Russ has been our Head Pro since 1986. He brings to the Club a wealth of experience and a reputation as one of Western Canada's top Tennis Professionals. Before coming to the VLTBC in 1986, Russ was the Head Pro for five years at the Racquet Club of Victoria and for three and one half years at the Arbutus Club.
Russ has been teaching tennis since 1972 and brings leadership and experience to our Club's tennis programs. He has taught students of all ages from - four year old 'tiny tots' to seniors and of all abilities - from those just getting started to provincial and national level players. Russ is a certified Tennis Canada Level 3 professional, as well as a Level 3 coaching certificate from the National Coaching Certification Program of Canada. He is a member of the Coaches Association of BC and member in good standing with the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
Report card:
Russ grew up in Victoria where, for many years, he was the number one player on Vancouver Island. As an open level player he was a top Provincial, Pacific Northwest and National level player, representing BC at the Sunlife Nationals in 1980 and '81.
1999 - Canadian National Men's 40 Doubles Champion
2000 - Western Canadian Champion Men's 40 Singles
2000/2001 ranked #1 in the Men's 40 singles
2002/2003 ranked #1 in the Men's 45 Singles and #1 in the Men's 45 Doubles
2004 ranked #1 in the Men's 45 Doubles
2005/2006 ranked #1 B.C. in the Men's 45 Singles and #1 in the Men's 45 Doubles
2007 - Canadian National Men's 50 Doubles Champion
2007 ranked #2 in Canada and #1 B.C. in the Men's 50 Singles
2007 ranked #1 in Canada and #1 B.C. in the Men's 50 Doubles
Russ brings a warm, friendly and open personality to our Club, along with a love for the game and a commitment to make the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club, the best club in Western Canada.
Marcus Andersson - Club Tennis Professional
Marcus was born and raised in Sweden in a small town south of Stockholm. His tennis idol when growing up was Bjorn Borg. Marcus is a certified Tennis Canada Level 2 professional and is a member in good standing with the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
Marcus moved to Canada in 1979 where he began to play tennis at the Capilano Tennis Club. With a love for all sports; hockey, skiing, and soccer, he chose tennis as his number one sport and took the game up with a passion. He achieved success in tournament competition as a junior in the under 16 and18 divisions with top provincial rankings.
Prior to joining the pro staff at Vancouver lawn, Marcus was a club professional at Hollyburn Country Club, as well as a coach for the North Vancouver Recreation center. Marcus brings a very good tactical and technical knowledge of the game, along with match tough experience to assist him and has been using innovative tools to improve his student's games and enjoyment of the sport for the past ten years.
Randy Kirk - Club Tennis Professional
Randy began playing tennis at the age of 14, and started playing competitively at the age of 15. In his final year of juniors he achieved a top 10 ranking Provincially in under 18 singles. Randy stopped playing tournaments right after juniors, except for fun doubles, and has devoted his time to developing his coaching skills.
Randy has been coaching since 1993 and is a fully certified Tennis Canada level 1 Coach and is presently completing his level 2 certification. He would like to start working on his level 3 in the near future and gradually work up to getting his level 4 as well.
For the past few years Randy has been mainly working with High Performance players. In Victoria he trained top juniors for Pacific Sport, as well as working with the University of Victoria Women's Tennis team. He has also taught a wide variety of ages and levels at the Oak Bay recreation center. Randy brings a warm , friendly, and enthusiastic spirit to our club. He enjoys coaching all levels and looks forward to working with all the members at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club.
Gary Winter - Club Tennis Professional
Gary is a certified Tennis Canada Level 2 professional and has his level 3 NCCP Technical and Practical certification. He has been certified by the US Professional Tennis Association and is a member in good standing with the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
For 14 years Gary lived in Whistler, where he was the Health Club Manager and Director of Tennis at the luxurious Fairmont Chateau Whistler for fourteen years. Prior to moving to Whistler, Gary was the Program and Media Coordinator at Tennis B.C. He has also taught tennis at the Jericho Club, UBC, the Arbutus Club, and at many community centers throughout Vancouver.
Gary's approach to coaching is based on technical and tactical effectiveness. Are you being effective and getting the results you want with your technical and tactical skills? If yes, then how can you raise your level of effectiveness? If not, then what do you need to do to get there? Gary believes in and coaches toward setting goals and having fun while enjoying the process (journey) of striving to be better. As a wise man once said, "We are all beginners, when striving for the next level."
Henry Choi - Club Tennis Professional
Henry comes to us from the Rosedale Tennis Club in Hamilton, where he had been club instructor and professional since 2000. During that period, he attended Indiana State University where he taught during the summer months.
Henry is an outstanding player. He graduated from Indiana State University on a tennis scholarship and in 2006 was ranked in the top 25 in Canada in Men's Open Singles and # 1 in Ontario in Singles and # 1 in Doubles. In 2007, he competed in the Tennis BC Summer Series and has established himself as the #1 ranked player in Men’s Open Singles in British Columbia.
Henry brings his experience as a high performance player and competitor to our Club. He is currently a candidate for Tennis Canada Level 2 coaching. He enjoys coaching all levels of play and especially enjoys working with our Club’s top Juniors.
Report card:
2007 ranked #1 B.C. in the Men's Open Singles
2008 Tennis Canada Junior Coach at the Australian Open
Sean Hartley - Club Junior Professional
Sean began tennis at a very young age and started to play competitively at the age of 10. He reached a top 10 provincial ranking in under 14 and 16 Singles and now continues to play open events. He was the Van Lawn’s under 18 Club champion in 2005 & 2006.
Sean was a starter on his high school senior tennis team at the age of 13 and over the next few years became captain and head coach for the team.
Sean is a fully certified Tennis Canada Level 1 Club Professional and is a member in good standing of the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
Along with his coaching at Vancouver Lawn he also works throughout the lower mainland in a “Schools Program” introducing tennis at a low cost to children in elementary schools. Sean brings energy, enthusiasm and fresh creativity with his coaching. He enjoys the time he spends with both the Junior and Adult members. Sean will be spending most of his coaching time working in our Club’s Junior program and looks forward to continuing to develop his skills as a Club professional at Van Lawn.
Russ has been our Head Pro since 1986. He brings to the Club a wealth of experience and a reputation as one of Western Canada's top Tennis Professionals. Before coming to the VLTBC in 1986, Russ was the Head Pro for five years at the Racquet Club of Victoria and for three and one half years at the Arbutus Club.
Marcus was born and raised in Sweden in a small town south of Stockholm. His tennis idol when growing up was Bjorn Borg. Marcus is a certified Tennis Canada Level 2 professional and is a member in good standing with the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
Randy began playing tennis at the age of 14, and started playing competitively at the age of 15. In his final year of juniors he achieved a top 10 ranking Provincially in under 18 singles. Randy stopped playing tournaments right after juniors, except for fun doubles, and has devoted his time to developing his coaching skills.
Gary is a certified Tennis Canada Level 2 professional and has his level 3 NCCP Technical and Practical certification. He has been certified by the US Professional Tennis Association and is a member in good standing with the Tennis Professionals Association of Canada.
Henry comes to us from the Rosedale Tennis Club in Hamilton, where he had been club instructor and professional since 2000. During that period, he attended Indiana State University where he taught during the summer months.
Sean began tennis at a very young age and started to play competitively at the age of 10. He reached a top 10 provincial ranking in under 14 and 16 Singles and now continues to play open events. He was the Van Lawn’s under 18 Club champion in 2005 & 2006.