By Brian Coleman
Coaching Spotlight 28
Michael Smookler USPTA Eastern t the beginning of this year, USPTA Eastern ushered in a new era in the organization’s history as Michael Smookler was named its new President. While Smookler is new to the role of President, he takes over the position with a wealth of experience on USPTA boards dating back to 2005. “Our goal is to try and make all of our members proud, and that is our motto for this year: USPTA Proud,” said Smookler. “I’ve tasked everyone on our board to reach out to new members this year, and try to get them to come to our events and conferences. The goal is to get more USPTA coaches involved in everything that we do, because I feel a lot of coaches don’t necessarily know all the things we have to offer.” The USPTA provides a number of important resources for its members including teaching techniques, a job finder tool, specialty courses and more, plus its yearly events and conferences that provide not only education but also a great opportunity to network with other coaches and industry experts. Smookler knows first-hand all the resources the organization provides as he has been a member since he graduated from Lyndon State College in Vermont. There, Smookler was a standout tennis player, serving as its captain in his senior year, and pursued a degree in Tennis Management. His coach and mentor there was Dudley Bell, who would serve as an important inspiration for Smookler. “He was a USPTA icon,” said Smookler. “He was there from the beginning. We were very lucky to have him both as our coach, but also running the tennis management program. The first thing he told me was that every summer, I would have a different internship, which was a
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New York Tennis Magazine • March/April 2022 • NYTennisMag.com
