Elite Pickleball Retreats Coaches

Matt graduated from College of the Holy Cross in 2021 where he played four years of Division I tennis and captained the team his junior and senior years. He is now another tennis player turned 5.0+/Pro tournament pickleball player! Matt co-founded First Serve Tennis in 2020 with his good friend Aaron before the two of them fell in love with pickleball and created Montclair Pickleball.

During his career as a coach, he has taught tennis and pickleball to over 3000 players and has experience teaching both kids and adults. Matt takes an adaptive, goal oriented approach to his coaching strategies and is always looking to share his experience and spread his passion for the game. For Matt, the most important thing is helping his students accomplish their goals, no matter how big or small, while enjoying the game of pickleball.

Alex grew up in Marlton, NJ, and currently lives in Hammonton, NJ.  He’s a 5.0/pro level tournament player, and absolutely lives and breathes pickleball.

Alex grew up playing a variety of sports including tennis.  At the age of 15, he began teaching tennis to kids and adults.  Although his main passion was hockey, Alex always thought tennis would be the sport he would play forever…until he found pickleball.

In 2019, Alex discovered pickleball, and just like most people, was instantly hooked.  He has now been teaching clinics and private/group lessons for 3+ years, and has helped 100s of students.

His love of pickleball, and passion for helping others grow their game is always on display with his positive, enthusiastic coaching style.  For Alex, there is no greater reward then a call or text from an excited student after successfully executing a new shot, or a picture of them after winning a medal.  

Aaron grew up in and lives in Montclair, NJ, went to Montclair High School, and graduated from the University of Maryland. He’s a pickleball lover, 5.0+/Pro tournament player, and co-founder of Montclair Pickleball.

Aaron grew up playing tennis, began teaching at 16, and eventually started an academy in Montclair called First Serve Tennis with his good friend Matt. He thought tennis would be his main passion, but was introduced to pickleball during his freshman year of college when he met and developed a friendship with future World No. 1 pickleball player Ben Johns (who convinced him to try it).

Aaron has now coached over 3000 pickleball and tennis players of all ages and levels, and frequently competes in tournaments. He loves sharing his passion for pickleball with others, and helping players improve their game while having a great time.

Chrissy lives in Essex County, New Jersey with her daughter, and is a high-level, competitive pickleball player. She has been playing pickleball for 4+ years and coaching for 2+ years.

She currently competes at the 4.5+ level, actively plays in leagues and tournaments, and has built a reputation for herself as one of the highest-level female players in North Jersey.

Chrissy likes working with players of all levels to help them figure out what they need to work on most to push their games forward.

Jeff is a high-level pickleball player and coach who’s been playing since 2018. He grew up in Kansas and currently lives in Mays Landing, NJ.

Jeff’s athletic history includes high school tennis, national-level racquetball, 10+ years of racquetball coaching and youth sports coaching, and now years of pickleball. Jeff currently competes at the 4.5+ level. As a pickleball coach, Jeff places a large emphasis on fundamentals and footwork.

Jeff’s favorite thing about pickleball is the diversity of the people you meet, but what he enjoys most about pickleball is helping his students improve and reach their pickleball goals.

Lucia is from Verona, NJ and has been playing pickleball for over 5years.  Interestingly, she first played at JMU in 1995/96 when she & her friends wanted to try something new. She married and traveled the country with her Army husband and forgot all about pickleball until 5 years ago. Lucia competes in tournaments at the 4.5+ level in addition to still playing USTA tennis national tournaments.

Lucia currently works as a Realtor and Real Estate Investor and teaches pickleball part time.   Her primary focus is for everyone to love pickleball and to connect people with each other within the pickleball community.