Gerry Berkheimer, USPTA Director of Tennis at Vero Fitness

TEACHER

  • 24 years as Tennis Director at the Vero Fitness.

  • 29 years as Tennis Director at clubs and resorts in Florida, Texas, and Michigan.

  • 7 seasons as Head Pro at indoor facilities in Indiana and Kentucky.

  • 18 summers as Tennis Director at summer junior camps in Maine and New York.

  • 5 years coaching Division 1 tennis at the University of Kentucky.

  • Worked with over 15 top 300 players in the world across 35 years and 1 top 30 player-Susan Sloane.

  • USPTA ranking-#1-Elite Pro for 31 years.

  • Speaker at the USPTA convention 2003.

  • USTA clinician with Nick Bolletieri, Vic Braden, and Dennis Van de Meer.

  • Over 28,000 kids and 13,000 adults trained in 42 years.

 

PLAYER

  • 55 years as a player.

  • #1-Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tennessee-1969-1973

  • #1-Carson-Newman College-JeffersonCity, Tennessee-1973-1977

  • Collegiate All-American in singles and doubles.

  • 1 & ½ years on the Satellite Pro Circuit.

  • #2-Florida 25’s singles-1986.

  • National Finalist 35’s singles in St. Louis-1990

  • #1 Open Division singles in Kentucky-1990 & 1991

  • Won the 1st King of the Hill Open Division tournament at Timber Ridge in 1996.

  • Won USPTA Doubles at Sawgrass-2002, Ibis-2003, and Ormond Beach-2003

  • Ranked #1 in Florida 45’s in 2002.

  • Played local Vero Beach Tennis Club Exhibitions from 1992-2014.

  • Won 339 playing trophies and awards.

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OTHER FACTS

  • Owner of Berkheimer’s Tennis Services from 1987-2005-Managing, Consulting, and Pro Placement.

  • Have run over 250 tournaments including one for $5,000 and one for $8,000.

  • National T.V. debut with Vic Braden and 3 ½ year old tennis prodigy in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1981.

  • Wrote 19 National and Sectional tennis articles.

  • Ran 9 12-hour Tennis Marathons and 2-24 hour Tennis Marathons for Charity…..and, yes, I was in them both the entire time……:)

  • Hold Triple Doctorate in Tennis-Managing, Teaching, and Playing.

  • Instructed inmates at a medium security prison in Lexington, Kentucky-1990

  • Taught a blind music studio owner to hit tennis strokes in Lexington, Kentucky-1991

  • A 30.2 gallon blood donor.

  •  Started a Crisis Center my junior year in high school and worked it through college. 1972-1977.

  • 3 years with Foster Care in Lexington, Kentucky. 1989-1991. Had one F.C. child for a year.

  • 18 years with Youth Guidance mentoring kids in Vero Beach, Florida. 1997-2015

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USTA pros and cons

 

Gerry’s Tennis Philosophy