Robert Owens
Director & Head Coach, Move Your Feet Sports
Robert has been coaching for over twenty years. He’s run tennis programs in schools, clubs, & academies in Ireland, Australia, the UK & the US. He developed The Move Your Feet Sports high energy tennis program utilizing this international coaching experience.
Robert is a technical instructor. He welcomes the opportunity to develop or fine tune your strokes, and will give you an understanding of the game so you can practice and play very well.
For more information on Robert and his programs, visit Move Your Feet Sports.
James Rohrbacher
Teaching Pro, Diversey Tennis Center
James Rohrbacher (he/they) is a USPTA-certified teaching professional with 25 years’ of teaching experience and 13 years of experience as General Manager of Lincoln Park Tennis Club/Diversey Tennis Center. James’s teaching style focuses on strategy rather than technique, emphasizing ways to “win with what you have.” He played high school and college tennis, and won back-to-back Chicago District Tennis Association (CDTA) 5.0 Doubles titles in 2001 and 2002 with partner Sean Cahill.
James primarily teaches adult private and semi-private lessons. As a co-career, James is also a 30-year veteran of the food service industry. In 1998, James renewed his passion for cooking when he was hired as a private chef for a small financial consulting firm interested in providing healthful, plant-based meals to the company’s employees. James has developed a culinary philosophy around creating exquisite, interesting, whole-plant food cuisine, using high-quality, seasonal ingredients. He is grateful for all the experiences and opportunities that have come his way. Those experiences have included a stage at Grant Achatz’s Michelin 3-star restaurant “Alinea,” a try-out for Gordon Ramsey’s reality TV show, “Hell’s Kitchen,” and continuous consulting work with New York Times best selling author Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of “Eat to Live.” He now has his own nutrition business, Chef James Nutrition. James’s other passions include music (he has a Bachelor of Music-Performance from U.W.-Madison), fitness (he was an ACTION-certified personal trainer), art (he curated a small gallery for artists in recovery), and running (he is currently training for his 5th marathon).
James is proud to be on the LGBTQIA+ task force for the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), and is available as a liaison or point-of-contact for the Chicagoland area. If you need support, a friendly ear, or if you feel you’ve been discriminated against because of any fixed identity, please feel free to reach out.
Visit his website or contact him by phone/text at 773-477-9217. His current private lesson rate is $76/hour.
Jeroen Stedehouder
Lead Pro, Lincoln Park Tennis Association
Jeroen Stedehouder was born and raised in The Netherlands. His father taught him the game of tennis at the young age of 6. As a child, you could always find him on the court with his father, who spent many hours teaching him all he knew about tennis. By the time he became a teenager he was hooked on the sport. When he moved to the United States at the age of 16, the high school coaches immediately put him on the court. This is when he realized he had a gift and a passion for tennis.
He competed and made it to the men’s singles final at the Tennis State Tournament in Texas as a high school senior. He attended Texas A&M University and got an MS in Financial Mathematics and Electrical Engineering. Upon graduating, he went on to become a quantitative analyst and commodity trader in Amsterdam and Singapore. After several years, he moved back to the United States to Chicago to start his own companies.
Today he runs two businesses. As a naturally high energy individual, he wanted something that was more hands-on as well. That’s when he found that coaching tennis fulfilled the missing gap and brought him a lot of joy. He has been coaching tennis for the last 3 years. In addition to tennis, today you can find Jeroen traveling the world with his wife Jacqueline, skiing, hiking mountains, or shooting photography as a hobby.
“You only live once, but you get to serve twice” – Unknown.
Contact Jeroen by phone/text at 312-813-6580.
Raul Esquerra
Lead Pro, Lincoln Park Tennis Association
Raul was a top ranked junior, competing in national tournaments from age 12 and playing other noteworthy tournaments like the Orange Bowl. He then played collegiate tennis for nationally-ranked Cal State and then DePaul university, where he also lettered in track. He’s played International Tennis Federation events on the Senior Tennis Tour. Raul has taught tennis at various Northshore clubs and was most recently a tennis pro at Chicago’s Saddle & Cycle. Other tennis thrills include being part of José María “Pepe” Arenas’ team during the most recent US Open. Pepe is one of the most versatile and respected coaches on both the ATP and WTA tours. During an earlier Grand Slam tournament, also with Pepe, Raul tried his hardest not to be star struck when realizing that Ivan Lendl was their counterpart, sitting in the opposing player’s box.
Raul holds BS degrees in Finance, Economics as well as an MBA. Raul was a Senior Vice President in the cyber security organization of a major financial institution, building a global team and directing the establishment of operations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He’s held senior roles in renewable energy companies that both designed and built large scale photovoltaic power plants in the U.S. and Europe.
He lives in Evanston.
Joey Salerno
Pro, Lincoln Park Tennis Association
Joey has been coaching tennis for 30 years and is an experienced competitive player, as well. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. In junior competitive play, he maintained a top 3 ranking throughout a junior career in his section and was also highly ranked nationally. During National junior play, Joey beat French Open Champions Michael Chang and Jim Courier. He played tennis at Tyler Junior College and was on the national championship team and an all American. He transferred to University of Nebraska and was All Big Eight his junior year before transferring to University of Alabama for his senior year. Joey played 4 singles and 1 doubles to complete his college playing career at Alabama. Following college, he became the Assistant Coach for University of Alabama and helped lead the team to its only NCAA quarterfinal appearance in school history. Joey has been in Chicago for 20 years working with high performance juniors and adults at various playing levels and has worked locally at Midtown, Lakeshore and McFetridge. Joey enjoys working with all levels of play.
His philosophy is simple: Learn good fundamental technique, strategy, tactics and be mentally ready to deal with all types of adversity while competing. Joey is excited about teaching at Diversey and getting a chance to work with a variety of players.
Contact Joey by phone/text at 312-771.9403.
Joe Schmigelsky
Pro, Lincoln Park Tennis Association
Joe’s been an active tennis player for nearly 20 years and is the captain of a 4.5 18&O men’s USTA team that, in 2022, won state championships and represented the State of Illinois at sectionals. He’s actively taught tennis for nearly 15 years, and is experienced with juniors, beginners and advanced players. Joe’s philosophy is focusing on the fundamentals and court strategy to further develop the player’s game.
Joe has taught at LPTA since 2020 and has been assisting John Bhatty’s camps since 2021. Prior to his time in Chicago, Joe played 4.5 men’s USTA in Minnesota for 5 years and played on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Club Team for 4 years. Teaching the game to others and sharing lessons with others continues to be a joy.
Joe lives with his wife and dog in Lincoln Park. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to teach at LPTA for the past two years. The players are always asking questions to further improve their games while enjoying being on the court. Looking forward to another great year!”
Contact Joe by phone/text at 608.215.5092.
