Our Staff

Mary is the Tennis Director at Fox Creek Golf and Racquet Club where she has served as a Tennis Teaching Professional for the past 17 years. Mary has developed collegiate players, nationally ranked junior players and high school state champions and twice has coached teams to win gold medals in the National AAU Junior Olympics. Mary has coached Nationally ranked players for the United States Tennis Association. She has coached USTA Zonals, participated in the High Performance Coaching Workshop and served as an Area Training Center Coach. Mary is a past President for the United States Professional Tennis Association's (USPTA) Midwest Division. She was the President of the North Eastern Ohio Tennis Association. She was the recipient of the Herb Nold Volunteer Award in 1998 for North East Ohio and was given the National Tennis Industry Excellence Award from the United States Professional Tennis Association at the World Conference in 1995. She has been a speaker for numerous High School Coaches Conferences. She is on the Wilson Premier Advisory Staff.

Howard Joffe, an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American at Pepperdine University and former professional tennis player, is the Miami University women's tennis head coach. He spent three years in the professional ranks before embarking on a coaching career which has taken him to two continents and spanned nearly 12 years. A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Joffe is familiar with the Midwest after having served as a teaching professional and director of tennis at Kettering Tennis Center and Quail Run Racquet Clubs in Dayton, Ohio, from 1999 to 2001. Coach Joffee won a gold medal in singles and silver medal in doubles at the 1989 Maccabie Games in TelAviv, Israel. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from USC.

Adam Shoemaker is entering his 11th year working the tennis camp at Oberlin College. He is currently the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach, assistant men’s soccer coach and assistant director of admissions at Oberlin. He graduated from Oberlin in 1996 with a degree in history and got his Master’s Degree in American Studies from the University of Alabama. Adam is looking forward to testing your concentration every morning with “Adam Says.”

Al Wermer enters his 13th season as the head men's tennis coach at the University of Toledo. He is a former USPTA Midwest Board Member and club coach in Columbus, OH and has coached many individuals who have attained regional and national rankings. Wermer possesses over 24 years of coaching experience, including 12 at the collegiate level. Before entering coaching, he played a season on the professional circuit. A graduate of Capital University with a degree in physical education, Wermer also began his collegiate coaching career with the Crusaders in 1992. In 2004, he received his masters of arts degree from UT in recreation and leisure studies.

Kyle graduated from Norwalk High School. While in school he played soccer, basketball and tennis. He set and holds the school record for wins. He went to the Ohio High School State Tennis Tournament in doubles and singles. He is currently a junior at Malone College in Canton, Ohio. He is majoring in business and accounting. Kyle plays both singles and doubles on his college team. During his first two years of college, his team went to the regional finals. This is his second year at Yellow Ball Tennis Camp.

Neil graduated from Amherst High School in Ohio. He played tennis and soccer. He will be attending The University of Dayton to study engineering in the fall. He enjoys spending time with his friends and playing the guitar.

Jake graduated from Elyria Catholic High School. He played 4 years of varsity tennis and was captain of his team his senior year. He finished third in the state in doubles his senior year. He is currently attending Lorain County Community College where he is majoring in education. He teaches tennis at FoxCreek Golf and Racquet Club in Lorain. This is Jake’s third year with the camp.

Alaina returns to Yellowball Tennis Camp this summer after graduating from University of Michigan law school in Ann Arbor this May, where she also taught at tennis at Liberty Athletic Club. Alaina graduated from Oberlin College in 2003 where she played #1 and #2 singles as well as #1 doubles and was a four-year first-team all-conference selection and a regionally ranked singles player. Originally from the tennis hot-bed of Okemos, Michigan, in 1999 she co-captained Michigan's high school state championship tennis team. After camp, (and the Bar Exam) Alaina plans to move to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to clerk for a federal judge. Alaina has taught tennis for many years and this is her third full summer with Yellowball.

