Expansion progress and Plans

 General Manager & Staff Professional

Bob Sutherland is the Southern Indiana Tennis Center founder and General Manager. He is USPTA Certified and conducts Adult Clinics (Fast Feeds), junior clinics and private lessons at the SITC.  He has served as a staff pro for nearly a decade. Bob was a 4-year starter for his HS team (2 years #1 singles, Seneca High School, Louisville). Bob is an advocate for local tennis programs and serves as President of the Southern Indiana Regional Community Tennis Association, a local non-profit supporting local tennis initiatives.

Staff Teaching Pro

Robert has over 15 years of combined coaching experience at the high school, collegiate, and staff professional levels. He has 11 years of experience as head coach for Franklin Central and Floyd Central High School.  He has also privately coached 1 IHSAA singles champion and 3 IHSAA doubles runner-up teams.  He was also the Assistant Coach at Marian University in Indianapolis.  He has a wealth of experience at different tennis facilities including Head Pro at Mobile Tennis Center in Alabama, Director of Junior Tennis at Westview Healthplex in Indy, Staff Pro at the IU Tennis Center, and Developmental Coach at IMG Academy. He has privately coached over 50 junior players to collegiate tennis rosters. Robert played college tennis locally 

IU-Southeast in New Albany, IN.

 Tennis Under Ten Director- USPTR Under Ten Certified

Debbie is USPTR certified for Ten & Under Tennis, 11 – 17 year old Youth Tennis, and Adult Development (Associate Instructor).  She has six years experience as a head coach and assistant coach at the high school level.  She has facilitated youth tennis programs partnering with Parks and Recreation and Community Education.  Ten and Under Tennis is a great way for young children to have fun and build their tennis skills.  By modifying the tennis equipment – using smaller nets for the youngest children, reducing the court size, playing with smaller rackets and slower tennis balls, children learn and play at a rapid rate.  10andundertennis.com, netgeneration.com
 

 Staff Teaching Pro 

Gema, originally from Ecuador, was a top 5 female player in her country. Gema came to the US in 2015 on a tennis scholarship at Bluefield University in Virginia. She was a #1 singles and doubles player earning player of the year honors. More recently, Gema served as a tennis coach for Twin City Tennis camps in Minneapolis, MN where she gained experience coaching both junior and adult programs and earned the role of facility director. In 2021, Gema became interim Women's Head Coach at Lindsey Wilson College leading her team to a conference championship and appearances in national championships. She was named Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year while at Lindsey Wilson College.

 Staff Teaching Pro 

Steve has been coaching tennis for over 30 years. Steve owned and operated his own tennis academy for 16 years and coached over 50 juniors to play at the NCAA Division 1 level. As a junior player, Steve was ranked #15 at the same time Jim Courier was ranked #1 in the state of Florida. Steve went on to play for Central Oklahoma, a division 2 school, on a full tennis scholarship and reached a ranking of #12 in the nation. Steve is available for private lessons and works with junior players or adults.

 Staff Teaching Pro 

Jerry is from Milltown, IN; but spent most of his life in Hawaii and has returned home. He has been a USPTA Certified Pro for over 30 years. Most of his professional tennis career has been at military bases and resorts communities. He was a Staff Pro at the JW Marriot Ihilani and the Head Tennis Pro at The Ko Olina Resort on Oahu.

Jerry was the #1 player his Junior and Senior year. He has held top 10 state rankings in Hawaii (Ranked #2 in doubles for the U21 division) and has college wins over a number of D-1 schools and a top 5 Junior College.  Jerry was also a member of the Hawaii Jr. Davis Cup Team.  His collegiate career includes the Hawaii State Jr. College doubles championship. He became a Certified USPTA Pro at the age of 19.

He has worked with both adults and Juniors from all over the world (Vancouver, China, Norway France, Korea and the US) including some that were nationally ranked in their countries/state (Vancouver, Norway and Texas). He has coached at the local club level and High School. As well as players that played at nationally ranked colleges.

He enjoys working with students at all ages and levels but likes to focus on players who want to have fun, be competitive and want to play the game for years to come.

 Staff Teaching Pro

Jim Coomer is a USPTR certified tennis teaching professional with over thirty years experience teaching tennis. Jim is a native of Jeffersonville Indiana and has coached at Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and is currently the Charlestown high schools. He has taught summer clinics for the Parks departments in Clarksville and Jeff and at the University of Louisville tennis camps. Jim has coached numerous tournament level players who played college tennis and are now teaching pros, high school and college coaches. Jim was also the Head Men’s and Women’s  tennis coach at St. Catharine College in Kentucky and an Asst. at Bellarmine University.

SITC Member Services

Becky is a lifelong tennis player and tennis enthusiast. She played #1 doubles all four years of high school and finished 4th in the state of Indiana with her doubles partner during their senior year. 

Becky has worked for companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500s and brings a combination of operational and hospitality experience to the tennis center. At SITC, you will most often find Becky working at the front desk on weekdays or playing in an occasional fast feed.

In her spare time, Becky enjoys hanging out with her husband and two kids as they cheer on their Purdue Boilermakers, hike around Indiana State Parks, and play lots of backyard wiffleball.