
OWNER | CEO
AMY PAZAHANICK, PTR, PPR & PPTR

OFFICE MANAGER
LILY HUYNH

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
ANDY NGUYEN

DIRECTOR OF THE JUNIOR PROGRAM
QUOC TRAN

HIGH PERFORMANCE JUNIOR DIRECTOR
TRI NGUYEN

DIRECTOR OF TOURNAMENTS
ALBERT TON

DIRECTOR OF PICKLEBALL
ROBERT MARTINEZ

DIRECTOR OF ADULT TENNIS
PREETI GOKHALE

HEAD PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
DAVID CALLIHAN

TENNIS & PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
TU TRAN

PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
JENA KLETT

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ALEXANDER MELIUK

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
JARED NGUYEN

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
DAVID NGUYEN

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ANDREW PHAM

PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
TONY FIELDSON

PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
MIKE CONCEPCION, PPR

TENNIS & PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
HENRY NGUYEN

TENNIS & PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
JESSICA HUYNH

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
VICTOR PHAM

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ANDREW HEDGES

PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
REGGIE POLLARD

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
NATALIE DUFFY

TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
BLEDAR GASHI
OWNER | CEO
AMY PAZAHANICK, PTR, PPR & PPTR
Amy is the CEO of Agape Tennis Academy, which currently manages public tennis centers in Fountain Valley, California, Oxnard, California, and Atlanta, Georgia. The organization provides programming to over 15,000 tennis and pickleball players annually. She currently manages a staff of over 90 tennis and pickleball coaches, administrative professionals, and business managers. Agape’s management style, processes, and systemized to approach allows the organization to continue to scale.
Amy is certified by the USTA in Sports Science and High-Performance Player Development. She is certified in Tennis by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), Pickleball by the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), and platform tennis by the Professional Platform Tennis Registry (PPTR).
Amy is a coach, author, change expert and serial entrepreneur. Her personal and professional transformation systems show us how to infuse entrepreneurship with purpose, passion, and perseverance to create businesses that are bigger than the bottom line and positively impact communities.
Agape Tennis Academy at DeKalb Tennis Center was awarded Best of Decatur (2019-2023) for the fourth consecutive year in 2023, earning a spot in the Business Hall of Fame. In 2022, Amy and Agape received the City of Fountain Valley’s Kindness Award, an honor that recognizes Agape’s commitment to H.E.A.R.T.. Also in 2022, Agape Tennis Academy was selected as the Best Public Facilty by the Professional Pickleball Registry at the company’s annual conference, where Amy was also a featured speaker.
In 2021, Agape and Amy were recognized by the United States Congress, the California Legislature Assembly, and the County of Orange as one of Fountain Valley’s finest leaders, in recognition of her small business’ contributions to the U.S. economy. Most recently in Georgia in 2020 and 2021, Agape Tennis Academy received the Best of Decatur Award. This award is given to local companies in different categories that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.
In 2019, Amy was honored as the PTR Georgia Member of the Year and Tennis Media Group named Agape Tennis Academy Organization of the Year. Agape Tennis Academy was selected as the GPTA’s (Georgia Professional Tennis Association) Program of the Year in 2018. In 2017, Amy was voted Tennis Director of the Year and Agape Tennis Academy was named 10 and Under Program of the Year by the GPTA. In 2016, Agape Tennis Academy was voted Community Outreach Program of the Year by the GPTA.
Amy currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia and in San Clemente, California with her two cats Zuki and Paix. She enjoys traveling, reading, business, living life to the fullest, all things outdoors, tennis, pickleball, golf, hiking, biking, surfing, and being in the ocean.unity.
OFFICE MANAGER
LILY HUYNH
Lily was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She was studying in Australia and graduated from Bankstown High School in New South Wales. She moved to the United States with her family and continued her education at Morgan State University, Maryland. During her college years, she worked multiple jobs. Having a part-time position at the school office, she gained valuable experience handling customer service, administrative tasks and effectively working with teams.
She then moved to the Golden State – California, Lily is so excited and grateful to be a part of Agape team. She enjoys the environment and how Agape brings all individuals with the same interest in the sport together to share a good time. Lily is so happy to tailor her skills in social interaction and meet the needs to various clients. In addition, she is willing to help the team and players succeed.
