Lessons

Coach Max is the former Head Tennis Professional of the Southern Village Club tennis program and worked that role from October 2020 through November 2022. He joined the SVC Tennis staff in May of 2015 as a clinic/camp assistant, and later transitioned into the full-time roles of Assistant Tennis Professional and now serves as our Head Tennis Professional. Coach Max is a USPTA Certified Teaching Professional. Born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC, max attended Frank Porter Graham Elementary, Grey Culbreth Middle, and Carrboro High School, where he won 4 NCHSAA state championships at the varsity level. Max has been playing tennis since he was about 10 years old, and competed at the highest levels of the Junior USTA program, achieving top 10 rankings in the state of North Carolina. Coach Max comes to us from the University of Mary Washington, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and played collegiate tennis for 4 years, 3 of which included dual-team NCAA Championship appearances and top 15 rankings in the nation. He has been an integral part of our staff for the last 5 years and is very personable, patient, and kind. Max enjoys working with players of all ages and abilities and excels at sparking excitement for the game of tennis into his students. He is always looking to attract new team members, implement new ideas, and inspire the Southern Village Club teaching staff to grow.

Coach Mike joins the SVC professional team from Wilmington, NC. Mike recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in English and Comparative Literature. Mike has played competitive tennis since he was 12 years old. He has been a competitive national and state tennis player and competed at the highest levels of the Junior USTA circuit, achieving top 10 rankings in the state of North Carolina, top 75 rankings regionally, and top 175 nationally. Mike played varsity tennis in high school (NCISAA and SCISAA), winning a total of 3 state championships. He was also selected to the NCISAA All-State Varsity men’s Tennis Team.

Mike has been a private tennis instructor, high-performance tennis coach, and professional hitting partner. Mike has also worked as a high-performance tennis coach and professional hitting partner at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida. In addition, he has been trained under Rick Macci and Dr. Brian Gordon, Ph.D., (the international swing coach/biomechanics expert).

Mike enjoys working with players of all ages and skill levels and excels at inspiring passion for the game of tennis. He lives to serve others and to make an impact on people’s lives both on and off the court.

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 10 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 and winning two NCHSAA high school championships before focusing more on coaching and school. He is currently a student at UNC Chapel Hill and is working towards a BS in Physics and a BA in Mathematics. Cal enjoys working with players of all ages and levels and loves to help them work hard to achieve their goals.

Coach Sarah joined us in October 2020. Sarah is a junior 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!