Two coaches from Junior Tennis Champions Center, based in College Park, Md., will be coaching an advanced program for young players this fall for 48 Kings Highway Tennis Club players, both organizations have announced.
Here’s the joint announcement:
Jeff Gocke, President of TennisCT, has announced that Kings Highway Tennis Club (KHTC), 98 Old Kings Hwy. N., Darien, will partner with nationally-renowned Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) starting this fall. Jeff Gocke, President of TennisCT says, “It is a wonderful opportunity for our tennis community to partner with the nation’s most elite tennis training centers.”
JTCC is a world-class tennis training program based in College Park, Md., offering one of the most comprehensive junior development pathways in the country.
Photo from the Junior Tennis Champions Center website
JTCC has curriculum and coaches trained to deliver all phases of junior development including 10 and Under Tennis, national and International Tennis Federation (ITF) competitive juniors, college players and also professionals who compete on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tours.
JTCC graduates have earned tennis scholarships with a total value of $8 million; including some of the nation’s top academic schools – Harvard, Cornell, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Duke, Virginia, Georgetown and Vanderbilt.
In addition, JTCC players have won 32 national championships, 10 JTCC players have enjoyed tennis professional success on the world tours and 8 players have been ranked in the top 10 juniors in the ITF world junior rankings. Two of JTCC former juniors are ranked on the ATP tour. Denis Kudla is ranked 53 and Francis Tiafoe, the youngest player to win the prestigious junior Orange Bowl tournament at age 15 is ranked 188.
In partnering locally with KHTC, two tennis coaches from JTCC will inject a high level of intensity to the KHTC High Performance Program with a focus on perfecting both technique and tactics. KHTC will select 48 junior tennis players for the High Performance Program.
JTCC’s Leo Rosenberg will be the director of the KHTC High Performance Program. Leo, in addition to being a former top junior player, Division One college player and professional player, is well versed in JTCC’s teaching methodology. Leo will start in mid-July and will meet potential junior players and their parents to discuss in more detail the program offerings.
Vesa Ponkka, JTCC Senior Director of Tennis, summed up JTCC’s coaching philosophy by stating, “We only hire coaches with a teacher mentality. We aggressively seek and train coaches who have a no nonsense approach and a complete commitment to the student.”
He continued, “We will produce some very competitive tennis players; however, more importantly, we will produce good people.”
Ray Benton, JTCC CEO, echoed Vesa’s philosophy, “Your tennis career is going to be a short period, but you have the rest of your life to be a good human being.”
For more information, email leo@kingshwytennis.com or visit the Kings Highway Tennis Club website.
About TennisCT
TennisCT is Connecticut’s largest network of tennis clubs, managing facilities from Stamford to Milford for the past 30 years. Club locations include Shippan Racquet Club, Milford Indoor Tennis, Fairfield Indoor Tennis, Kings Highway Tennis Club, Long Ridge Club, Oak Hills Tennis Club and Trumbull Racquet Club. To learn more, visit www.tennisct.com.