Experienced tutor in Tennis in San Jose, Ken offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

I have had lessons from Ken for at least 10 years. My goal has always been to be a better tennis than I was 5 years earlier eg better at 45 than 40, 50 than 45, 55 than 50. As the body wears this can only be done via better technique as Ken is constantly working on my technique, from release forehand to making my left hand more dominant on my double-handed backhand. Ken has kept me playing and getting back quickly after 2 spinal surgeries and tearing ligaments in my right hand, he even taught me to play left handed. Ken is also now a good friend, we ask for and give each other advise on everything under the sun.

I loved taking lessons from Ken! He taught us how to improve our skills and enjoy it at the same time! I haven't been able to attend his clinics for some time but I would return in a heartbeat if possible!

Ken, like most tennis pros, makes clinics and lessons fun as well as challenging. And he often has drop-in clinics for up to 20-30 people which he somehow keeps organized. But, I've never had a tennis lesson or clinic from anyone like Ken, who observes each individual's specific challenges to work on and remembers them the next time they show up. My team once took lessons from Ken before we went to playoffs, and after my 15-year layoff from tennis, Ken remembered my name when I suddenly walked on the court at another club where he was then teaching! He fixed my forehand and got me back playing again...he's the ultimate professional, and always shows a positive attitude towards his students. He also thinks about every aspect of the game, both mental and physical, strategic, different situations, etc., so he can help students develop into the best they can be. He's absolutely the best there is!

I've been working with Ken for about 20 years, since I was about 12 years old. Ken is without a doubt the best tennis coach I've ever had and he is one of the best teachers and mentors that I've had in any discipline.

Here are some specific things that make Ken a great tennis coach:

1. He will immediately pinpoint what technical mistakes you are making in your strokes down to the smallest detail:

Maybe you are not following through correctly, or you're on the wrong foot when you hit, or you have the wrong grip, or your body is turned the wrong way, or you swing on your volleys, or your motion on your strokes needs to be corrected, or your toss is off, etc.

Whatever technical improvements need to be made, Ken will immediately pinpoint them and tell you how to correct them. He has a master eye developed over decades of having taught over a thousand students and so he will immediately see what others might not see at all. It might be something small you are not even aware of, and once you correct it can make all of the difference in your game. I've seen people improve after just one lesson with Ken, for just this reason.

2. Ken will explain to you how to correct your mistakes in a way that will "click." The importance of this cannot be overstated. Some coaches can tell you what you did wrong, but they can't explain how to improve it. If they try one approach and the student keeps repeating the same mistake, they will stubbornly continue to repeat the same thing, leading to frustration for the student and the coach.

Ken has an arsenal of analogies and visual aids and ways to explain things that he has developed over the years. Are you an auditory learner? Are you a visual learner? Ken will explain things to you from all sorts of different perspectives until something in your mind clicks and you understand how to correct the mistake that you've been making.

3. Ken has hundreds of drills and games that he has developed and refined down to a science over years of training thousands of students. Each drill will help you develop and improve a distinct skill, and each game will be designed to reinforce the skill in a competitive environment (where it actually counts).

Every great athlete will tell you the exact same thing: practice in the same competitive environment in which you are expected to perform in a match or tournament.

The vast collection of drills and games that Ken has developed accomplish just that: the drill develops the skill, and then the game reinforces the skill in a competitive environment so it will not break down in a match.

4. Ken will train the mental aspect of your game, not just the physical. When I was a younger, for a long time I had a problem of losing to weaker players. These are people that didn't have as good a game as me, but for some reason, when it came down to beating them in a match, I couldn't get the job done.

Ken made me see that it wasn't the weaker players that were beating me, but that I was beating myself. He taught me how to play "high-percentage tennis" and to not beat myself.

He also taught me how to be mentally tough and "defeat the monsters in my mind." This means that you can block out external distractions and what other people are doing or thinking, or the possibility of losing, and focus on what you need to do to have a successful result.

5. There are many intangibles in the game of tennis that don't come down to how to hit a forehand. Ken explained to me that a huge part of your game is not about hitting the ball at all, it's about footwork. Did you know that the pros take 10-12 steps between shots? Most club players only take 3-4. It's realizations like these that most teaching pros have no clue about, but they make a huge difference in your game and your results.

6. Tennis strategy: Should your approach shot be topspin or slice? Should you serve out wide or up the line? To the forehand or to the backhand? You hit a short approach shot, should your subsequent volley be short or deep? When is a good time to change the direction of the ball? Should you hit hard flat balls or high loopy balls? Where should you stand in doubles? When is a good time to poach?

You will not guess the answers to all of these questions and many other tennis strategy questions on your own. You need someone like Ken who has years of experience and is deeply knowledgeable about the game to guide you on what to do in these and other situations that will arise during the course of a match.

7. Positive energy: Ken has amazing positive energy. He will never criticize you in a negative way. All of his instruction is positive and constructive. He makes tennis exciting and fun. He will make you feel good about the game of tennis and make you feel good about yourself. He has been a mentor of mine for many years, and many of the things he says are applicable to other aspects of your work and life, not just tennis. I leave every training session with Ken feeling positive and uplifted.