Ron Gasper currently attends Lorain County Community College. Ron is going to transfer to Cleveland State University for nursing where he will try out for the tennis team. Ron currently works at FoxCreek Golf and Racquet Club. He has been playing tennis since age 5. In his spare time he likes to go to the beach and Jet Ski.

Justin Greenlee currently attends Kenyon College, where he studies English and Art history. He graduated from Shaker Heights High School where he played on the varsity tennis team for four years. He is a two-time state qualifier in doubles and in 2005 earned a 3rd place finish with his team in the Ohio High School Team Tournament. Justin has taught tennis at camps and academies for the past six summers. He is also a past Yellow Ball Camper!

Ashley Herrick is from Amherst Ohio. She is a graduate of Elyria Catholic High School. She played varsity tennis for four years. She was a 2- time Ohio High School State Qualifier finishing as a runner-up her junior year and a doubles state champion her senior year. Ashley plans on attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the fall. She is currently in the college of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Ryan is a 2004 graduate of Elyria Catholic High School where he played 4 years of Varsity Tennis and soccer. He just finished his first year at Xavier University where he is majoring in International Business and Economics. Ryan has been teaching tennis for 5 years and looks forward to a lifelong involvement in the sport.

Jessica Schiller is a sophomore at The University of Virginia. She played junior tennis since age 10 and was highly ranked in the Midwest section. Jessica was an Ohio High School State Qualifier representing Shaker Heights High School. She has taught tennis at the Shaker Heights High School for numerous years. Her favorite movies are “She’s the man” and “Stomp the Yard”.

GUEST SPEAKERS

• WTA TOUR singles titles: 7
  
• WTA TOUR doubles titles: 19 (includes 2 Olympic titles)
  
• Grand Slam titles: 2 doubles
  
• Finalist in 3 Grand Slams
  
• Got passed the quarter finals or better in 17 Grand Slams
  
• ESPN commentator
  
• Member of winning 1996 USA Fed Cup team (United States Fed Cup Team 1991, 1994-1999
  
• Spokesperson for Burger King, Nike, Mizuno, Schwab, and Rolex
  
• United States Olympic Team 1992, 1996.
  
• Most highly decorated United States Olympian (one gold and two bronze medals
  
• Won 1993 and 1995 Indian Wells
  
• In 1997, qualified for the season-ending Chase Championships for the seventh time in nine years as one of the best 16 players of the year
  
• Youngest player (14 years, 8 days) to win a U.S. Open match when she defeated Sara Gomer in 1985
  
• Elected to the WTA TOUR Players’ Council for a fourth consecutive year in 1999/00
  
• Member of the USTA executive board
  
• Recipient of the 1998 Family Circle Cup/Hormel Foods Player Who Makes A Difference Award; Family Circle and Hormel Foods each donated $10,000 to her charities
  
• A spokesperson of the WTA TOUR’S F.I.R.S.T. Serve schools program
  
• In 1993, contributed a women’s tennis scholarship to Florida International University in Miami
  
• In 1994, became national spokesperson for Cities In School/Burger King Academy program aimed at school drop-out prevention
  
• Was the 1998 spokesperson for Will to Win, a scholarship program for senior high school athletes with asthma
  
• Married Tony Godsick on April 8, 2000
  
• Hobbies include golf, wave running and water skiing

• Varsity Coach for Shaker High School Boys and Girls Team since 1980.
  
• In the year 2000 his boy’s team won the Ohio High School State Championship.
  
• In 2005 his team finished 3rd in the state.
  
• They have won 11 impressive district doubles championships since 1980.
  
• His teams have compiled over 800 victories over the course of his career.
  
• He was won 7 district team championships since 1996.
  
• Al has served as a tennis speaker for many high school coaches’ workshops and Midwest conferences.
  
• He will be inducted into the Ohio High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
  
• Al just recently retired from teaching math for 32 years at Shaker High School.
  
• He is a USPTA P-1 Level Professional