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Tennis Racket and Ball

meet the pros

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JAY MORGAN

Executive Director

Jay is the son of the club’s founder Steve Morgan, became the club manager in 1981 and has been the South Barrington Park District Executive Director since 2007. His playing career includes four years at Barrington High School (1968-1972) and four years at Bradley University. Jay has been a USPTA member for over 30 years. Contact Jay at jmorgan@sbpd.net

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PAUL BURRUS

Tennis professional

Paul is USPTA certified and has been teaching tennis since 1974. He has held the Head Pro position at Barrington Hills Country Club, Glen Ellyn Racquet Club and was Director of Tennis at The South Barrington Club from 1980 to 2008.

He has been the Club Manager since 2008. Paul played four years of collegiate tennis at Illinois State University. Paul works with all skill levels, travel teams and leagues. Contact Paul at pburrus@sbpd.net

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KURT KOPP

director of racquet sports / club manager

Kurt is excited to be back at South Barrington to see familiar faces and meet lots of new people. Kurt has been involved in the tennis industry for over 20 years and currently holds a USPTR certification in 10u, High Performance and Senior Development tennis. For the past 5 years Kurt has been the Director of Tennis at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Dayton, Ohio. During his time at Five Seasons, Kurt established The Five Star Tennis Academy as a pathway for junior tennis players to develop to their fullest potential. Kurt also developed The Kids Club Program. This is designed for kids aged 5 – 12 to learn the basics of tennis in a six week period. Since 2015 he has had over 350 kids participate in the Kids Club. Kurt also works extensively with the GMVTA and USTA tennis teams for the club. Kurt was also the volunteer assistant coach for the University of Dayton men’s and women’s tennis teams. He was instrumental in helping Jordan Benjamin (a U of D player) become the A10 player of the year, a national ranking of #77 in the country and making it to the NCAA singles tournament. Jordan qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2018 was the first time a University of Dayton player had qualified. Before his position at Five Seasons, Kurt served as volunteer assistant coach for the University of Illinois women’s tennis team.
In his spare time, Kurt still plays competitive tennis. In 2018, he and his partner, Matt Brothers, won the Men’s 40 Indoor National Doubles title and finished the year ranked #2 in the country for the Men’s 40’s Doubles.  Kurt has two sons, Brayden and Ian Kopp. Brayden is 18 years old and will be attending Wittenberg University in the fall where he will play tennis and study sports management. Ian is 16 and will be a junior in high school. Ian currently plays baseball for Bellbrook High School and has successfully started his own business in Digital Marketing.
Kurt’s philosophy of teaching tennis is a technical approach combined with a positive attitude, FUN, and teaching how to resolve problems on court whether you play tennis competitively or just for fun. He also likes to include a good workout during a lesson. Contact Kurt at kkopp@sbpd.net

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RANDY PANAGOPOULOS

tennis professional

Randy was a three time State qualifier in High School – top 16 in state in both singles and doubles. He lettered in Tennis at Northern Illinois University from 1984-1989 and played USTA professional satellite circuit summer of 1993. Randy started teaching tennis in 1990 as apprentice Pro under USTA Hall of Fame Coach Jack Sharpe at the Aurora Tennis Club, he also coached Northern Illinois Tennis Association Boy’s Junior Davis Cup Team from 1990-1992.  He was ranked Number 1 in Northern Illinois Tennis Association Men’s Open in 1989, ranked Number 1 in Chicago District Men’s Open 2000, ranked Number 1 in Chicago District Men’s 35 Division 2001. Randy is USPTA certified, and senior staff pro at the South Barrington Club with 25 years of service.  Contact Randy at rpanagopoulos@sbpd.net

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Bill Schmidt

tennis professional

Bill has been teaching tennis since 1996 and at the South Barrington Club since 2008.  He played Division I college tennis for the University of Illinois at Chicago where he also earned degrees in Kinesiology and Business Management.  Bill has recently held the Chicago District and Midwest Section number one ranking in mixed doubles in the open division.                                   Contact Bill at bschmidt@sbpd.net