Lily was born in a family with a passion for tennis, a huge fan of the Grand Slams. She started to play tennis and is inspired by her best favorite player Rafael Nadal and tennis became her favorite hobby. Besides tennis, she enjoys spending traveling, going to the beach, hiking and road trips with family. Lily is passionate, fun-loving and easy to get along with.
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
ANDY NGUYEN
Andy grew up in Vietnam where he was inspired to play tennis and gymnastics by his grandfather. During his childhood and teen years, he actively competed in multiple sports. Andy later graduated from the University of Technology with a degree in Electricity Engineering in Vietnam. He worked for the Electricity Viet Name Corporation for nine years. During his years working for Electricity Viet Nam, Andy continued to participate in all kinds of athletic sports such as swimming, ping pong, and tennis
Andy moved to the United States in 2017 and continued his studies in the electricity industry and graduated with a degree in mechanic-electro engineering from the University of Maryland. Andy recently moved to Fountain Valley, California and is so grateful to join the team at Agape Tennis Academy. With his professional, academic, and athletic background Andy is a perfect fit for an office administrator with the tennis academy. Andy is excited to provide an energizing and motivating experience for the clients as well as assisting in the overall growth and development of the academy. Outside of Agape Tennis Academy, Andy loves the be outdoors, workout on the beach, and spend time with his wife and family. He also has a passion for photography and videography and loves to travel and observe the world through his lens and photographs! He is very happy to be a part of the team and to enjoy his new hometown in California.
DIRECTOR OF THE JUNIOR PROGRAM
QUOC TRAN
Quoc first picked up a racquet was when he was 6 years old at Mile Square Tennis Center. Fast forward 18 years later, he is now part of the coaching staff at Agape Tennis Academy. Tennis has brought him a lot of joy. It has given him the opportunity to meet great people and form friendships that will last a lifetime.
His tennis career started at Westminster High where he earned the All-League Award in his sophomore year. He was runner-up in the League championship and proceeded to compete in CIF individual. He competed at Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa where he played for two years and got an AA in Business Marketing. Most of the time, I played line 1 for Singles and line 2 for Doubles. He was awarded the best doubles record for both years, best singles record, and MVP in his second year. However, his most prized honor was the Best Sportsmanship Award.
After competing at the college level, he now competes in adult leagues and events. His most noticeable achievements are winning the 2016 National Championship in mixed doubles and the 2018 Sectional Championship and qualifying for the upcoming 2021 WTT National Championship.
HIGH PERFORMANCE JUNIOR DIRECTOR
TRI NGUYEN
Coach Tri loves the game of tennis and taught tennis for all levels and ages at the Ky Hoa Tennis Club, the biggest tennis club in Vietnam from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, Coach Tri became the head coach of elite tennis players for the Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City Tennis Team until 2015, producing champions of Vietnam: #1 Men’s Singles, Thien Hoang Nguyen (2014-2015) and Do Minh Quan (2004-2011). Thien went on to receive a full scholarship to Loyola Marymount University (2018-2022); #1 Women’s Singles, Dai-Trang P. Huynh (2010-2013) and Mai-Huynh Huynh (2001-2005). Another player, Trang Minh Dao received a full scholarship to play for the University of New Orleans (2014-2019).
He was the Captain and Coach for the Vietnam Tennis Team for the Federation Cup in Kazakhstan in 2013, the Davis Cup in Sri Lanka in 2011, the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in 2011, and the Asian Games in China in 2010.
Coach Tri graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the Ho Chi Minh City of Sport in 2013. In May 2014, he completed and passed the ITF/OS Regional Coaching Advanced Players Course (Level 2) by the International Tennis Federation at the National Tennis Development Center Bangkok, Thailand. In 2018, he was certified as a Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) High Performance Instructor.
Coach Tri is honest, dedicated, and hard working. He has an excellent ability to interact with both players and their parents alike. He loves teaching tennis for all ages and levels including basic techniques, cardiovascular activities, stamina, & fitness.
Coach Tri was born and raised in Vietnam. He moved his family to the USA in 2015. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching his 9-year-old daughter in tennis and taking his daughter and 3-year-old son to all the beautiful parks in the area. Coach Tri is fluent in Vietnamese and English, and he brings his international experience and knowledge to the Agape Tennis Academy in California.
DIRECTOR OF PICKLEBALL
ROBERT MARTINEZ
Coach Robert Martinez started playing Pickleball in 2016. He comes from a background of Racquetball where he created World Outdoor Racquetball and traveled the country hosting outdoor racquetball events up to the pro level, teaching juniors and adults throughout his career. Coach Robert developed junior players for team India!
