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“I look forward to meeting and helping our members improve their racquet sport skills as we focus on technique and strategies during private and group lessons,” says Director Evan Austin, “I’m also excited about providing more events, including exhibition matches, social tennis and pickleball events, along with weekly Bocce leagues. I plan to introduce pickleball programming in addition to our thriving tennis programs, and recruit members who would like to be introduced to tennis or pickleball.”
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Evan adds, “Working with other VCC team members, we will be incorporating wellness into our programs, including warmups, and stretching. As a staff, we want to offer playing opportunities for members of all skill levels from beginners to competitive league players. In all our programming, my overriding goal is to make every event a memorable and rewarding experience for our members.”

For over two decades, tennis has been the focal point of Evan Austin’s college and professional universe. He has transitioned from being a collegiate tennis recruit when he was at Barron Collier High School, to serving as team captain at the University of Kentucky, playing professionally, followed by ten years of coaching high performance junior players at several colleges.

Evan attended local schools. He was one of the top tennis juniors in the U.S, reaching the ranking of #4 nationally in Boys 18 and under division in 1999; he was a top five rated Division 1 recruit, attending the University of Kentucky, where the Wildcats were ranked in the top 16 each year he lettered, earning the role of team captain in 2004.

Evan played professionally, earning an ATP ranking in both singles and doubles before beginning his collegiate tennis coaching career in 2006, taking over as Assistant Men’s Tennis Coach at University of Wisconsin. Following a Sweet 16 run in 2006, he became Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Drake University, where he was two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the year. For three years, he served as Head Coach at Fresno State. At Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island SC, he was Director of Tennis Recruitment and a Senior Academy Coach, handling a major portion of College Placement.

In 2017, Evan partnered with his former coach, Vimal Patel, and college teammate, Jesse Witten to run Tough Tennis Academy in Naples, a high-performance junior program focused on college placement. In addition, he worked with competitive adult players and league teams at the academy.

In comparing coaching students and adults, Evan says, “adults play tennis more for enjoyment and various health reasons, knowing it can make a positive impact on their lifestyle. Adults seem to better embrace strategy elements of the game and have a strong sense of accomplishment. With junior players, you see drastic changes in their physicality as they grow and mature. I enjoy fostering development in all levels of players and seeing improvement over time.”

Possessing boundless positive energy, Evan believes that his role is to create positive member experiences for his members. He most enjoys team building at all player levels. In his private time, Evan plays pickleball, golf, and loves boating and traveling with his girlfriend Beth.
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Media Contact:
Marge@LennonCommunications.com
for Vanderbilt Country Club
239-841-0553

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