Do I love teaching our sport? -- You bet!
I can't imagine doing anything else that would cause me to bounce out of bed at 6:00 a.m. every morning, eager to get on with the day ahead. Now I am ready to go over the day's lesson plans and head to the court to make sure it's clean and ready for the morning's first class. Then, after a day of private and group lessons, I still want more tennis. So I'll maybe go watch the end of a local high school match or one here at Bucknell.
It all started in Mexico many years ago.
I was giving lessons at the high school in Mazatlan in exchange for Spanish tutoring (and some free meals in the homes of the locals). This went on for six months and, when my tourist permit expired, I returned to California where I thought I could fit in with the "normal" society. In Oakland, I tried working at a business owned by a family I met in Mexico, tested the marriage experience, attended Laney College (enjoyed the two years of varsity tennis), got accepted to Cal Berkeley, and everything was looking good. Then it happened. I had a relapse.
"Social Director Needed at Local Tennis Club" (You know the rest.)
Now it's time to fast-forward... After a year at the tennis club I received a call from the head pro at a country club who said he wanted me to take the job as his assistant. For 14 years John Hilton was a great mentor to me at the Claremont CC, and I will always remember his teaching and his patience.
Hello Pennsylvania!!
After leaving California in 1991, I had the good fortune of landing in my home state and working as assistant to Coach Reynolds at Bucknell University for one year. In the fall of 1992 I took over as head coach of the Men's Varsity Tennis Team and had a ten year record of 112-84. In 1997 I was voted the Patriot League Coach of the Year by my fellow coaches, and received the school paper Bucknellian's 1998 Bucknell University Men's Coach of the Year Award.
My work has taken me to 12 countries in North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