Robert was one of the original staff members of LA Fitness, Inc and grew racquetball through round robins and tournaments as a co-director with Greg Sheffield.
Once he discovered Pickleball in the summer of 2016 at Tustin School, he was hooked like everyone else. He had great mentors and coaches that drove him to embrace his passion for teaching, organizing and now plays at 4.5 level!
Coach Robert is focused and dedicated to players to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to build their game and test their skills on a weekly basis.
Surrounded by a great energetic staff in both Tennis and Pickleball this team is set to create fun and competitive games for our community through honesty, positive attitude and determination to earn the players respect through team work.
HEAD PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
DAVID CALLIHAN
Coach David Callihan is a certified PPR Pickleball Coach. He is a 4.5 tournament player who frequently competes. Most recently he competed in the Pickleball US Open! Coach David grew up in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States. He attended the University of Arizona where he studied Fine Arts and participated in tennis, golf, and basketball. Later, David moved to Atlanta where he started a family, worked in the trade show industry and helped start and run a business. During this time he also discovered Disc Golf. It wasn’t long before David transitioned from an amateur to being a professional disc golfer. He was a key player in creating a Disc Golf community locally and regionally.
Coach David discovered Pickleball later in life, at age 65, and immediately fell in love! He immediately began playing and drilling regularly. He built a Pickleball community using an outdoor basketball court at a nearby elementary school. It was a very exciting time. David’s passion for Pickleball led him to get certified as a PPR Coach and start teaching others how to play. He medaled in his first USA Pickleball Event and continued to rise in ranking and win many more medals. After countless hours on the courts teaching and playing he found Agape Tennis Academy at DeKalb Tennis Center nearly in his back yard! Coach David is really excited about sharing his life changing Pickleball journey with others! He is positive, energetic, experienced, knowledgeable and LOVES of the game! He is excited to share his passion with players of all ages and levels. He is already a thriving and a strong “hearted” part of the Agape Tennis and Pickleball Team! Please contact Coach David directly to set up private and group private lessons.
David recently medaled twice in the APP Atlanta Metro Open and with his Gold Medal won a “Golden Ticket” to participate in the 2022 National Championship in Indian Wells, CA.
Because of his recent relocation to Fountain Valley in SOCAL, he definitely plans to attend the championship. David will miss his Atlanta friends and Team Agape there but is super excited to help grow the Fountain Valley Pickleball Experience and join the Agape FV Team.
DIRECTOR OF TOURNAMENTS | TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ALBERT TON
Coach Albert was born and raised in Fountain Valley, CA. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a manager for Cal Men’s Tennis. Coach Albert is also a professional tennis official – he’s umpired at the US Open, NCAA Championships, PAC-12 Championships, and countless other college and junior events. He has been teaching and a hitting partner for the past 4 years for high-performance juniors to recreational players to beginners of all ages! He loves being around the game and helping others develop!
Outside of tennis, Coach Albert enjoys going to Angels games, supporting the Golden Bears, and taking long walks on the beach.
TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
TU TRAN
Coach Tu Tran comes to the Fountain Valley team with great experience and knowledge!
He is a professional tennis coach with more than 20 years of experience. He was the Head Coach of the national tennis team in Vietnam. Under his direction, Coach Tu led the national team in multiple international events including: Seagame, Asida games, and Davis Cup tournaments throughout Southeast Asia and Asia.
Coach Tu has attended many world tennis conferences organized by the ITF ( International Tennis Federation). He is certified by USPTA as a Professional Tennis Coach, the PTR, the Tennis Fitness Trainer group, and the the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR). He has a Ph.D in Sports Science from the Physical Education department of The Sports University in Vietnam.
He contributes his knowledge and skills to train and serve individuals who are interested in these fun sports. By using high quality technology devices to record players’ strokes and movements while practicing, he is able to share tactics and help players reach their goals in a relatively short time to become better players.
PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
JENA KLETT
Coach Jena is homegrown from Huntington Beach, CA. She grew up playing multiple sports and graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2012.
Coach Jena is a seasoned 5.5 doubles & mixed pickleball player who most recently took bronze in The USAPA National Championships.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ALEXANDER MELIUK
