Brian Dean: My Grandma Made Me Do It!

Brian Dean, longtime tennis pro at Schroeder Tennis Center in Tipp City, is taking on a new challenge. This fall, he is moving to Indiana to take on the role of Director of Tennis Operations at the United States Professional Tennis Association’s (USPTA) new Indianapolis complex.

Growing up, Brian would never have imagined stepping into such an important role in the tennis world.

“My grandmother started it all,” reflects Brian. He remembers that his grandmother loved tennis and taught him and his brother to play. Brian says, “Tennis wasn’t my favorite sport at the time, but I learned.”

After high school, Brian got his first job working the desk at Dayton Center Courts (DCC), an indoor (and outdoor) tennis complex located on the east side of Salem Avenue. Brian played tennis whenever he could.  Then one day in 1992, Kirk Anderson, the Director of Tennis at DCC, called Brian into his office and handed him a book, “How to Be a Tennis Professional,” published by the USPTA. Brian says he still has the book. Anderson said, “Brian, you’re going to read this book, you’re going to study it, and I’ve already signed you up to be a certified tennis instructor.” And Brian looked at him and said, “You’re nuts, I don’t even know you!” But Anderson responded, “Brian, I see something in you. You’ll be taking the exam in six weeks. I’ve already signed you up.” 

So, Kirk Anderson tutored Brian for two weeks. Brian studied the book, took the exam in Cincinnati, and was certified. Without Kirk Anderson, says Brian, “That would have never happened.” Brian taught tennis at DCC for several years, then came to Schroeder Tennis Center in Tipp City, and has been there for 30 years. “Schroeder Tennis Center has really been amazing”, says Brian. “And I’m grateful for this place. If it weren’t for Schroeder, I wouldn't have my children, one of whom has already graduated from UD and one who is still attending. I met their mother here on the courts.”

Besides teaching tennis, Brian also strings tennis racquets. It sounds easy, says Brian, “But it’s really somewhat of an art. You have to match the strings and the racquet to the player. Does he need more power or more spin? Does her racquet need to be bigger or smaller? What combination best helps their game?”

Ten years ago, Brian’s tennis world took a turn. He received a call from a mother whose son was paralyzed from the waist down, and asked Brian to teach her son wheelchair tennis. Brian said yes, so he and the young boy learned wheelchair tennis together, played in a tournament together, and Brian’s been deeply involved in wheelchair tennis ever since. Since then, Brian met Lynn Bender, Chair of the Wheelchair Committee for the USTA Mid-West region, which sponsors wheelchair tennis programs all over the Midwest.

Brian explains, “Wheelchair tennis has changed my life. It’s the pathway that shows that tennis can be for everyone”. Brian and his brother, Dave, who has since passed away, started a wheelchair player charity called AH Sports (Ace High Sports), which provides a $1,000 grant each year to a junior wheelchair tennis player. They have since expanded the charity to provide a wheelchair sports chair each year.

Brian says, “I feel so blessed. I look in the mirror and say, ‘Really, me?’ It’s a bittersweet decision to leave Schroeder Tennis Center. I don’t know exactly what my new job will be, in Indianapolis, as Director of Tennis Operations at the new USPTA complex. But I’m excited and can’t wait!” 

Brian explains, “Tennis is a community. A ball and a racquet start it, but it grows into something much more than that. And it all started with my grandmother when I was eight years old.”