STAFF

Ferris State University Racquet and Fitness Center

STAFF

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	Derek Ameel Director, PTM Program & Manager, Racquet & Fitness Club ameeld@ferris.edu Derek is the director of the Professional Tennis Management program at Ferris State University and manager for the 16 court racquet and fitness center in Big Rapids, MI. He is a USPTA P1 and PTR Professional, a Certified Speed, Agility and Quickness Instructor, Professional Tennis Training Consultant and he holds a USTA High Performance Certification as a specialist in Competitive Player Development. He has been a speaker on training tennis players for over 13 years at numerous USPTA, USTA, GPTA and training workshops and conventions throughout the country. Derek’s prior experience before accepting the position at Ferris State was president and owner of Tennis N' Training Inc., Director of Adult and Junior Tennis at the James Creek Tennis Center in Cumming, Georgia, and most recently the Director of Tennis for the City of Bainbridge, Georgia. During his 25 years as a coach and trainer, he has worked with and developed dozens of juniors who have received college scholarships, state through ITF world ranked juniors, professional players, tennis academies, college teams and the USTA Player Development Program. Derek graduated from the Professional Tennis Management/ Marketing program at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. He has worked for the Southern Tennis Association as a Zonals coach for 8 years, a coach for the National Championships 12's, 16's and 18's as well as the Mills/Redgrave coach 2001, 2004 and 2005. From the years 1999-2006, Derek represented Georgia as a coach for their Junior Davis/Fed Cup undefeated team. In addition, he served as the USTA Georgia Competition Training Center coordinator and head coach from 1996 – 2009. Derek completed the USTA Level I and II sport science courses and co-authored "Explosive Power Training for Tennis", available at On Court Off Court, Inc.
	Collin Cadwell PTM Administrative Assistant cadwelc@ferris.edu Collin is the Administrive Assistant of the PTM Program since 2006. Prior to Ferris, Collin worked as a teaching professional at Westside Club in Houston, TX and Crane Creek Country Club in Boise, ID. Working in the tennis industry for the past 15 years, Collin is a USPTA-P1 Certified Tennis Professional and a graduate of the PTM Program.
	Wendy Oertling Racquet Facility Fitness Coordinator & Assistant Manager oertlinw@ferris.edu Wendy Oertling serves as the FSU Racquet Facility Fitness Coordinator and Assistant Manager. Wendy graduated from Central MI University with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Dance. She completes 15 CEU's in Exercise Physiology, Mat Science, Sr. Fitness, etc every two years. Wendy is certified through (AFAA) Aerobics & Fitness Association of America in primary group exercise, step, spinning and personal training and she also holds a certification in Zumba and Fit Tour. Wendy coordinates all fitness programs for the facility as well as manages daily operations. She works closely with PTM students in their on-going internship and provides training for multiple areas of the club. In addition, Oertling also teaches 10 hours a week of multiple fitness classes for the university.
	Alex Palladino Head Men's & Women's Tennis Coach pallada@ferris.edu Alex Palladino serves as the school's head men's and women's tennis coach. A United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Certified Tennis Professional, Palladino has worked as a tennis instructor in West Michigan for the last 20 years since his collegiate playing career ended in 1987. Palladino, who competed at the NCAA Division III level for Kalamazoo College from 1984-87, led the Hornets to back-to-back NCAA-III National Championships his final two years under head coach George Acker. He captured NCAA-III national titles in doubles play while teaming with Jim Burda as both a junior and senior. Twice, he reached the NCAA-III championship match as a singles player at Kalamazoo. While at Kalamazoo College, Palladino earned four varsity letters and also claimed the school's Most Accomplished Athlete Award as a senior. He competed at both the top singles and doubles flights as a collegian. In addition, Palladino was a four-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) selection and named league MVP his final campaign. Since finishing his collegiate career, Palladino has served in a variety of tennis roles. He spent two years as a teaching professional in Chicago and five years at the East Hills club in Grand Rapids. In 1986, Palladino became the Director of Tennis at the Michigan Athletic Club in Grand Rapids where he worked until 2001 when he moved into a similar role with the Champion Health and Fitness Club in Rockford. He's also worked as the tennis director at the Kent Country Club in Grand Rapids. As a professional player, Palladino has won the adult men's Midwest Indoor Championship seven times, traveled on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Satellite Circuit and earned victories over players ranked as high as #145 in the world. He has twice been honored as the United States Professional Tennis Association's (USPTA) Midwest Player of the Year and been recognized as the West Michigan Adult Player of the Year several times. Palladino continues to play men's "open" events and has recent wins over top graduating players from both Michigan State and Western Michigan University. He graduated from Kalamazoo with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and art in 1987.
	Amy Nestle Head Tennis Professional, FSU Racquet & Fitness Center sunj@ferris.edu Jing "Amy" Sun was named Ferris State's 12th head women's tennis coach Aug. 16, 2005. Sun, also serves as co-head tennis professional for Ferris' Racquet and Fitness Center, the school's Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program and assistant director for summer camps. Prior to Ferris State, Sun most recently served as an assistant women's tennis coach at her alma mater Brigham Young University-Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii, during the 2004-05 athletics season. She has served as a summer tennis specialist at Camp Walt Whitman in Piermont, N.H., since 2001 and was the assistant director in 2005 along with working as a fitness center supervisor at BYU-Hawaii from 2002-05. Sun, a certified USPTA P-1 teaching professional, also has experience as a tennis club professional in Beijing and previously attended Beijing Sports University. She earned a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science from BYU-Hawaii in 2005. A native of Beijing, China, Sun was a member of China's National Women's Team from 1993-95. She played collegiate tennis from 2001-04 at NCAA Division II power BYU-Hawaii where she helped lead the Lady Seasiders to three consecutive national championships (2002-04) and posted a four-year singles record of 123-0 in dual match competition. BYU-Hawaii has presently claimed six national titles and earned two runner-up showings in the last eight years while compiling a 233-2 dual match record during that span. The squad was 137-1 during Sun's four-year playing career. Sun concluded her collegiate career ranked second and fourth in the West Region doubles and singles rankings, respectively.