Swings and Minds

Coach Holub, my high school tennis coach and one of the most impactful mentors in my life. While he is an incredible coach on the court, what truly sets him apart is the way he shapes us as people. He doesn’t just teach forehands and footwork. He teaches resilience, discipline, and character.

Coach Holub brings unmatched enthusiasm to everything he does. Whether it’s a 6 a.m. practice every single day before school (which he doesn’t have to do) or a long tournament day, his energy never fades. He shows up fully every single day, and that consistency pushes us to do the same. His grit is contagious. When we’re down in a match or going through a tough stretch in the season, he reminds us that toughness isn’t about never struggling; it’s about refusing to quit. Even during our most recent tournament the only reason I took gold was because of his support and advice during a time of struggle for me. Because of him, I’ve learned how to compete with heart and how to handle adversity with composure.

What makes Coach Holub truly special, though, is how deeply he cares about his players. He sees us as more than athletes. He checks in on us academically, asks about our lives outside of tennis, and genuinely listens. He has a way of making every player feel valued and important, whether you’re playing first singles or cheering from the sidelines. He celebrates our wins, supports us through losses, and always reminds us that our worth isn’t defined by a scoreboard. That kind of care builds confidence, and not just in our game, but in ourselves.

Personally, Coach Holub has helped me grow in ways that go far beyond tennis. He’s taught me how to stay disciplined when things get hard, how to lead by example, and how to hold myself to a higher standard. The lessons I’ve learned from him will stick with me long after my final match.

Any program or organization would be incredibly fortunate to have Coach Holub. His passion, integrity, and genuine love for his players make him not just a great coach, but a truly great human being.

Sincerely,

Adithya Narayan

We are writing to recommend Karl for a tennis coaching position. Over the past year,

Karl has worked privately with our son Andrew, who plays on the JV tennis team at Memorial High

School and we have been extremely impressed with the impact he has had on Andrew from both the physical and mental parts of the game. 

Prior to working with Karl, Andrews tennis game was much more reactionary and passive.

Karl quickly recognized areas where Andrew could see significant improvement and helped him develop a more aggressive, confident mindset on the court. In a relatively short period of time, we have witnessed Andrew becoming more assertive and confident in his overall game.

Karl’s coaching has extended beyond just his tennis instruction. He has taken a genuine interest in Andrew personally and has focused equally on developing the mental side of the game.

He has encouraged him to read books on strategy, competition, and mindset and also discusses the importance incorporating these lessons into his game.

This coaching has helped Andrew improve not only as a player, but also in his confidence and maturity off the court. We would highly recommend Karl as tennis coaching coach and mentor. From what we have seen, not only is Karl knowledgeable about the game, but genuinely cares about helping young athletes improve both on and off the court.

Sincerely,

The Bell Family

Karl Holub is the primary tennis coach for my son, Owen Richmond. Owen is a sophomore at Houston

Memorial High School and is on the school tennis team. Karl has been coaching Owen 1 to 2 times per

week since the fall of 2024.

Owen’s tennis game has drastically improved while under the instruction of Karl for the past year and a

half. Karl has taken the time to thoroughly assess Owen’s skills and has carefully and methodically

improved every aspect of his tennis game.

Karl offers up a tremendous amount of feedback and advice with every tennis exercise that is worked on

within a lesson. While most other tennis pros that we have worked with in the past have always just

focused on fundamentals, Karl has taken the time to address the mental and strategy aspects of Owen’ s

tennis game as well, not just the fundamentals.

Karl’s approach to teaching Owen the game of tennis is presented in a manner that I feel resonates with

high school age players. Karl’s calm method of teaching on the court allows Owen to effectively absorb

the information. In addition to the on-court instruction, Karl will often supply Owen with instructional

tennis or mental strength videos or even books relevant to what they are currently working on. This

allows Owen to continue to study the game outside of the on-court lessons. Again, this is something

we’ve never been offered with other tennis pros.

Karl always checks in with Owen when he knows he is playing in tournaments and helps Owen navigate

the mental ups and downs of being a year-round tournament tennis player on a very competitive high

school team. This aspect also was always missing with other tennis pros.

Karl has also been extremely good at communicating with me as a parent every step of the way. I have

never been at a loss as to what is going on with Owen’s tennis development. I feel Owen has been

extremely lucky to have received Karl’s coaching and mentoring over the past 1.5 years. I would strongly

recommend Karl to anyone for developing high school age tennis players!

Regards,

J. Richmond

Dear Coach,

It’s been such a privilege to have met the coolest and best mentor out there. Out of all the teachers I’ve met, you reshaped my mindset the most. Thank you so much for wanting to make a change in Paetow tennis. Your dedication truly leaves me in awe, & I praise you every chance I get to my classmates haha.

I hope in this new chapter, you find the respect & love you deserve. With your guidance, I found my drive to keep things like, and reach for improvement with each day. I’ll be sure to keep missing you to my orchestra concerts!

Thank you so much for everything, Coach. Wishing you all the success in the world!!

— Kathy Nguyen

So I like the Daddy cause he gives me lots an lots of the tennis balls he knows my favorite is the orange and yellow because its extra squishy so then he lets me snuggle with him and when its time to sleep I just only need to touch his left calf under the covers and I am snoring good. but the bad part is the snacks he does not give me enough of the snacks I like the bacon and I like the cheese and I know there is more cheese in the silver box and he does not get the more chees from the silver cold box...so I give him 2 paws only 5 stars for snuggles and unlimited tennis balls. Whoof...Bruce I a Boston Terrier

Shanni’s Review of Daddy’s Home Security Management

“Daddy is pretty good, but we have some serious disagreements about security.”

I love Daddy. He gives me food, scratches my ears, and lets me live here, which is very nice of him.

BUT…

Daddy does not appreciate my work as Chief of Security and Defender of the House.

Apparently, when I see someone outside the window, I am supposed to just sit there and watch them.

HELLO, DADDY.
THAT IS NOT HOW SECURITY WORKS.

There are ENEMIES everywhere:

📬 The Postman/Postwoman — Extremely suspicious. Comes to our house every day. Daddy keeps saying, “They’re just delivering the mail.”
I don't believe him.

📦 The UPS Man/Woman — Even more suspicious because they bring BIG BOXES and then run away.

📦 The Amazon Man/Woman — Same operation, different uniform. Definitely part of the organization.

🥡 The DoorDash Man/Woman — Shows up with food, which is confusing because Daddy gets excited about them. I still bark just to be safe.

And then there are the REAL THREATS.

🐿️ Squirrels — EXTRA BARKS REQUIRED.
They climb trees, run across the yard, and clearly have no respect for our property line.

🦝 Raccoons — Criminals. Obviously.

🦨 Opossums — Weird nighttime creatures that appear out of nowhere. Maximum alert.

🦎 Lizards — Small, fast, suspicious and absolutely cannot be trusted.

My job is simple:

DETECT.
BARK.
DEFEND.
REPEL ALL BOARDERS.

So I don't understand why Daddy gets VERY, VERY UPSET when I do my job.

Sometimes he says, “Shanni! STOP BARKING!”

I'm like...

“Daddy. You hired me for security. What exactly did you think I was going to do?”

Three stars because Daddy is wonderful, but management needs to improve its understanding of professional canine security procedures.

I will continue protecting the house.

You're welcome.

— Shanni 🐾
Chief of Security, Defender of the Couch, Enemy of Squirrels