Luke Robbins, the new director for the 10 & Under Tennis program at Kings Highway Tennis Club, has a master’s degree in social work and had a brief stint as a standup comic.
He will be available at information sessions on Thursday, Aug. 27 from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 3, from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
An announcement from Kings Highway Tennis Club:
Luke Robbins, new director of the 10 & Under program at Kings Highway Tennis Club
When you think of tennis, most people think of a yellow tennis ball. But not Luke Robbins. Robbins, the new Director of 10 & Under Tennis at Kings Highway Tennis Club in Darien, brings with him a vast amount of training, experience, and a deep passion for what matters to him the most: it’s players.
10 & under tennis introduces youth to the sport through modified balls and court size to ensure an ease of learning, success and fun. Novice players start with red balls, which are larger, less pressurized and bounce lower and progress through orange and green balls, each offering a slight variation that works with the size of the youth and their skill. Those who graduate from green balls then play with the standard yellow tennis ball.
Although he was introduced to tennis as toddler by his parents, basketball and music dominated Robbins’ interest throughout much of his childhood. However, his summer high school and college job was working an early morning maintenance shift at a local tennis club in his hometown of Indianapolis.
Eventually, he worked his way to assistant head pro and earned his 10 & under professional rating in 10 & under and adult tennis coaching from the US Professional Tennis Registry (PTR). Two of the most reputable 10 & under tennis pros in the country played a huge role in Robbins’ career path. Under their leadership, Butch Staples and Mike Barrell, taught Robbins to become a dependable, honest and accessible teaching pro.
Robbins holds a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed therapist for children and adults when not on the courts. He brings child development expertise onto the courts when working with youth.
He encourages kids to use their imagination and be creative when playing tennis, promising them fun every time they step onto the court. Robbins has a special sense of letting parents know there’s nothing more important to him than their kids.
He feels keeping parents well informed and having an open and trusting relationship ensures the child’s success and parent’s understanding of the 10 & under pathway. Robbins is also part of the Wilson Advisory Staff and his expertise will guarantee kids are playing with the correct racquet size.
Luke comes highly regarded from the New Canaan Field Club where he is the 10 & under tennis director in the summer. A fun fact about Luke; he had a brief stint as a stand up comic and majored in theater performance and music composition. It’s a guarantee kids will have a blast learning to play tennis under his lead.
For more information and to learn about the Kings Highway 10 & under program, Luke will be holding information sessions on the following days: Thursday, Aug. 27 from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 3, from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Kings Highway Tennis Club has nine certified teaching pros to help manage every player’s game from adult novice to competitive league players and 10 & under youth to tournament competitors.
Kings Highway is home to USTA junior tournaments, USTA League matches, grassroots tennis programs and social events throughout the year. To find out more, please visit the club’s website and like Kings Highway Tennis Club on Facebook.com. Kings Highway Tennis Club is located at 98 Old Kings Highway North in Darien.