Tyler Gibson

Tyler has been teaching and coaching tennis for 24 years. He has coached USA Junior Team Tennis, USTA Junior & Adult singles and doubles, boy’s high school and Division I Men’s & Women’s tennis. All ages and levels receive the same thing. A passion for the sport that is conveyed through stroke technique, footwork and understanding the geometry of singles and doubles. Tyler specializes in doubles positioning and strategy.

“Tennis has brought me all the good things in life! Spirit, a good work ethic, respect and peace.”

Tyler Gibson
USPTR
Head Tennis Professional @ Simsmore Tennis LLC
tgtennis@gmail.com

Jim Whiting

Jim hit his first tennis ball in the summer of 1968 and has been hooked ever since.  Honing his skills against a backboard at a public tennis facility at Bronxville, NY, he went on to play college tennis at the University of Georgia, a Division I school consistently in the top 5 nationally.

Jim’s professional career began in 1980 at the (now) Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY, home to the US Open, where he worked for Vitas Gerulaitis, Sr.  It was at the NTC where he was, in addition to his teaching responsibilities, a practice partner to the greats of the game at the time, including Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Vitas Gerulaitis and Billie Jean King.

After many years teaching juniors in New York, Jim moved to Connecticut where he served as Director of Tennis for the JCC of Greater New Haven for six years before finding a home in the Farmington Valley where he took the position of Tennis Director at the Hopmeadow Country Club in 2003.

Claudia Berns

Claudia began playing competitively in 2000 after taking a long hiatus raising her two children.  Within 5 years she went from a 3.0 to a 4.5 with a 79% winning percentage.  In 2005 she obtained her USPTR certification and has been changing people’s lives and tennis games ever since.  Claudia coaches three adult USTA teams and is the co-captain of Simsmore’s USA Junior Tennis Teams.  The 14 and under junior team made it to sectionals two years ago and won states this past season.  She has taken both adults and juniors from social players to active participants on high school and USTA teams.  She continues to play and enjoy the game as much as possible.  Claudia has managed TGTennis for the past 3 years and has been the General Manager of Simsmore Tennis since 2003.

Ryan McGuire

Ryan has been a tennis player since age 4, and he’s accomplished a lot in the ensuing 22 years.  As a member of Hall High’s high school tennis team, Ryan was Connecticut State Champion in Doubles in the year 2000!  He went on to play college tennis at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.  Over the last six year, Ryan has coached tennis at a number of venues, including Tumblebrook Country Club, the Jewish Community Center’s Swim and Racquet Club, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  Earlier in 2008, Ryan became a Certified Professional Tennis Registry Instructor.

Ryan has also worked in tennis retail, with experience at West Hartford’s Racquet Koop, where he learned the ancient art of racquet stringing.

Kelly Berry

Kelly has been a Certified Pro (USPTA) for 25 years, all in New England.  In addition to her teaching, Kelly also competed for a number of years, reaching a rank of #2 in New England for Womens 35’s (singles and doubles), and #1 in New England for Mixed Doubles 35’s!  In Women’s 40’s, Kelly reached National rankings of #22 in singles and #13 in doubles!  Amongst many honors, Kelly was selected to represent the USA in the Friendship Cup (against Canada) for 35’s and 40’s.

Her coaching experience includes 10 years at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, a #1 team in New England.  She’s been the assistant varsity coach at Trinity College, and Assistant Camp Director at Judy Dixon’s All Womens Camp in Amherst, MA for 10 years.  Even our friends from Oregon, Nike, honored Kelly by making her one of the first female teaching pros that they sponsored in New England.