Prem

I have been playing competitive tennis since I was 8 years old. Now I’m 18, hold a 10.4 UTR, and have even won some Men’s Open tournaments in the New England region. I first met Jason when he was a pro at Weston Racquet Club. I was in high school at the time and used to go to clinics at the club. I first got to know Jason because he would allow me to stay after the clinic to hit with him while he would give me instruction. That nature - his intrigue about and care towards a player’s development - is something that has remained unchanged throughout my time knowing him.

When I started working with Jason again close to the end of my time in high school and was able to spend more time with him on court compared to our quick after-clinic sessions, I truly got a grasp of his unique coaching style and thought process regarding the game. When first starting to work with him, we focused a lot on my serve, which was the area of my game I thought needed the most work. Jason provided both simple and more complex tweaks to my serve, ranging from my pre-serve posture to where I begin my service motion, which allowed me to solidify my motion and make it more consistent (or accurate as Jason would say). We also worked on changing the direction of my tossing hand during my serve, which, within literally two days, increased the accuracy of my down-the-line serve tremendously. Working with Jason during my senior season of high school tennis cumulated in going 14-1 for the season and making it to the finals of the State Open tournament.

Jason’s seemingly small fixes can now be seen throughout all aspects of my game. His endless anecdotes about his time working with top juniors and professionals on the tour gave me a useful top-down perspective for understanding the game and how I could get closer to that level. As I began my own coaching journey, first working at Weston and then private coaching on my own, it cannot be overstated how much I use his expertise on a daily basis with my students. Furthermore, Jason, no matter how much knowledge and coaching experience he has, has always been open to my questions and disagreements on the court and explained or adapted his coaching to fit me and my game, which I think is the single most important quality to have in a tennis coach. But, most importantly, Jason has always remained that person who was willing to spend extra time with me in those clinics long ago, a testament to his character that speaks louder than any adjective I could use. As I prepare to begin my college tennis career at Johns Hopkins University, I can leave knowing that I am ready to compete at the elite college level because of the work Jason has done to improve my game.