Alexander Meliukr leads the way with his extensive experience in the field as a former professional and college tennis player, as well as 5 years of competitive tennis coaching at Agape Tennis Academy. Coach Alexander comes to Agape originally from Belarus where he was Top 3 in Belarus Under 12,14,16, and 18 divisions. He was also in the top 100 under 14 in Europe. He was the Belarus National Championship winner in doubles 18 & over, member of the Davis Cup National Team, and was coached by Vladimir Voltchkov (ATP highest rank: 25, Wimbledon semifinalist 2000)
Coach Alexander attended American River College for the 2015-16 season where he was an All American in both singles and doubles. He was ranked #1 in California for the NJCAA 2015-16 season and his college were NorCal winners with ARC as well as state champ finalists. He was then #10 in the Nation in singles and #3 in doubles NAIA Division with San Diego Christian College where he was the ITA Oracle Cup Regional winner 2017.
Coaching Experience:
- JMG Tennis Academy in Arden Hills
- Private tennis lessons in Sacramento, San Diego, Santee, La Jolla, Fullerton, Yorba Linda, and Irvine, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel
- Gorin Tennis Academy
- Matchpoint Tennis Academy
- Tennis Pro at Laguna Niguel Racquet Club
Had the honor to work with following coaches and players:
- Vladimir Voltchkov( Former ATP #25 in the world in singles)
- Egor Gerasimov (Currently #69 ATP)
- Ilya Ivashka (Currently #138 ATP)
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
JARED NGUYEN
Coach Jared was born in Fountain Valley, CA. Ever since he was 6, his passion for tennis has grown over the years, and him with it. Starting at such a young age, Jared grew up playing tennis competitively at the age of 8—where he would develop and learn the basics and fundamentals of tennis from top coaches across Southern California.
As a freshman, he played as a starter for Fountain Valley High School’s Division 1 open varsity tennis team. Currently he is the captain of the team and is still continuing to improve his game. In his free time, Coach Jared enjoys going outside and doing outdoors activity such as other sports and hikes. He also enjoys hanging out with his friends, family and playing video games.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
DAVID NGUYEN
Coach David developed an interest in tennis at an early age as tennis gave him a community, friends, and a place to belong. At age 14, David sets foot on MileSquare Park and trains there all throughout middle and high school.
David made varsity junior and senior year. Following the momentum, he becomes a starter for the local community college team (OCC) and plays doubles the first year (2012), then both doubles and singles, a second year (2014).
While in college, David was recruited and trained as a coach for Kaveon International Tennis (KIT), a high level/intensity performance academy, at the Racquet Club of Irvine. David remained with KIT, where he was introduced to information and education on sharpening the body for tennis, for over a year.
Fast forward five years to 2021 when David rejoined a summer venture between Southern California Tennis Academy and KIT at Los Cabs named Jackson Bridge Tennis Academy and consequently, SHOQ Tennis where his coaching experience was renewed, upgraded, and given new perspectives. He now brings this passion and experience to Agape Tennis Academy.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ANDREW PHAM
Coach Andrew was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Andrew moved to the U.S. at the age of 9 and picked up the game of tennis at the age of 12. Without any resources, Andrew taught himself how to play tennis and successfully made Varsity on his high school tennis team for all 4 years. Andrew helped his team reache 3 consecutive semifinals for the state CIF tournament. During his senior year, Andrew won the league finals tournament and was awarded the Most Valuable Player, finishing his high school tennis career with an overall record of 85 wins to 5 losses.
Andrew went on to compete for 2 years at Orange Coast College where he was awarded: Most Valuable Player, Best Singles Record, Best Doubles Record, and the title of All-Conference Doubles; which granted him an invitation to compete at the prestigious State Ojai Invitational Tournament. At the tournament, Andrew and his doubles partner represented Southern California and made it all the way to the quarter finals of the tournament, knocking out the number 2 doubles team in all of Northern California. Towards the end of Andrew’s time at Orange Coast College, Andrew was nominated and won the scholarship for Scholar Athlete of the year.
After Orange Coast, Andrew transferred to University California of Irvine, and it was during this time when Andrew picked up his first full-time job as a teaching professional for Kaveon International Tennis. Andrew worked full-time as a tennis coach while attending school in order to support himself. Through all of his hard work and dedication, Andrew graduated from UCI with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Law & Society.
Coaching Experience:
- Kaveon International Tennis 2014-2017
- Teaching pro at RCI
- Teaching pro at Nellie Gail Ranch Tennis Club
- Jackson Bridge Tennis Academy 2017-2021
- Coaching pro at Los Cab Sports Village
