Tennis Talk
By Sherry Benz
How lucky are we? A second tennis professional at the Villages! Brett Foreman joins Kirsi Kiviniemi as a Village resident and is now holding clinics and lessons for our players. Brett grew up in Southern CA and became an avid tennis player (after being successful at baseball and golf– wow, an all-around athlete!). Brett had the advantage of connecting with high-ranking tennis coaches who pursued him after watching his play, who took him under their wings to gift him with skills for playing and coaching. He began teaching juniors at 20 years of age and it has been a passion ever since.
After 6 years as a coach at AVAC and as a current instructor at SJSR, he is loving the Villages. Brett moved to the Villages in January 2022 after encouragement from his friend, Clayton Krinard, and he says it was a great decision. He has enjoyed meeting Villager tennis players, playing on our great courts and coaching. Did I mention, he has over 10,000 hours of playing and coaching experience!
Brett says the primary element for success is a desire to improve. He doesn’t see limitations, but can work with anyone. He challenges his clients to focus, to raise their tennis IQ. He takes care to break a new skill into progressive steps. Tim Keys has had several lessons and appreciates the fact that Brett takes him through in slow steps (“like a baby with a spoon”), helping him rebuild the basics. Brett likens his teaching somewhat to “pulling thorns from a lion’s paw” – in other words, it feels so much better to get out those imbedded and awful habits! Karen Hillis has really enjoyed her lessons and feels that Brett is building her tennis arsenal – look out!
Brett is available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for lessons. He has a standing clinic on Thursdays, open to all, at 10:30 AM. The clinic (1½ hours) is $25, private lessons are $80/hour. All charges can be billed to your house. Give Brett a call at 408-509-5011 or contact him by email at brett10s@gmail.com.
Listen up … you won’t want to miss the Tennis Mixer on July 15th – lots of fun, lots of mixing! Watch your email for registration information.