310-486-0726
JON NEETER
Born in Bergen County, New Jersey in 1977, Jon Neeter developed a passion for racquet sports at the early age of 11. By the time he was in High School Neeter was a known local standout in the tennis scene. As a junior, Neeter trained under legendary coach Carlos Goffi the former coach of both John and Patrick McEnroe. He won several junior tournaments and used his skills to earn a tennis scholarship at the University of Maryland, an NCAA Division I program. In college, Neeter continued to develop and increase his tennis skills and eventually played #1 Singles and Doubles in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) conference against the top programs in the nation such as Virginia, UNC and Duke. After graduating at the top of his class while earning his degree Sports Marketing and Management, Neeter was offered a position as the Assistant Coach of both men’s and women’s tennis team at the University of Maryland. He also coached at the world renown Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in College Park, MD which is often used as a training facility of USA Olympic Athletes and USTA players including 2022 US Open Semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.
After two years of coaching success in Maryland, Neeter was offered an Assistant Coach position at Duke University, a perennial top 10 powerhouse. Under Neeter’s coaching at Duke, four of his players earned All-American honors and the team was ranked as high as #3 in thenation!These accomplishments lead him to be runner up for regional assistant coach of the year and a nominee for national assistant coach of the year in 2005. Dozens of the junior players Neeter trained have been ranked top 10 nationally and top 100 internationally. He coached Clay Thompson to a #2 national ranking and several national titles. Thompson went on to be the #1 player in college tennis in 2014 at UCLA, and was named senior player of the year. He also trained Deiton Baughman throughout his junior career who reached #1 in the nation in the boy’s 18 and under as a 15-year-old. Baughman went on to compete in the US Open and was a member of the US Davis Cup team, he currently serves as head tennis professional at the Santa Monica Tennis Center. Neeter has been in high demand and has coached around the world since he began coaching in the late 90's.
To date, he has trained and coached over one thousand players and he has also earned additional credentials with the United States Tennis Association. He is certified by the USTA High Performance Coaching Program and a member of PTR (Professional Tennis Registry). Neeter founded the Santa Monica Tennis Center in 2010, where he has played with and assisted several celebs including Britney Spears, Matt Damon, Owen Wilson, Michael Keaton, Dustin Hoffman, Christian Bale, Blake Griffin, and Sidney Crosby.
Jon Neeter is no stranger to the spotlight himself. He has been featured on FOX Sports, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and Yahoo Sports, just to name a few. LESSON RATE: $180
JULIO RIVERA - Director of Pickleball
Julio Rivera developed a passion for racquet sports at the early age of ten. he was a top high school player and a Junior College standout. After college he quickly became a star in the Los Angles professional tennis scene. In 2010 he created the Underground Tennis Movement which is a community of racquet sports athletes with thousands of members and followers.
Rivera has been certified by the USPTA for decades. In 2017, he was awarded the USPTA Pro of the Year.
In late 2018, Rivera became passionate about Pickleball. He became a dedicated and competitive player and is currently ranked #46 in the world on the APP Senior Pro Tour. Rivera earned certification through the IPTPA in 2019.
To date, has coached and trained over one thousand players all over the country. Rivera is also known for training musicians and actors throughout Hollywood including Hilary Swank, Donna Mills, and Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac.
In 2022, he became the Director of Pickleball and the Santa Monica Tennis & Pickleball Center and assisted Jon in opening the largest Private Pickleball facility in Los Angeles.
Ho Nguyen - Pickleball Professional
Ho Nguyen is the president of the Santa Monica Pickleball Club. He oversees their 1,000 plus members and coordinates all of their activities. Ho was born in Vientiane, Laos and immigrated to Newton, North Carolina. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Ho was introduced to Pickleball at Memorial Park, in Santa Monica. He is a PPR Certified Pickleball instructor in 2021 and has helped hundreds of students develop and improve their skills.
His students say that he has a unique way of teaching pickleball, which he calls “Tai Chi Pickleball”. Ho teaches his students to “feel” it in their bodies, developing control and composure which in turn builds the muscle memory to consistently play effective pickleball. Because every student learns and plays in their own unique way, he meets each student where they are and tailors instruction to their needs and goals.
Ho enjoys competing in Pickleball tournaments with my wife and volunteering as the USA Pickleball Ambassador of Santa Monica and loves working with all levels of players from beginners to intermediate and advanced players.
LESSON RATE: $150
AUSTIN KAROSI - Pickleball Professional
From the age of 8 years old, Austin trained to become a top professional tennis player and was one of the top juniors from Southern California. Austin turned professional out of high school after being recruited by Pepperdine, UC Irvine and the United States Air Force Academy.
After training and playing tournaments all over the world, he won his first ATP points in 2009. Austin has been based in Singapore for the past seven years, and is joining SMTC for this summer and fall seasons. Over the years, Austin has trained with many top players such as current WTA #1 and US open champion Angie Kerber, as well as 3 time ATP Grand Slam Winner, Stan Wawrinka.
Austin works with all ranges of tennis players – from children and recreational players to top Athletes. Austin brings his competitive experience acquired from the Professional tennis tour combined with the prestigious, United States Professional Tennis Association Elite (USPTA) coaching background to develop individual training programs to suit each of his clients.
LESSON RATE: $150
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