talent which, it turns out, is the least important factor in improving your game, competing, or simply enjoying tennis for life. Tennis is exercise, it’s social, it’s fun, it is a game after all. So in my view, if you can play well enough to enjoy tennis for a lifetime, you’ve already won.

When it comes to training with kids, my highest goal is to make sure your kids are enjoying their experience with tennis so that they stick it out for the long run. Collaboration over competition and fun over fear works every time. Do I want to see results? Do I support the competitive athlete? Absolutely! I just know from experience, that the no pain no gain method harms more than it helps and isn’t the only way. I certainly teach a little outside the box and I get results. The kids who coach with me don’t need to know the details about how or why I do this or that – all that matters is that at the end of every session, they feel good about themselves and good about their game.

As for my adult clients, you might want to know that I draw from my skills as a pilates instructor to incorporate core strength, from my vocal training to incorporate breathwork, from my hours of training as a competitive tennis athlete to teach the tricks of the trade, and from my experience as a coach to incorporate just the right amount of skills training, motivation, and fun to keep you progressing from week to week. What I’ve developed is a whole body training that quickly leads to tennis mastery.

Why didn’t I turn pro? That’s a discussion I’ll happily share if you want to take me out for coffee one day. For now, all you need to know is that nothing gives me greater pleasure than to hear my clients’ reaction to their first session with me, “It’s like magic!”