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SKILLMAN, N.J. — The USTA and ITA announced today that Brigham Young University Head Men’s Tennis coach Brad Pearce, has been named the national winner of the USTA/ITA Campus and Community Outreach Award and Derrick Racine, the Men’s and Women’s Head Tennis Coach at the University of West Florida is the national winner of the USTA/ITA Campus QuickStart Provider of the Year Award. Both coaches will be honored by the ITA and the USTA on Saturday, December 18th at the ITA Coaches Convention being held at the Naples Grande Resort and Spa in Naples, Fla., during the ITA Welcoming and Awards Banquet.

The USTA/ITA Campus and Community Outreach Award honors ITA Head and Assistant College Coaches who provide a leadership role in promoting, organizing or participating in campus and community tennis programming that encourage tennis participation and that support the different USTA programs that includes: Campus Showdowns, Campus Kids’ Days, coaches who are recognized as Campus QuickStart providers, coaches who assist with the Tennis On Campus program, as well as coaches who administer other recreational tennis programs on campus or in the local community. The USTA/ITA QuickStart Provider of the Year Award recognizes coaches who have worked hard to bring the 10 & Under tennis and the QuickStart format to their campus. The USTA list of criteria to become a QuickStart Provider includes: 1) hosting free/low cost QuickStart festivals on campus, 2) hosting (or have attended) a USTA QuickStart training, 3) using QuickStart playing format on campus, 4) hosting a USTA sanctioned 10 & Under or 8 & Under tournament, 5) using QuickStart in the Adopt-a-school program, 6) involved in a 10 & Under JTT program, and 7) have agreed to or have already installed permanent QuickStart lines on campus tennis courts.

“The ITA is extremely honored to recognize Brad and Derrick for their individual efforts in promoting the values and prosperity of college tennis both on campus and within the community” says ITA Executive Director David A Benjamin. “We strongly believe that the campus and community outreach and QuickStart programs are highly valuable for varsity college tennis and it is our hope that all of our coaches will be inspired by these efforts and will also get involved.” “The USTA is very proud of the contributions these outstanding coaches have made on their campuses and within their local communities,” says Tim Russell, Chair of the USTA Collegiate Varsity Committee. “The passion and leadership of these extraordinary individuals demonstrates their commitment to assisting in the development of young collegiate players.” This year’s national winners were selected from a group of USTA Sectional winners determined this fall. This awards program, which began in 2003, was open to over 2,000 ITA head and assistant coaches at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College levels. Brad Pearce is in his 10th season as a head coach and in his eighth as Head Coach of the BYU men’s tennis program. Brad has been hosting USTA/ITA Campus Showdowns for the past 5 years. These tournaments have included collegiate players, junior players, local pros, and ex-tour players like himself (Pearce, a 2009 ITA Men’s Hall of Fame inductee, won nine titles on the Pro Tour in the nineties). Pearce has worked closely with Linda Vincent, Executive Director of the Utah Tennis Association to provide capstone events for their junior development training program, consisting of the 3-day format showdowns in the fall and the 1-day format showdowns in the spring. With the recent introduction by the USTA/ITA of a formal Campus Kids Day, Pearce, who also hosted two USTA/ITA Campus Kids’ Day events last season, has been conducting similar initiatives long before the formal introduction of this program. For the past three seasons, every kid present for a BYU home match is invited to participate in an on-court contest for prizes. The next step for Pearce is to administer a casting call from local elementary schools to try-out to sing the National Anthem prior to team introductions. In addition to teaching “Beginning Tennis” classes, hosting Campus Showdowns, and Campus Kids’ Days, Pearce has also motivated his program to get involved in various community-related service projects through the BYU Cougar Council. Team activities have included Habitat for Humanity, United Way and an annual sub-for-Santa project. Derrick Racine enters his 17th coaching season, spending the last 12 years at the helm of the Men’s and Women’s tennis programs at West Florida. Racine, much like Pearce, has been one of the proactive pioneers in the USTA/ITA Campus Programs. Last year alone, Racine played host to a USTA/ITA Campus Kids’ Day event and two USTA/ITA Campus Showdowns which included participation from college players, local juniors, local adults and even four players from Australia. However, his most notable contributions have been in with the USTA/ITA QuickStart program. Racine’s QuickStart work includes hosting tournaments for age group divisions, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-10 through a weekly program called “QuickStart Argos”, which currently has about 30 participants on campus each week. This was made possible with West Florida’s agreeing to install QuickStart lines permanently on their campus courts. To kick off QuickStart Argos, Racine hosted a free carnival and clinic session as well as a USTA QuickStart Workshop that included numerous participants from across the Gulf Coast. To further spread the word of QuickStart to the local youth, Racine’s created a program that reaches out to nearly eight local elementary and middle schools, demonstrating the QuickStart formats during their P.E. classes. His involvement in the QuickStart program has also made him a natural choice in helping assemble teams for the USTA Junior Team Tennis. Racine also organized a program for those already on campus, administering a group of free lessons open to all West Florida faculty and staff, through a six week program with a lesson once per week, encouraging everyone to additionally set up a match once per week outside of the clinic.

USTA/ITA Campus and Community Outreach Award

USTA/ITA QuickStart Provider of the Year Award