After not stepping on a court for over five months, teaching pro Jon Neeter now finds himself reenergized and reinvigorated to be at the Palisades Tennis Center. A former assistant coach at Duke University, a perennially Top-10 ranked Division I men’s program, Neeter has had a career in tennis that spans over 12 years. Over the past two years Neeter traveled to the Grand Slam and Masters events on the ATP Tour, working with top pros and their agents. “It was an amazing experience and a great opportunity to see the pinnacle of tennis,” Neeter says. After that once in a lifetime experience, he felt it was time to use his tennis knowledge in a more proactive educational manner. That’s when Neeter met Andy McDonnell, Director of Tennis Operations at the Palisades Tennis Center through mutual friend Stephen Amritraj who played under Neeter at Duke. Amritraj currently competes on the ATP Tour and trains at the PTC. “Andy convinced me to come out to one of the LiveBall clinics at the center and I thought it was great,” Neeter says. “I could tell right away there was something special here and that I wanted to a be a part of it.” During his tenure at Duke, Neeter helped the Blue Devils achieve a No. 3 national ranking, earning wins over top programs like UCLA, USC and the University of Georgia. The program boasted four All-Americans and two Top-10 ranked singles players. “We had six players on the team that have earned ATP rankings and three of them played in the main draw of the US Open before even entering college.” Prior to Duke, Neeter specialized in training high-level nationally ranked junior players as well as entry level professionals at a tennis academy in College Park, Maryland. Several players Neeter coached achieved top 10 national rankings, including three players who were ranked No. 1 in the nation in their respective age groups. “Now my plan is to help guide our junior, academy and pro level players at Palisades to higher levels,” Neeter says. “With a little coaching and a lot of hard work, I plan for some of our world class juniors such as Clay Thompson, Eduardo Nava and Cristobal Rivera to become the next Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. With the level of play in our workouts, I don’t feel that’s too unrealistic. There is some amazing talent here.” Neeter estimates the juniors he coached have earned over a million dollars in college scholarships. “It’s amazing to see kids I started coaching when they were as young as 12 graduating in a couple of weeks from schools like Virginia, Pennsylvania and Indiana,” he says. “I guess I had something to do with that and it makes me realize I did something positive.” Neeter admits it’s not just the game that has him excited to be back on the court, but the energy at the PTC. “The people here are great,” he says. “They treat the staff like equals and you get to know their entire families, it’s a true family affair. The programs that Steve Bellamy and the staff have created are truly special. I’m enjoying working with players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to advanced juniors, everything is just very positive here, it’s a great place to be. “Tennis has taken me all over the world and introduced me to many great people,” he continues. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of our nation’s top players and coaches. I took something different from each experience that helped with the next situation. Now, I hope to use those experiences to help build the program here in the Palisades and help the young players here realize what tennis can help them achieve.”
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