About Allen

That's me back in the day, playing with a Jack Kramer Pro Staff.

I have been learning, playing, competing, and teaching the game of tennis since I was in middle school. Well sort of ….

It began there because I was cut from the middle school team and told by the coach that maybe I should try a different sport. I have never liked being told what I can’t do, so of course I had to prove him wrong.

I played tennis every day that summer taking as many clinic lessons as I could. At the end of the summer I got to three tennis tournament finals, winning one of them. That fall and winter I played tennis year round taking what clinics my family could afford. One year later I made the JV Tennis team for my high school.

Since that time tennis has been a part of my life. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always there.

I would later make the Varsity squad and my High School would go to the State tournament twice, during my Junior and Senior years. I played tennis year-round playing in USTA tournaments and became a hitting partner for a nationally ranked junior during the summer months. In college I was a non-playing member of the team and later hurt my back during try-outs. After the injury I stopped playing for several years, but later picked up the rackets again and started playing USTA league tennis.

Most recently tennis has once again become more central as my daughter’s interest in tennis increased, and  I became a high school tennis coach and teaching pro.