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Tanya Haber

tennis professional

Tanya has been working in the tennis industry for over 20 years as a tennis professional and league coordinator. She has coached college at the NCAA Division 1 and 3 levels. Tanya played college tennis at DePaul University. She is a former elementary school teacher who has a masters in education.Tanya has taught adult and juniors at all levels.  She has 2 children who both play in USTA tournaments. Contact Tanya at thaber@sbpd.net

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Yohan Jacob

tennis professional

Yohan is USPTR certified and has over 25 years of teaching and playing experience. As one of our part time tennis pros, Yohan teaches both adults and children of all skills and abilities in the evening and on weekends.

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STEPHEN BROWN

interim Director of Platform TEnnis
 

Steve grew up a player in the SBC program as a junior competing in many tournaments and a competing on the Lake Zurich Varsity Tennis team. He has held a high ranking of 34 in the Men’s Open- Chicago Singles division. Steve has also recently become a very active Platform Tennis participant in the winters. Contact Steve at sbrown@sbpd.net

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Kyle Tomaska

DIRECTOR OF JUNIOR TENNIS

Kyle Tomaska is a state qualifying tennis player that played for Palatine High School. He is a USPTA certified tennis pro, and has been in the industry for over 20 years. During that time he has instructed many league champions, high school state qualifiers, and college athletes.  Contact Kyle at ktomaska@sbpd.net

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Alex Boshell

DIRECTOR OF JUNIOR TENNIS

Alex Boshell
Alex started playing tennis at the age of 12 and quickly fell in love with the game.  He played in tournaments as a jr and high school.  As a senior, he won both sectionals and state in doubles.  He played college tennis at Texas Lutheran University.  In 1984, Alex began coaching and sharing his passion for tennis with others.  Coaching highlights: 1994 - Head Pro at Westmoreland Country Club, 1998 - Tennis Director at Highland Park Country Club, 2003 - Head Pro at Evanston Golf Club, 2005 - Jr director at the Higueras/Gorin Tennis Academy in Sacramento, California, 2022- Jr Tournament Director at South Barrington Club.    In 2005, he worked with Dmitry Tursunov, ATP top 20, while living in Sacramento, California.  He worked alongside top ten Pro and current USTA Jr 
National Development Director, Jose Higueras. He is the Jr Tournament Director and a coach at SBC where he coordinates tournaments for different ages, levels and abilities in jr tournament competition.  Contact Alex at aboshell@sbpd.net

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Piotr Lada

Tennis Professional

Piotr brings a well-rounded tennis background to SBC. He graduated with a Bachelor in Science in Biology with a minor in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he played division 1 tennis for the Flames. A certified Tennis Performance Trainer through the International Tennis Performance Association and certified in Functional Movement Screen Level 1, Piotr has continued to expand his knowledge of sport and tennis. Previous experiences include: Five Seasons at Northbrook, where he helped lead the Chicago Super Excellence boys program; River Trails; Hinsdale Golf Club; and training/coaching at multiple academies, and coaching at a USTA national camp. Piotr actively plays professionally on the ITF tour. He believes that a player’s development must be multi-faceted: as a tennis player, an athlete, and as a person.

Contact Piotr at plada@sbpd.net

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Lisa Pearson

Tennis Professional

Lisa learned how to play tennis at South Barrington Club at the age of 4. She attended Bowling Green State University and 
played four years of collegiate tennis while earning her degree in Elementary Education.  Shortly after college, she moved to 
San Diego and taught tennis/pickleball at the Rancho Bernardo Swim and Tennis Club for the past 20 years. Recently her 
family moved back to Barrington. Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband Ryan, daughter Bailey, son Levi, and dogs
Daisy and Luna. As a family they enjoy being active, spending days at the lake, and adventuring outdoors.

Contact Lisa at lpearson@sbpd.net
 

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