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John Gambucci John was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota as the sixth of seven children. It must have been fate when Sergio and Eleanor moved there with their five children and one on the way and bought the white house across from the Riverside Park tennis courts. John was born a short time later (followed by another sister) and basically grew up on those courts, learning the game from his siblings, coach father, and more pick-up games than you can count. It proved to be a great training ground, and his passion for the game developed as well. John played all sports, with tennis and hockey being his main focus. After a successful junior career, he attended Grand Forks Central High School. There he was a four time state champion in tennis (three times in doubles, one in singles) and three time state champion in hockey. He was runner –up for North Dakota Athlete of the Year in 1977. John’s passion for all games grew almost as a genetic rite. He feels very strongly about the life lessons learned through sports, such as perseverance, failure, humility, compassion, and the joy of achievement. After leaving Grand Forks he attended Gustavus Aldolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he majored in accounting and played hockey and tennis. College tennis coach Steve Wilkinson’s Tennis and Life philosophy reinforced many of the things instilled by John’s father, and the Gusties became a power house of Division III tennis. Following college John became USPTA certified as a tennis instructor and worked at Nicolet Tennis Center in Minneapolis. This was his first experience in the business of tennis and he did everything from working the desk, racket stringing and repair, court cleaning, and teaching. In 1987 he moved to West Bend when he married Jacci Albiero, and he became a tennis pro at Mequon Racquet Club. John gives credit to Mequon owners Rick Vetter and George Eisen for showing by example how a first rate club operates. He combined this with his hometown, grass roots love of the game, and has tried to create a culture where everyone feels welcome and part of the whole. Pleasant Valley is one of a very few family run clubs, and its success has not only been a function of ownership and staff, but of the members who continue to support the club. John and Jacci have spent the last 20 years raising a family and building up Pleasant Valley to what you see today. It has truly been a labor of love. They reside in West Bend with their children Alyssa, Joe, and Gina. |
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Bob Downey Bob is a USPTA certified teaching professional who has been at Pleasant Valley for 16 years. He has previously taught at North Shore Racquet Club, Milwaukee Country Club and North Shore Country Country Club. Bob has also been head varsity coach for West Bend West and Germantown High Schools where he had three state qualifiers. Bob played division 1 tennis at UWGB and has been ranked as high as #2 in both Wisconsin and the Midwest section in Mens' Open Singles. He has worked with all age ranges from "pee wees" to state ranked juniors, as well as coaching adult state league teams.
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Brian Hornburg At the ripe age of 18, Brian began his tennis teaching career working with Dave Saxe as an assistant teaching pro at Chenequa Country Club. At first it was nothing more than a high paying summer job, but little did he know it would become so much more. Brian continued to work at country clubs over summer while he was attending college because not only did he enjoy what he was doing, but it also gave him easy access to a tennis facility to keep up my game for college tennis. Brian played two years of collegiate tennis at Kalamazoo College in Michigan and two years at the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse. During his fifth year of college, he became the Assistant Coach to the Men's Tennis Team. After graduating from LaCrosse he decided that he wanted to continue teaching tennis as a career. Brian is USPTA certified and has been working at Pleasant Valley Tennis & Fitness for the past six years. |
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Derek Baker Derek is certified by the USPTA, USTA Sport Science Program and as a USTA Umpire. He was the former Regional Tennis Manager for the Northwest Athletic Clubs in Minneapolis, MN and Director of Junior Development for the Five Seasons Sports Clubs in Burr Ridge, IL. He has also been the head coach for Shorewood High School and the assistant head coach for Homestead High School, where he had several of his teams qualify for the team state competition and over 20 players qualified for the individual state tournament. With over 11 years of industry experience, he has trained over 100 players to district, sectional and national rankings and was named 2005 USPTA Wisconsin Tennis Professional of the Year. Derek played his collegiate tennis at Concordia University of Wisconsin and is an active member of the Wilson Advisory Staff. |