Ken is an incredible tennis coach. I have been taking lessons from Ken for 20 years, since I was 12 years old. He has taught me technique, footwork, strategy, and the right attitude necessary to succeed in tennis. Ken knows everything there is to know about playing and teaching tennis. He is a very creative teacher and has invented many drills to teach both strokes and match strategy. His unique mnemonic devices have often helped me to remember what to do during match play. When I have a problem with any of my shots, he is able to exactly pinpoint the mistake, and to correct it. He is incredibly passionate about teaching tennis for both beginners and advanced players. He has an infectious positive attitude and has inspired me and many of his other students to succeed. I highly recommend Ken as a tennis coach. No matter what your current skill level, he can help you take your game to the next level.

Ken is not only a great couch, but good person in general. Although he's running a business, he cares more about the passion of the game and seeing the person succeed.

Ken, does a great job with a balance of not talking to much, yet giving needed reminders.

I have never taken a lesson prior to taking one with Ken. I was only going to take one packet from him. However, with Ken's passion for the game and people along with a unique style of teaching, Ken has made me a life long student.

If anyone wants to ask more questions, you are more than welcomed to give me a call. Just ask Ken for my number.

He clearly pointed out my good and bad points. He improved my tennis skill.

I feel so fortunate that I have the benefit of Ken’s world class coaching locally and that he’s happy to work with someone at my level. Just the other day, I turned on Wimbledon Coverage and saw him sitting there next to McEnroe, and there are so many reasons that Ken is paid to teach other coaches how to coach that my challenge here is how to be brief and still do him justice. I’ll start by saying that I came to him an athletic 38 year old who decided to take up tennis after not playing since I was 12 (and I wasn’t good even then). My goal was to get good enough at tennis that it was fun and that I could compete with folks who had played for years. I went from 2.5 to 4.0 in about a year. Everyone has different goals and capabilities. Ken is skilled and interested enough that he can help a recreational player looking to get a little better or a top notch player looking to take their game to the next level. He has an amazing eye for what is going on with a players technique, tactics and strategy and treats root causes not symptoms. I’ll give an example on technique. My swing mechanics are pretty sound. On a given day when I’m not playing well, another coach may give me tips on how to fix my stroke, which generally doesn’t help and may make me worse. In a way the other coach is right, my swing mechanics are off at the moment but Ken recognizes my swing is getting awkward because I’m seeing the ball late. Rather than cluttering my mind with more noise about physical technique that distracts me even more, he gives me some tips to help me see the ball early and boom my strokes fall into place!
1). Ken has an amazing eye for specifically seeing what is going on with a given player
2). He doesn’t overwhelm players with more tips than they can process at once. He recognizes that telling people everything there is to know about tennis isn’t how we learn and improve, so he helps people focus on bite size elements in the right order for them.
3). Ken makes it positive, fun and active. I keep going to his Thursday and Saturday group clinics partly to keep my game tuned up, but mostly because I enjoy it as much as a tennis match and I get an even better work out.
4). After all these years, Ken is still learning which keeps it fresh for him and his students.

I hope this review is helpful and that you enjoy the process of improving your game as much as I have!

Ken is absolutely the best! Whenever I need help getting back he can fix me up and make it fun again!
Thanks Ken!

I feel so fortunate that I have the benefit of Ken’s world class coaching locally and that he’s happy to work with someone at my level. Just the other day, I turned on Wimbledon Coverage and saw him sitting there next to McEnroe, and there are so many reasons that Ken is paid to teach other coaches how to coach that my challenge here is how to be brief and still do him justice. I’ll start by saying that I came to him an athletic 38 year old who decided to take up tennis after not playing since I was 12 (and I wasn’t good even then). My goal was to get good enough at tennis that it was fun and that I could compete with folks who had played for years. I went from 2.5 to 4.0 in about a year. Everyone has different goals and capabilities. Ken is skilled and interested enough that he can help a recreational player looking to get a little better or a top notch player looking to take their game to the next level. He has an amazing eye for what is going on with a players technique, tactics and strategy and treats root causes not symptoms. I’ll give an example on technique. My swing mechanics are pretty sound now. On a given day when I’m not playing well, another coach gives me tips on how to fix my stroke, which generally doesn’t help and may make me worse. In a way the other coach is right, my swing mechanics are off at the moment but Ken recognizes my swing is getting awkward because I’m seeing the ball late. Rather than cluttering my mind with more noise about physical technique that distracts me even more, he gives me some tips to help me see the ball early and boom my strokes fall into place!
1). Ken has an amazing eye for specifically seeing what is going on with a given player
2). He doesn’t overwhelm players with more tips than they can process at once. He recognizes that telling people everything there is to know about tennis isn’t how we learn and improve, so he helps people focus on bite size elements in the right order for them.
3). Ken makes it positive, fun and active. I keep going to his Thursday and Saturday group clinics partly to keep my game tuned up, but mostly because I enjoy it as much as a tennis match and I get an even better work out.
4). After all these years, Ken is still learning which keeps it fresh for him and his students.

I hope this review is helpful and that you enjoy the process of improving your game as much as I have!

He fixed my backhand , and made me overall better player

Ken can pick up exactly what you need to tweek. Super observant. He helped me break some very bad habits. Very good at enhancing your strengths and strategizing. Also integrates the mental side of tennis.

Very professional, with a very good sense of observation and very good tips to improve your game. He knows how to make sure you have the basics before building the next steps.
He helped me greatly improve mu game