Skelton: Old Man River of Teaching Pros
Canadian Alan Skelton had just returned from playing the European circuit in September 1968 and wasn’t looking for a job. But he got a call to interview for tennis director at the new Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club in San Francisco, one of his favorite places.
“After I did the interview and on the way back to the airport they asked me when I could start,” Skelton said recently at the club. “That was a surprise. I had to think. I didn’t have the game or the name to make big bucks playing tennis, and I loved San Francisco. So two days later I took it. Now, I just feel so lucky.”
That was 41 years ago. Skelton, 65, has been tucked away in the financial district near the wharf as tennis director at the Gateway ever since. He believes he owns the longest, continuous teaching-pro tenure at any club in NorCal. “And I’ve got the shortest commute,” Skelton adds with chuckle. He lives in an apartment a drop shot away. “I take an elevator and cross a street.”
Skelton’s urban oasis, nestled against high rises to the west and the Bay on the east, is on prime real estate. An office wall map of the Monte Carlo tennis club near the Mediterranean Sea, site of an ATP Masters event, is his daily reminder. “Our club has the second most expensive land that’s dedicated to tennis,” Skelton says.
The Gateway is best known to Bay Area fans for featuring the world’s best players in the early ‘70s. The Pacific Coast International, then played in the East Bay, nevertheless sent some noon and evening matches over to the Gateway as an added attraction for the city’s fans. Bleachers were set up and crowds of 350 and more watched players such as Billie Jean King and Rod Laver.
Another historic event was the pro invitational for NorCal’s top men and women — one match was played each Wednesday noon, April through October. The unusual event ran 27 years and at its peak drew 300 spectators.
When Skelton started, the club had five courts. The good-spirited, 6-foot-4 bear of a man taught 8-to-10 hours a day. People were still using wood racquets and the two-handed backhand was new and controversial.
Technology overhauled the game and the club grew with the times. Four more courts were added in ‘92, and later more pools and a fitness center. The club is leased and operated now by Western Athletic Clubs.
Skelton changed with the times. “The two-handed backhand makes it easier for some people,” he says.
Thousands of lessons made him realize “everyone’s different” so he fitted lessons and any advice that’s sought to the person he’s teaching. Some pupils started calling him “the doctor.”
“It’s not so difficult to be a tennis teacher,” Skelton says. “Anybody can go out and do it, maybe with a gift of gab. But it’s not so easy to be a tennis pro. And tennis pros have come a long way.”
A couple of days before, he had been astounded beste online casino by how well a woman pupil progressed. In just 15 minutes she learned how to throw a ball properly, the linchpin for achieving a proper serve, possibly the most difficult stroke for a woman.
The rush Skelton gets from such responses fuels him every day, and pupils obviously value his enthusiasm. One man has been taking a weekly lesson from him for 35 years. Another has been taking three lessons a week for more than 25 years.
Now Skelton spends four hours a day teaching and the rest of his time promoting the Gateway’s tennis programs. The club’s future continues to be cloudy because a developer wants to put market rate condominiums on part of the site and is moving his proposal through the city’s red tape. But Skelton says he’s taking one day at a time, rolling with the punches and has no retirement plans.
And what has he learned over four decades?
“I learned to love people,” Skelton says. “I love the interaction or I wouldn’t do it. I’ve had people from every walk of life learning from me, and I’ve learned from them and some have become friends.”
Dons Finish 3rd in West Coast Conference
The USF Dons finished third in the WCC behind the play of No.1 player Tommy Tu, the team’s highest finish since ‘06 when Tu was a freshman.
The Dons were 6-3 in the conference dominated by Pepperdine and University of San Diego. Overall, the Dons were 9-12. In recent years coach Peter Bartlett has been strengthening the Dons dual playing schedule by adding non-conference Pac-10 teams, and that experience is paying off.
“Our third place finish is huge for our program,” said Bartlett. “There is a large difference between Pepperdine, San Diego and USF programs along the lines of budget, funding and staffing.”
Tu, a senior, went 13-8 for the season and made the All-WCC First team in singles. He was a second team selection in ‘08 and ‘07. Tu reached No. 95 nationally during the season and finished at No. 103, the second Don to achieve a ranking in recent years.
In doubles, Tu and Asaf Cohen went 8-5 for the season and made the All-WCC second team. They ranked No. 87.
In Brief
Youth Tennis Advantage got a boost April 19 when Friends and Family Day at SFTC raised $1,536 for the Bay Area youth program. Some 150 players amused themselves at various games outdoors on the roof courts and enjoyed a BBQ. One game was a one-point tournament — win the point and advance in a single elimination. According to Tennis Programs Coordinator Claudia Vlasak it proved propitious for one girl who always chose to receive and advanced handily behind her opponents’ double faults. Of course she had to keep winning the racket spin.
USF sophomore Jenny Heinser earned her second consecutive West Coast Conference Player of the Year award. At No. 58 in the nation, she is the highest ranked women’s singles player in the WCC. She went 16-3 at No. 1 singles and was undefeated against conference opponents at the WCC Championships where the Lady Dons finished fourth. Senior Mylene Martin earned her second consecutive Second Team honor after a 12-8 season. Heinser and sophomore Cecilia Gratian made Second Team in doubles, finishing the season 11-8. For the season, the Lady Dons were 12-12.
