2. About our Contributing Coaches
Meet our Contributing High School Coaching Experts.
Coach Mark Faber:
2017 Tennis Industry magazine’s national HS Coach of the Year. Mark has been a no-cut coach for 22 years, and he helped create a program at his club that allows high school teams to practice during the off-season, without memberships. “Over the past three years, we’ve also created several fun, out-of-the-norm events geared toward the needs of high school students,” says Faber.
Faber also serves on the USTA’s national High School Task Force.
Mark’s goal is to help each player achieve his/her goals. Mark has been recognized by the USTA and USPTA with various awards and recognition. Mark graduated from Methodist University where he was ranked in the top 15 nationally in doubles.
Coach DeDe Allen:
Dede is the Tennis program Program Director at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, FL. Dede also serves as the Girls Varsity head coach. The Tennis Program at Episcopal consists of a co-ed Middle School team, a Girls Junior Varsity team, Boys Junior Varsity team, a Girls Varsity team, and a Boys Varsity team. Dede’s girls’ tennis team has won seven straight District Championships.
Dede was the administrator for USA Tennis Junior Competition for over 14 years. Before her years with the USTA, she coached a Top 25 Division I college tennis program for seven years at Wake Forest University and was ACC Coach of the Year during her last year at Wake.
Coach Styrling Strothers:
Styrling Strother is a PTR Professional Tennis Coach and Tennis Performance Trainer with the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA). Styrling focuses on player development for competition in local, state, regional, and national tournaments as well as collegiate and professional levels. While at Cary Academy with the girl’s high school tennis team, he coached the teams to winning 81% of match play (117-27) spanning 6 seasons, reaching the 3 NCISAA State Championship Finals and 4 Conference Championships, spanning 2011-2016. Cary Academy school record seasons include 21-1 in 2011, 27-2 in 2014, and 24-2 in 2016. Styrling pioneered a project in 2012 called Transforming the Practice Court as a result of his high school tennis success and now mentor’s tennis coaches across the world to transform players to practice in a manner to produce more wins in match play. He is a #1 Best Selling Author of the book “7 On Court Strategies to Experience Your Play State’ which can be found at Amazon.com or through his website at www.transformpracticecourt.com
Coach Anni Miller:
“5-TIME USPTA NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR. PTR INTERNATIONAL MASTER TENNIS PROFESSIONAL. LEGENDARY HIGH SCHOOL COACH.”
Recently inducted into the USPTA Hall Of Fame, Anni is also a PTR International Master Tennis Professional, USPTA Elite Professional, and on Wilson’s National Speaker’s Bureau.
She is also the 5-time USPTA National Coach of the Year, 5-time USPTA PNW Pro of the Year, 7-time Oregon Coach of the Year, and winner of the National High School Coach of the Year for all US high schools.
Anni’s legendary high school teams won over a dozen Oregon State High School Tennis Titles during her 24 year High School Coaching career at Lakeridge High School.
Coach Chris “Mick” Michalowski:
A successful HS Tennis coach in Traverse City MI, Mick is now the Director of Campus Laboratory for the USTA-U and is based out of the USTA national campus in Lake Nona FL. He is responsible for exploring and developing new experiential learning opportunities for tennis providers. In this role, he will oversee the USTA National Campus Internship Program and be a key conduit in the delivery of digital content from the National Campus.
As a HS coach, he successfully started a mentoring program that got more than 600 elementary school players involved in tennis and were taught by his Varsity players.