Chris Karen’s First Service Tennis

Chris is an awesome tennis coach! He not only knows a lot about tennis but he also knows the best ways to coach it!
He works great with all ages and skill levels and sets up fun singles and doubles tournaments every month.
I’d definitely recommend his coaching to anyone looking to improve their game and also for those that have never played the game before!

This summer, I had my two daughters (15 & 13) take tennis lessons with Chris, and it has been a great experience for them. They have been playing tennis for 3+ years, and initially took lessons to learn the foundations of ground strokes when they first started.
Chris is able to take into their current skill levels and efficiently redirect each of my girls towards further development…, taking into consideration that everyone has a different «style» yet should employ a technique that abides to proven methods (as outlined by USPTA)
For me, I am not looking for my girls to get a tennis scholarship, but want them to learn and enjoy this great sport with decent proficiency. Being a competent player is what will motivate them to play and enjoy tennis further in their lives. Also, I believe that just hitting and rallying a tennis ball is like hitting golf balls only at the driving range. Regardless of level, one has to play matches in order to fully appreciate and enjoy the game of tennis to its full. Playing in competition (friendly ones at that) gives motivations and desires to improve and seek to «find» answers.
I believe that winning and losing in competition (in any level) teaches them life skills and how to cope with the disappointments that are sure to come in their lives. Philosophically, the results of winning can be enjoyed by anyone. It is the lessons of «Tough Loss» that really chisels and develops a person’s character. I think tennis is a great teacher of such, more so than «team» sports. The individual loss and «walk» is invaluable to learning about oneself.
Overall, this summer was a great experience with Chris. I plan to have my girls play more competitive tennis (one will play for High School), and the lessons with Chris greatly prepared them.
Chris is very knowledgeable about his craft, and has that rare ability to transfer not only the «What and the how» parts of tennis, but the «why» behind what he teaches.
I took this time to write this review as a result of my appreciation to «good teaching», from one teacher to another. (although a different kind…)
John K.
4^th Grade Teacher.