Management, The Head Pro, Assitant Pros, Coaches and Court Monitors are here to serve the members and enhance your Kew Gardens experience! Please introduce yourself to staff on duty.
We would like to welcome back Lucas Valenzano as our GM and Ira Sherman as our Head Tennis Professonal. Ira Sherman will be leading, organizing and managing all adult and junior programming.
Lucas and Ira look forward to providing excellent service standards in all areas to achieve high satisfaction for the Kew Gardens Tennis Club membership.
GENERAL MANAGER - LUCAS VALENZANO
Lucas Valenzano's journey in tennis began at the age of 10, igniting a passion that would shape his career. His early experiences as a junior teaching assistant and camp counselor at Viewmount Park Tennis Club laid the foundation for his future in the sport.
After graduating from Western University with a degree in Kinesiology in 2014, Lucas pursued further education in Sport Management, earning an Advanced Diploma from Humber College. Armed with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, he ventured into the professional realm of tennis administration.
In 2017, Lucas assumed the role of Assistant Program Administrator at Mayfair Lakeshore Tennis Club, where he gained invaluable insights into club operations. Subsequently, he served as the Sports Coordinator at Unionville Athletic Club, showcasing his organizational prowess and dedication to enhancing the athletic experience.
Lucas's managerial talents came to the fore when he took on the position of Club Manager at Markham Tennis Club in 2018.
From 2019 to 2023, Lucas was the Club Manager at Veneto Tennis Club. Here, he demonstrated his ability to oversee various aspects of club management while fostering a thriving tennis community.
Lucas looks forward to meeting and getting to know all the current members and providing the best service he possibly can.
Email - lucas.valenzano@kewgardenstennis.ca
Ira Sherman is the Head Tennis Professional at Kew Gardens Tennis Club.
Growing up in Toronto Ira trained as a junior at the All Canadian Tennis Academy. With over two decades of teaching experience, he has travelled the world as a teaching pro in California, Australia, Mexico, Thailand, and the Caribbean working at a variety of clubs and resorts. Ira is a certified Club Pro 3, which is Tennis Canada's highest certification in the club professional stream.
Ira is the co-founder of Progressive Tennis League (PTL). PTL is an innovative organization that focuses on offering quality tennis programming during the indoor season for children across the GTA. PTL has collaborated with Tennis Canada and the Ontario Tennis Association with various grassroots initiatives, building communities around the sport of tennis.
Ira has also combined his love of travel with tennis by offering exciting tennis retreats for adults during the winter season through his company First Serve Travel. Ira has coached all levels and abilities. He has great passion and enthusiasm for the game and brings out the best in his players.
Ira's style of teaching uses a Game-Based Approach, which encompasses all aspects of the game: technical, tactical, physical, & psychological.
Ira looks forward to sharing his knowledge and expertise with all KGTC members for the 2023 season. He will be offering a wide range of programming for both juniors and adults at all levels.
Email - ira.sherman@kewgardenstennis.ca
Phone - (647) 700-8306
ASSISTANT TENNIS PROFESSIONAL - LORENZO GRECCHI
Lorenzo was born in Venice Italy and grew up in Toronto. He is a Tennis Canada Certified Instructor. He began teaching in 1991 and has worked in seveal tennis facilities including Eglinton Flats Tennis Club, Pine Point Tennis Club, Cutten Fields Country Club and Columbus Centre Tennis Club. In thewinter months, you can find Lorenzo working out of the North York Tennis Club. This will be Lorenzo’s 6th season as part of the Kew Gardens Tennis Club coaching team. Lorenzo has worked with both recreational and high performance juniors. He has helped motivate many young players to grow and develop not only as players, but also as people. Lorenzo’s love of tennis remains strong and can be seen regularly on court sharing his passion with many of our club members. Lorenzo looks forward to help all members at any level in any aspect of their game. Feel free to contact him for both lessons or equipment needs
Email - lorenzo.grecchi@kewgardenstennis.ca
Phone- (647) 868 5309
ASSISTANT TENNIS PROFESSIONAL - MIKE KOSOWSKI
Mike is returning for his second season at Kew. Mike is seasoned player and instructor with an educational background in Pedagogy and over 18 years of teaching experience. He is a certified Club Pro 1 through the Tennis Canada Club Pro stream.
Mike holds a passion for sharing knowledge and enjoys to promote all aspects of the learning progression: building a player's foundation from the ground up, helping players at all levels take their game to the next level and working on the finer aspects of a competitive athletes’ skill set to further their success both on and off the court. Mike is an advocate of balancing energy, effort and empathy throughout each session and employs various instruction methods to accommodate a player’s learning style. He offers video analysis services to illustrate concepts and comparisons that can help every applied student build confidence, win more matches and play much better tennis.
If you would like to book Mike for a lesson, hitting session or stroke analysis consultation, feel free to contact him:
Email - mike.kosowski@kewgardenstennis.ca.
Phone - (416) 876-3449
ASSISTANT TENNIS PROFESSIONAL - COURTNEY WINTER
Courtney is passionate about building a love of tennis and supporting tennis as a sport for life. She is experienced in teaching juniors of all levels and abilities. She is excited to instruct a breadth of beginner to advanced intermediate adult members looking to build upon fundamentals, grow your game play and improve your serve.
If you would like to book a lesson with Courtney, feel free to contact her:
Email – courtney.winter@kewgardenstennis.ca
Phone – 416-525-6243
ASSISTANT TENNIS PROFESSIONAL - BRIGITTE GRAVELLE
Brigitte has been playing tennis since she was 5 and started playing competitively and doing high performance at 11 years old. Brigitte has been teaching for 2 years now, and this is her first season at Kew. Brigitte really enjoys coaching juniors because she wants to help every kid reach their potential and improve every day. She also wants to encourage kids to enjoy the sports and to play with their friends and family, because it is a sport for life. Brigitte is keen on helping juniors improve their strokes and technique as well as their footwork and tactics on court.
Email – brigitte.gravelle@kewgardenstennis.ca
Phone – (416) 647-208-1933.
Club Monitors
Mary has lived in the Beaches neighbourhood for more than 25 years. She was thrilled when she was able to join the club last year which conveniently coincided with her decision to semi-retire as an educator. She is enjoying having more time to spend with family and friends over a meal with good music and wine, reading, and watching movies. She is looking forward to developing her skills on the court as well as joining the wonderful staff to serve the members of KGTC.