- Southern California Tennis Academy 2021-Present
- Teaching pro at El Dorado Tennis Center
Worked and hitting coach with numerous notable tier-1 players such as:
- Anne Christine Lutkemeyer (Blue Chip, UTR 11, full-ride UCLA)
- Maxine Murphy (5-star, UTR 10, Full-Ride University of Washington)
- Max Pham (Blue Chip, UTR 11, Full-Ride UC Davis)
- Alan Ton (5-star, UTR 11, Full-Ride Army)
- Haley Tran (5-star, UTR 9, Rising Sophomore)
DIRECTOR OF ADULT TENNIS
PREETI GOKHALE
Coach Preeti, who is originally from Bangalore, India, had a strong passion for tennis from an early age. She achieved national rankings in the u16 and u18 categories before moving to the United States to pursue her education. Preeti received a scholarship to play college tennis at Middle Georgia State University, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology. During her college tennis career, Preeti was recognized as a two-time All-Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) selection and a three-time academic ALL-SSAC recipient.
After graduation, she went on to earn a master’s degree in exercise and sports science from Texas State University (D1) and worked as an assistant coach for the women’s tennis team. Preeti has experience working with juniors and adults at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas. She previously worked as an assistant coach at California State University Fullerton for a year, where she now volunteers in addition to working with all age groups at Agape since 2022.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ANDREW PHAM
Coach Andrew was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Andrew moved to the U.S. at the age of 9 and picked up the game of tennis at the age of 12. Without any resources, Andrew taught himself how to play tennis and successfully made Varsity on his high school tennis team for all 4 years. Andrew helped his team reache 3 consecutive semifinals for the state CIF tournament. During his senior year, Andrew won the league finals tournament and was awarded the Most Valuable Player, finishing his high school tennis career with an overall record of 85 wins to 5 losses.
Andrew went on to compete for 2 years at Orange Coast College where he was awarded: Most Valuable Player, Best Singles Record, Best Doubles Record, and the title of All-Conference Doubles; which granted him an invitation to compete at the prestigious State Ojai Invitational Tournament. At the tournament, Andrew and his doubles partner represented Southern California and made it all the way to the quarter finals of the tournament, knocking out the number 2 doubles team in all of Northern California. Towards the end of Andrew’s time at Orange Coast College, Andrew was nominated and won the scholarship for Scholar Athlete of the year.
After Orange Coast, Andrew transferred to University California of Irvine, and it was during this time when Andrew picked up his first full-time job as a teaching professional for Kaveon International Tennis. Andrew worked full-time as a tennis coach while attending school in order to support himself. Through all of his hard work and dedication, Andrew graduated from UCI with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology, Law & Society.
Coaching Experience:
- Kaveon International Tennis 2014-2017
- Teaching pro at RCI
- Teaching pro at Nellie Gail Ranch Tennis Club
- Jackson Bridge Tennis Academy 2017-2021
- Coaching pro at Los Cab Sports Village
- Southern California Tennis Academy 2021-Present
- Teaching pro at El Dorado Tennis Center
Worked and hitting coach with numerous notable tier-1 players such as:
- Anne Christine Lutkemeyer (Blue Chip, UTR 11, full-ride UCLA)
- Maxine Murphy (5-star, UTR 10, Full-Ride University of Washington)
- Max Pham (Blue Chip, UTR 11, Full-Ride UC Davis)
- Alan Ton (5-star, UTR 11, Full-Ride Army)
- Haley Tran (5-star, UTR 9, Rising Sophomore)
PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
TONY FIELDSON
Coach Tony was born and raised here in Orange County, California and have enjoyed playing a wide variety of sports throughout his life, including baseball, basketball, soccer, ping pong, tennis and golf. He’s quickly become an advanced pickleball player oner the years. He loves every aspect of how the sport can benefit people’s lives, and truly enjoys helping others discover the joy, and leveling up their game.
Tony speaks fluent Spanish, loves teaching and coaching, and has done so for over 10 years now. He also can offer many helpful tips about the mental game, as he has learned many great principles from his father, who is a marriage and family therapist.
He currently specializes teaching beginner and intermediate players, adults or juniors, and individual or group sessions!
PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
MIKE CONCEPCION, PPR
Mike Concepcion is a certified PPR Pickleball Coach, currently plays tournaments at the 4.0 level, and has been playing pickleball for 5 years. An Orange County native living in Huntington Beach, he played tennis in high school and for many years after at the club level. Mike is a strong 4.0 player always striving to improve both in shot mechanics and on-court strategy. His passion in seeing others get to the next level is a driving force in his instruction.
