Fourteen years ago, Ludington’s Hall of Fame tennis coaches Cliff Perez and Tom Kudwa started a Co-Ed Middle School league which today includes North Muskegon, Whitehall, Grant, Fruitport, Reeths-Puffer, Spring Lake, Grand Haven, and Mona Shores. Doubles and singles are played on Saturdays with schools volunteering to be hosts.

The director of this program is Jeff Nellis who is Chief Judge of Mason and Oceana counties. He was a cross country runner who converted to tennis in his sophomore year at Corunna High School where he played 2D and 4S from 1979 - 1981. “I was a very average player and our team was ok,” he says of the experience, but the bottom line might be that he felt a loss at starting so relatively late.

 

How to rectify this for others? After securing a degree from U of M and a law degree from Wayne State, Jeff settled in Ludington where he became involved in the middle school tennis program on behalf of his son.

 

“That was 14 years ago and I am still coaching to this day,” he says.  “I was, in fact, recruited by Cliff and Tom.  Probably 90% of what I know about coaching tennis I learned from them.  Recently, I have had the good fortune to work with Larry Brown [2007 Boys Coach of the Year] who also has been an excellent mentor.  I thoroughly enjoyed coaching  both of my kids.  My son Sam went on to be a doubles state semi-finalist in 2012 and his team finished 3rd in Division 4 that year.”

 

“That said, I have had the opportunity to coach hundreds of middle school students over that last 14 years, and I am truly grateful to have been given that opportunity,” he continues.  I have had a lot of help to the extent that I now have six assistant coaches this year, one of which is a former middle school team member who is now an elementary school teacher in the district.”

 

 “The program has grown and Jeff has served the overall program excellently,” says Tom. “He has put together a nice staff of assistant coaches and created an environment that both adults and students want to be a part of. He has taken great pride in growing the MS program and making it fun and productive for the kids.”

 

Each year, the highlight of the middle school season is the year-end tournament.  “Typically we have 5 schools, 150 + participants playing on 9 courts, single elimination doubles and singles,” he says  “There are 9 total flights divided by grade, 6th, 7th and 8th grade.  It is truly a day-long event.”

 

“He makes a big deal of it,” says Grant’s Middle School coach Melinda Zerlaut, who is the wife of our current president and who has worked with Jeff for over a decade. “He introduces each of the finalists and has a picture taken. Each champ gets to take home a large handwritten bracket with their trophy as a memento.”

 

Furthermore, he purchases all of the trophies. “When asked about other schools chipping in to help pay, he brushes it off saying, ‘I got this,’” says Melinda. “He always has a huge smile and encouragement for all the finalists and others, no matter what school they are from.”

 

Jeff is one of the friendliest coaches out there,” she continues. “He has the personality and demeanor that is always welcoming. He greets all parents and players with such enthusiasm so that you can’t help but get excited about tennis. He is not in the school system but you would have a hard time telling that after talking to him. He has a heart for kids and coaching.”

“At the end of the day, I do this because I love it. The kids, the sport and the relationships have all given me so much.”