Lessons

Coach Nelson has long been a part of the SVC Tennis staff, joining back in 2015 as a clinic assistant and working his way up to his current role as an Assistant Tennis Professional in February 2018, when Nelson obtained his USPTA certification. Nelson was home schooled, growing up in the high level competitive sphere of Florida junior tennis, where he reached the top-50 in the state. Coach Nelson has a great love for the game, a fun, laid-back personality and a special way of driving results from his students. Currently in his first year of law school at UNC, Nelson is with us on a part-time basis. He works with students of all levels and really enjoys working with those who want to work hard, listen, and learn. Fun fact: Coach Nelson plays ambidextrously–hitting just as impressively right and left handed!

Coach Bri joined the SVC Professional team in June of 2020. She comes to the Southern Village Club community from West Palm Beach, Florida. She first picked up a racquet at five years old, like many of our current junior players. Bri began playing USTA junior tournaments at the age of 11 and reached rankings inside the top 30 in Florida in the Girls 12s and 14s division. At 15 years old, she played her first ITF (International Tennis Federation) event.. At 17, she reached the semi-finals of a Grade 4 ITF tournament in Puerto Rico in both singles and doubles. Coach Bri reached as high as 11 in the Florida G18s rankings and 87 in National rankings. She received a full-ride to play college tennis at the Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where she consistently started in singles and doubles. Bri received her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Promotions with a Minor in Nutrition. Coach Bri loves working with players of all ages and ability levels and her goal is to make her players 10% better than the day before. Bri loves working with beginners, intermediates and players on the high performance track and works hard to instill in her players the love and passion for the game that drives her to be the best coach that she can be. She is dedicated to growing and developing as a professional on a daily basis to meet the evolving challenges that the game provides. Bri has recently obtained her USPTA Professional certification in March 2020 and is currently working towards completing the rigorous iTPA Tennis-Specific Performance coursework. Bri also received her TSS certification Tennis Serve Specialist (TSS), obtaining this certification through the Kovacs Academy. Bri loves to read or watch videos on tennis in her spare time and has a deep passion for the game of tennis. Fun fact about Bri: she is the only known player on the SVC staff to hold a match win over a grand slam champion. Bri defeated Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals of a junior tournament when she was 15!

Coach Diego was welcomed to the SVC Tennis Family in October of 2020. He comes to us from Callao, Peru, where he was born and raised. Diego started playing tennis when he was 11 years old and competed at a high level in Peru. He was a multi-sport athlete for his high school, playing tennis, soccer, and the popular Peruvian sport of Fronton. Coach Diego moved to North Carolina in 2017 and began his tennis coaching career working with students in his neighborhood. In 2019, Diego achieved his High-Performance Tennis Instructor Certification through the Professional Tennis Registry. He enjoys working with players of all ages and levels and has an incredible passion for teaching the sport of tennis. Diego believes that the key to success on the tennis court revolves around excellent footwork and he makes it a goal of his to get the best out of each of his students every time they share the court with one another. A fun fact about Diego is that his closest friends call him ‘Josh’ because they believe he looked like Josh Nichols from Drake and Josh when he was younger.

Coach Sarah is one of SVC’s newest Tennis Assistants, joining us in October 2020. Sarah is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Spanish and Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is from Southern Pines, North Carolina and grew up playing USTA and Team Tennis at the varsity level. In 2018, Sarah was named NCISAA 2A Player of the Year. She is currently a member of the UNC Club Tennis Team. Fun Fact: Sarah attended YMCA Camp Cheerio for eight years, six as a camper and two as a counselor. If not for COVID-19, this past year would have been her third year on staff!

Coach Carolina became a member of the the SVC tennis staff in October 2020. Carolina is from Chapel Hill, NC and is currently a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, where she is a member of the UNC Club Team. She has played competitive tennis for the majority of her life and loves teaching and sharing the game with junior players. A fun fact about Carolina is that she spent a month backpacking in the Canadian wilderness last summer!

Coach Cal has been working at SVC since 2017, first working as a stringer, then a camp assistant, and finally a full tennis assistant. Cal has lived in the US for about 8 years now, and has been playing tennis since he was 4 in Scotland. He started competing in USTA tournaments when he was 10, and has played competitively in tournaments and school ever since, reaching top 30 in NC before focusing more on coaching and school. Cal enjoys working with players of all ages and levels, and loves to help them work hard to achieve their goals. A fun fact about Cal is that he has been a member of the SVC tennis program since he was 9 and has been working here since he turned 14! 

Coach Alice became a member of the SVC staff in January 2021. Alice is from Raleigh NC and is currently a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, where is she is a member of the UNC Club Team. She grew up playing USTA junior tournaments reaching top 10 in NC in every age division and top 100 in the Southern Region. She graduated from St. David’s School, winning 6 straight state championships, all state, all conference honors, and 2019 EPIC player of the year. A fun fact about Alice is she’s majoring in English and Peace, War, and Defense and hopes to go to Law school in the future.