He’s particularly proud of his very first student, 12 year old daughter Emma who expressed a desire to train and compete in tournaments as a team. They achieved that goal in December 2021, winning silver, and plan on many more medals in the future.
Mike also enjoys cooking with his two daughters, swimming and bodysurfing, and has been an accomplished flyfisherman for over 30 years.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
VICTOR PHAM
Coach Victor was born in Fountain Valley, CA. At the age of 11 he picked up the sport of tennis where he played throughout middle school and eventually made the varsity team in high school his freshman year.
Coach Victor played as #1 Doubles for the varsity team for 3 years and was the team captain for 2 years. He received the team MVP and Most Dedicated awards three years in a row through diligence and perseverance. Victor also won the Doubles League Championship title as well as the All League MVP award his senior year.
With a passion of working with younger kids, Coach Victor also works as a private tutor specializing in teaching kids ages 6-14 in all subjects. Victor loves to stay active, spend time with nature, and is always picking up new hobbies and interests!
TENNIS & PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
HENRY NGUYEN
Henry Nguyen was born as a premature infant of LA, grew up as a child of SD, graduated into adulthood from PHS, CCC, & UCI of OC. His non-tradtional and self-taught tennis and pickleball background is defined by a life of learning to make the most of his limited resources; they weren’t just games to him, they were lifestyles that saved him in the game of life. All throughout his life and athletic development, he always fought against the odds in more ways than one. Now he is here to share his active lifestyle with perspective on what he values most out of his “game theory” on life: stay healthy first, sustain happy second, & share humanity at it’s best, as often as possible, again, again & again.
This mental fortitude and positively persevering perspective is what Coach Henry brings to the AGAPE team along with his enthusiastic personality to connect to any age group. Although he picked up tennis much later in life than the usual high-level players starting off at a young age, he still keeps up next to the best of them with his feather-weight speed/craft and most importantly continues to learn and grow to reach a new level of improvement each year. All this acquired 15 years of tennis knowledge and experience has amounted to more than 10 years of coaching in multiple settings from his alma mater Pacifica High School Boy’s/Girl’s JV teams, to private lessons all around Orange County, to the City of Cypress Community Parks/Recreation, to the Varsity Assistant Coach of Cypress High School who became League Champions and advanced to quarterfinals of CIF on multiple occasions!
Coach Henry is always set on shaping the mindset along with the techniques of all his interactions instill a trust in the process of never ending constant improvement and the value of on any tough journey. His own personal journey now propels him into PICKLEBALL with invigorating potential as a player and as a teacher.
It took him 10 years of diverse experiences to just touch the 5.0 level in tennis, it only took him 10 weeks to grab hold of a 5.0 level in pickleball winning a singles silver medal without much training. However, whether luck or knack, Henry doesn’t just want to go pro with this trending sport of the future but he wants to become an ambassador of the game that transcends generations. He feels that what makes Pickleball special and a calling to him is that it has the power and place to bring families together. That’s what started his whole journey here in Fountain Valley. Here with AGAPE, we believe that you may come from the community with different goals and backgrounds, but you will always walk away with our gift of family. Our visions are now bigger than just a business of outreach and management through successfully expanding and touching lives as it started out with our CEO from Atlanta. Now that Coach Henry is onboard, we hope to not just touch a quantity of lives by growing the next generation but also to restore the quality of lives by giving back to the past generations! When he sees this happy impact in those healthful interactions, it brings him fullfilling happiness which in turn represents our organization with the genuine heart of teaching others to follow their H.E.A.R.T in everything they do on and off the court through the disciplines and critical thinking of tennis and/or pickleball!
Coach Henry is a valuable member of our family with so much to offer, and is available for group and private lessons.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
ANDREW HEDGES
Andrew Hedges is a tennis coach with eight years of playing experience and two years of coaching experience. Andrew helps individuals achieve their personal goals, improving in ways they did not expect!
Andrew’s coaching philosophy centers on the belief that every individual has the potential to improve every day. As a coach, he helps players strive for progress, not perfection, through a supportive and collaborative coaching process. He hopes to develop a player’s skills by establishing achievable goals and overcoming obstacles to achieve success. Coaching is more than just a job to Andrew and he truly wishes to see improvement after every lesson.
