Troy Collins has a career strewn with successes. Junior tennis championships while growing up in South-Central Los Angeles. A full athletic scholarship to San Diego State. Fourteen years earning a living as a midlevel player on the professional tennis circuit. And, now, a job as a teaching pro at a private tennis club.
But the highlight of his career came this spring when he walked across the stage at Los Angeles Southwest College to receive a two-year associate's degree that was nearly 20 years in the making.
"That was the proudest moment of my life," says Collins, 38, sitting courtside at Sunny Hills Racquet Club in Fullerton. "To see the gleam in my father's eye when I said, 'Hey, Dad, I've taken care of this'--which is all a parent really wants. They didn't work hard all those years back then [just] for me to be a great tennis player."
Collins' return to school--he plans to eventually seek a bachelor's degree in administration-- has left him with one foot in each of two courts, as a student and a teacher.
As the teaching pro at Sunny Hills, Collins says, he earns around the middle of an industry range of $40,000 to $80,000 per year. His job entails spending hours each day instructing tennis buffs of all ages in everything from basics to intricacies of the game. Students such as Lisa Howell, for whom time on the court is a change of pace from hours spent running her florist shop.
On a recent day, Collins helped Howell and three friends prepare for a doubles tournament at the club. The hourlong lesson cost the four women $80.
Howell met Collins, whom she describes as "intense," shortly after he started at the club. He quickly became her favorite instructor.
"I love intense people because I feel like I'm kind of intense," she says. "When I pay money to have a lesson, I want somebody to work my tail off.
And he makes you feel like you're playing professional tennis, like this is the most important thing in the world."
Collins, who describes Howell as one of the club's better players, finds satisfaction helping Howell and others improve their game.
"Being able to give and also being able to see a person get the fullness and the most enjoyment of the game," he says. "Hopefully, that's why they're in it."
His biggest satisfaction comes from working with young athletes, he says.
