Andres Velasco, Tennis Director
Originally from Cali, Colombia, Andres has been playing tennis since 4 years of age. He has had the opportunity to participate in national and international junior tournaments in Colombia and a few professional ones as well. He began his professional career as volunteer assistant coach with Cameron University Women’s tennis team in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with concentration in Sports Management and IT. Here, he played for the Cameron men’s tennis team and reached NCAA Nationals where the team moved to Elite 8 achieving a record for the school.
Upon graduation, Andres worked at IMG Academy in Florida where he worked alongside the most recognized coaches in the industry and high-performance players. He moved back to Colombia to coach nationally and internationally top ranked players. He is currently pursuing an MBA in Project Management at Southern New Hampshire University.
Andres is a certified PTR Professional, and holds certifications in Biomechanics related to tennis.
Andres is looking forward to sharing my experience and knowledge with everyone at the club, and connecting with all of you and the coaches on our team.
Jon Judge, Tennis Pro
Jon carried a top ten status in the USTA New England rankings from 1982-1991 in both singles and doubles.
He established the Kennett High School tennis program as a dominant force in New Hampshire High School tennis. During his twenty-eight-year coaching career at the school, he led the Lady Eagles to 23 consecutive play-off appearances, winning four state titles, finishing runner-up four times, and winning the Northern Division Championship four times. Many of his players went on to play and star in college tennis programs around the nation. During his tenure as coach the team never had a losing seasonal record. He was inducted into the New Hampshire Coaches Hall of Fame in April of 2007 and elected to the Kennett High School Hall of Fame in September of 2010.
His 362 wins rank him in the top five all-time in the State of New Hampshire.
He holds USPTR and USRSA certifications. He worked for Jose Higuera’s tennis camps for several years in the 1980s as well as for New England Tennis Holidays for 32 years where his main emphasis was on group and individual instruction and stroke analysis through the use of video, until his recent hiring at Gilford Hills.
Rick Hassler, Tennis & Pickleball Pro
Rick played Division I tennis at University of Florida (currently the NCAA 2022 National Tennis Champions). As a Florida Gator, Rick played both number 1 singles and doubles. He won the SEC doubles championship and is in the Florida Gator record books as one of the few players to win 20 singles matches in a season.
As a junior, Rick was ranked Number 1 in New England in both singles and doubles, winning the New England’s and hundreds of tournaments. In high school, he led Framingham North to the Bay State Championship and set a Massachusetts high school record of 50 consecutive wins over three years without a defeat.
Rick is a USPTA Certified Tennis Instructor and Certified Pickle ball Professional and holds Safe Play certification for youngsters. Rick started teaching tennis at the age of 15 and loves teaching people how to enjoy tennis and pickle ball! He specializes in doubles and winning strategies, and how to improve all parts of your game and be happy!