If you are ready to take the next step in refining your tennis game, Andrew offers private and group coaching lessons. He would love you to reach out to discuss more.
PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
REGGIE POLLARD
Reggie Pollard was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Reggie played and coached football as well as tennis for the greater Cleveland area. Later Reggie transitioned to Southern California where he started his family.
Coach Reggie has evolved many professional skills throughout the years in Southern California, not only furthering his career as a professional tennis and pickleball coach but becoming a black belt in Martial Arts (Kenpo). Reggie has proudly been associated with many youth camps and organizations all over the region. Reggie’s passion for tennis gave him the opportunity to become the Assistant Coach at Fullerton College for the Girl’s Tennis Team for 2 years. From coaching at Fairmount Private Schools to working with elementary schools USTA Junior Programs (Quick Start Tennis) for several years, Reggie never quits aspiring for his love and passion to teach others, He is optimistic, enthusiastic, skilled, and experienced! He is always excited to share his desire with players of all ages and levels.
When Reggie is not coaching, he loves playing rounds of pickleball, but even then, he finds himself coaching on the fly out of the love of the game. Reggie is always striving to do better and better and wishes to install those thoughts in others.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
NATALIE DUFFY
Natalie Duffy is a senior at Cal State Fullerton, majoring in criminal justice. She is a member of the women’s tennis team and has been playing since the age of five. Although she was involved in gymnastics and karate, she fully committed to tennis at the age of ten. Natalie was born in Riverside and raised in Hemet, California. She has been awarded a full-ride scholarship, which has been a significant gift for her parents. In high school, Natalie and her mother committed to a 45-minute drive to Murrieta Valley High School for a better tennis program and education. Natalie made CIF individuals all four years of high school, earning The Press-Enterprise co-player of the year in her junior year and The Press-Enterprise player of the year in her senior year.
Recently, Natalie’s tennis journey has been marked by her accomplishment of being ranked #63 in D1 college doubles at the end of her junior year. She also earned Second-team all-conference in Big West for singles and an honorable mention for doubles. Tennis has provided Natalie with experiences, friendship, and growth, both on and off the court. Throughout the summer, Natalie will be hitting and coaching, sharing her experiences and gaining new ones.
TENNIS PROFESSIONAL
BLEDAR GASHI
Coach Bledar is an international student currently playing college tennis at Ventura College. He was born and raised in Belgium to Albanian parents and has been in the United States for 2.5 years now. He started playing tennis when he was 8 years old and immediately fell in love with the game. He started playing tournaments at a very young age and dreamt of becoming a professional tennis player.
When he was about 15 years old, Bledar started training daily and participated in tournaments all over Belgium. When he was 17 years old, he went up seven rankings in the Belgian ranking system in just one season – the only person who achieved that. At 19 years old, he finished the year with the number one ranking in the second-highest category in the country. Right after this, he went to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain to train and practice with the best players and coaches in Europe. About a year later, Bledar chose to play college tennis in the United States.
After playing college tennis for 2 years at Ventura College, he finished his associate’s degree and will now attend California State University of Long Beach in the Fall of 2023 to get his bachelor’s degree.
He started teaching tennis when he was 16 years old and loved it from the beginning. Seeing his students get better over time was a fantastic feeling. He has taught tennis to all ages in Belgium as well as his two years of teaching at Agape in Oxnard, California. At Agape in Oxnard, Bledar has coached over a hundred students of all ages and levels and it is fantastic to see the impact that Bledar and the entire team at Oxnard were able to have on the community of Oxnard. Lots of students came to Agape from having never touched a tennis racket before, to becoming regular students at Bledar’s classes until this day.
Bledar’s journey at Oxnard has come to an end and he will start a new chapter in his life in Fountain Valley where he will be joining the tennis coaching team.
TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL PROFESSIONAL
JESSICA HUYNH
Tennis, Coffee, Dogs… REPEAT….
Play, Promote, Coach… I can’t RESIST…
These are my favorite things…
Jessica fell in love with tennis at 18 years old on a hot and humid tennis court in Saigon, Vietnam. Her enthusiasm and high energy style reflect on and off the court.
She is here to share her passion with kids and adults alike. She believes that tennis is not only a great sport but an amazing vessel in developing well rounded individuals off the court. Jessica looks forward to meeting you all at Fountain Valley!