(College Park, Md.) January 8 – The Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), the world-class tennis training center in College Park, Md., today announced that Vesa Ponkka, Senior Director of Tennis at JTCC, was named Junior Tennis Champion of the Year by Tennis Industry magazine.
Ponkka was honored for his approach to teaching junior tennis and belief that tennis coaches have to look at the individual player’s needs. He has been coaching junior tennis for nearly 30 years and has been with JTCC since 1999.
“Vesa has been the driving force behind JTCC’s approach and philosophy in training and coaching our students,” said Ray Benton, CEO of JTCC. “We congratulate him on this great honor. He is a leading voice for junior tennis and specifically in the success of our program, and we are honored that he is a part of the JTCC team.”
Ponkka has received numerous honors for his work and commitment to junior tennis. In 2011, he was selected as the 2011 USOC National Developmental Coach of the Year. He also holds PTR, USPTA, and USTA High Performance certification. His students have won numerous professional and national titles, achieved the #1 ITF Junior World Ranking, several #1 USTA National Rankings and NCAA All-American honors.
“It is an honor to be recognized by Tennis Industry magazine,” said Ponkka. “At JTCC, we work hard to not only to be our students’ teachers and coaches, but also to act as their mentors. We aim to teach our students the importance of being a winner both on and off the court.”