By Dustin Kua – Tennis Pro
I was born and raised in Southern California and fell in love with the game of tennis at age 8 when I was enrolled in my first tennis camp at the Paseo Club with my small, beat-up, Wilson orange tennis racket. At the time I had no tennis background as both of my parents never played the sport but decided to sign me up one day. That decision was just one of the best things that they have done for me while growing up since it lead helped elevate and grow my character, personality, lifestyle choices, and academic career. Before tennis, I tried many other different sports but ended up falling in love with tennis and the individualistic nature of the sport. Although tennis has taught me discipline and independence, I also relied on my support group and coaches to help nurture my game. My community allowed me to compete at the highest junior levels such as playing at the Boys Kalamazoo Hard Court tournament, where the winner of the tournament would receive a wildcard entry to the Men’s U.S. Open Main Draw tournament.
Before my junior career, it was a rough start where I didn’t see much talent or improvement, however, I knew I was enjoying the game and appreciating each moment on the tennis court. However, by the time I turned 14 things started to change as I decided that I would dedicate much of my adolescent and teenage years towards the game of tennis hoping that one day it would take me to a well-respected University. Through many failures, and I mean many, there started to be glimpses of potential in me and through grit and hard work, I managed to get my first college offer at Cal Poly to play Division 1 tennis and pursue a career in Kinesiology. As a freshman at Cal Poly, I learned the hard way what it meant to be a student-athlete while trying to balance 9 p.m Chemistry labs and having 5 a.m basketball court sprints the next morning. It was a rude awakening, but an essential part of who I am today.
After my freshman year, I transferred to the University of Portland on scholarship and changed my major to Psychology and Neuroscience after being exposed to the beauty of Mental Health. Spending time on and off-campus during the Pandemic was an extremely interesting time, which tested my patience, discipline, work schedule, and taught me how to always plan. Towards my third and last year of undergrad, I was an on-court coach for my teammates and our team ended strong defeating the University of San Diego and going toe to toe with Pepperdine.
After graduating and finishing my division 1 career at the University of Portland, I have brought these lessons from on and off the court towards my passion which is in tennis, but especially in coaching. I have worked with people of all ages and skills and am extremely excited to bring these lessons and skills to the place that started it all
Dustin Kua is a tennis instructor at the Paseo Club. He thinks the club is a great environment as a coach and a member. He loves to work out and hang with his friends and his golden doodle, Hercules.
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