Laura Rizzo, Head Coach - USPTA Tennis Pro
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Laura's philosophy:
Laura sees tennis as an opportunity to enjoy life and to cultivate life skills through the great game of tennis. Laura strives to make tennis accessible to everyone. Elite players or the financially advantaged have dominated the sport up until the recent past, but today, tennis has the opportunity to reach much farther. The life skills that we attribute to tennis can be leveraged beyond the court--perseverance, success in the face of adversity, performance under pressure, and sportsmanship are some great examples.
Laura's background:
Laura's tennis history spans over 20+ years of playing and teaching tennis in both competitive and recreational settings with players of all ages and abilities. Laura played 4 years of collegiate tennis at Kalamazoo College where she also earned her secondary teaching certificate. Laura spent several years teaching high school Spanish and coaching high school tennis. It was during that period that she became a certified USPTA pro. Laura brings her professional teaching experience onto the courts, in the design of lesson plans targeted meet the developmental needs of the children on court.
Laura Today:
Laura draws on her personal and professional experiences to develop tennis programming that helps children, families, and individuals of varying abilities to learn tennis, and to meet the challenges that we face in our daily lives. Luv All Tennis demonstrates Laura's commitment to her passion. You'll see it on and off the court. Look for her teaching her own Cardio Tennoga, a cardio-yoga fusion, or mentoring aspiring players through Mom and Me tennis and USTA's exciting new format, QuickStart tennis.
Mackenzie Miller, Director of Parks and Recreation
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mackenzie has worked with Luv All Tennis for over ten years and has just recently taken over the role of Director of Parks and Recreation. Mackenzie graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 and spends her days working in the financial field. She spends her evenings and weekends out on the tennis courts teaching tennis to both youth and adult players as well as running our parks and recreation program behind the scenes. She can't wait to work with players of all ages both on and off the court for this upcoming season and years to come!
Trained Instructional Team
Randy Kazdan, USPTA Professional
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Randy has worked at the Beverly Hills Club and the Grosse Pointe Hunt club. He has also held summer positions at the Grosse Pointe Club, Academy of the Sacred Heart and Woodside Athletic Club. He was the Head Varsity Coach for Boys and Girls at Birmingham Groves, and an assistant for the University of Liggett High School Teams.Randy specializes in working with kids who are striving to play U.S.T.A. tournaments and/or who play High School varsity tennis.
Jim Slaughter
Jim has a wealth of experience coaching and playing tennis. He played college tennis for Western Kentucky University where he also received his education degree. Jim teaches and coaches the boys' varsity team at U of D High School. He also is the girls' varsity tennis coach at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Jim has won three State Championships, 2009 boys, 2013 and 2015, girls. For two consecutive years (2013 & 2014), Jim has been named the MHSTeCA/MHSCA "Coach of the Year." Jim heads the Inter-Club tennis team for Red Run Golf Club, which is run by Luv All Tennis.
Ann Gladstone
Ann has been with the Luv All Team for three years and has enjoyed every minute! She has been playing tennis since she was in the fifth grade and played varsity tennis for four years at Shrine Catholic High School. She wants to continue tennis as her lifelong sport. Ann luvs to work with kids of all ages but, her favorite class is pee-wee. You can find her teaching this year at Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, and Red Run. Hopefully, she will see you out on the courts!
Derek Paquette
Derek has been with Luv All tennis for over 4 years. Derek was previously the Head Pro for the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando Florida as well as teaching at the Michigan Athletic Club in East Lansing. Derek specializes in junior players looking to play tournaments or high school tennis. He also enjoys working with the adult player either beginner or advanced. Derek has held certifications with the USPTA, USPTR as well as the USRSA. He is also the stringer for Luv All tennis. If you need your racquet repaired please contact Derek. Derek is looking forward to seeing everyone out on the court!
