Thank you Ron!

Dear VRSTC Members,



As we bring an end to arguably the most bizarre year in our club’s history with the state of the world, “we did it!” We made the most of the situation, and were able to maximize the club experience as best we could.



A critical leader who made that possible – and could perhaps be one of the best seasons for Tennis – is our Tennis Coach, Ron Coleman. THANK YOU RON! With that, I’m sharing the news, that Ron has decided to make 2020 his last year in this role as he heads off to retirement.



Ron has been a steady leader and mentor for our tennis program for 14 years. The hundreds if not thousands of our children that he has introduced to the game of tennis is amazing; not to mention the many other groups he has been part of, ranging from high school coaching, his roles in collegiate tennis and at the professional elite level.

“But Ron, this year was SO great! Why now?”

Ron shared with me that he’d actually been thinking 2020 would be his last year, and he wanted to make sure it would be his greatest. Well Ron, you did it. I could have not been more pleased, and I believe all of you who were a part of it would agree. Let me share my applause for Ron for his 2020 contributions:

He brought a level excitement, flexibility and professionalism in how he managed our tennis programs throughout the entire season.

The modifications he made to our youth league will be changes that we’ll carry on over years to come.

The level of improvement in our players was noticeable and we even got to play matches on our home courts; it was awesome.

The weekly updates to our adult clinics, communications with adult flights and court management was a daunting task. But he kept it current, informative and helpful.

He creatively & thoughtfully figured out how to get an extra 200 new tennis enthusiast on the courts for casual play considering all affected programs.

He did a great job!

I know many of you have known Ron - whether it is through having your child in lessons, on tennis team or being taught to be an assistant coach, coached for adult flights, clinics and private lessons, and there were even a few of you who were lucky enough to play a match with him. Our memories of Ron and his presence at our club and making tennis an integral part of the VRSTC experience will be in our hearts and minds forever.



For me personally, I have enjoyed knowing Ron through various roles – as a member and tennis parent and over the last 4 years, as Ron’s manager. More importantly now, is as my friend. I will miss him greatly and he’s going to leave big shoes to fill.



Please join me in expressing my heartfelt gratitude and respect to Ron, for so many years of faithful service to our club and our members. We thank you, and, we also wish to say THANK YOU to your wife and family, for sharing you with us all of these summers. We wish you the very best in your retirement and look forward to the occasional visit from hot Arizona, as you’re always welcome on our courts.



With sincere thanks,

Bruce Gillespie, Club Manager



PS: If any of you would like to share a fond memory with Ron, please email him at rcole50940@aol.com with your personal message. He’d appreciate hearing from you.