Southlake Tennis Center: A Public Facility Built for Coaching Growth
Southlake Tennis Center has earned a reputation as one of the country’s standout public tennis facilities. Located in Bicentennial Park in Southlake, Texas, the city-owned facility features 17 lighted hard courts and two climate-controlled indoor courts, and has been recognized as a USTA Premier Facility, USTA National Facility of the Year and more.
For General Manager Mia Gordon-Poorman, those accolades matter because they support something larger: a daily environment where coaches can teach well, players can progress and the sport can grow.
“We like to say that at the tennis center we have a cycle of learn, practice, play,” Gordon-Poorman says. “You learn about the game. We give you opportunities to practice through drills and internal leagues. And then we support competition.”
That cycle is central to Southlake’s coaching philosophy. The facility is not designed simply to host lessons. It’s designed to move players from instruction into meaningful play, then back into coaching with clearer goals.
The Facility Shapes the Teaching
Southlake’s physical setup gives coaches tools that many facilities lack. Gordon-Poorman said the City of Southlake has been highly supportive of maintaining and adapting the facility to meet instructional needs.
When the staff committed more deeply to utilizing modified equipment, Southlake lined every court for 60-foot play, added 36-foot lines to four courts and marked the indoor courts for progression-based instruction. That investment changed what coaches could teach and when they could teach it.
“What we noticed is that there were certain things that could be taught on certain courts,” Gordon-Poorman says. “It made it easier, for example, to teach people the grips on the red ball court because they had control of a smaller racket.”
That same logic now applies across ages. Southlake’s beginner pathway starts with the idea that sound fundamentals are easier to build early than repair later.
“When our players go to other facilities, they consistently hear people say, ‘Oh gosh, you guys are so good. Your strokes look so nice. How did you learn that?’ And they all go, ‘Oh, we did the kids’ tennis.’”
Mia Gordon-Poorman
“New To Tennis” Creates Confident Beginners
One of Southlake’s proudest initiatives is “New To Tennis,” an all-ages program built around low-compression balls and eight-week sessions. It’s a year-long program for adults, and junior players participate from 5 to 10 years old. The adult version launched three years ago after coaches recognized that adult beginners were facing many of the same barriers as children: a full-size court that felt too large, yellow balls that bounced too high and early frustration that made the game feel inaccessible.
“A light bulb kind of went off for us as a group,” Gordon-Poorman says. “Why don’t we just start teaching adults like we teach children and stop talking about red, orange and green ball tennis as somehow baby tennis?”
Adults begin on a 36-foot red ball court with 23-inch racquets provided by the facility. They then progress through red, orange, green and yellow ball sessions before joining a coached league designed to help them feel comfortable competing.
The result has been strong retention and deeper engagement. Gordon-Poorman said more than 120 adult players have gone through the pathway, with many now playing on USTA teams or in internal leagues. Some early participants in the program recently qualified for the USTA Playoffs at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels.
The feedback has validated the approach. “When our players go to other facilities, they consistently hear people say, ‘Oh gosh, you guys are so good. Your strokes look so nice. How did you learn that?’” Gordon-Poorman says. “And they all go, ‘Oh, we did the kids’ tennis.’”
Coach Education as a Shared Culture
Southlake’s teaching staff are certified, have collegiate playing experience and attend professional training and workshops throughout the year. Director of Tennis Stephen Poorman is actively involved in weekly individual staff training.
Gordon-Poorman said the most important shift for many coaches is moving from being strong players to becoming effective teachers. “What they know is the one system that got them to where they are,” she says. “What we have to help coaches understand is that that may not work for everyone.”
Hosting workshops and professional development events helps create common language across the staff. After trainings, coaches discuss what they learned, try new ideas and support one another in applying them.
“As our staff gets better, our players get better,” Gordon-Poorman says. “We’re very excited about USTA Coaching because it gives our staff the ability to learn at their own pace and choose their own interests.”
A Model for the Next Generation
For Gordon-Poorman, large public facilities have a particular responsibility because they often introduce people to tennis for the first time.
“Public centers have a huge obligation to make sure that the staff understand what their obligation is to our sport,” she says, “to start people off the best they can using the right habits.”
That’s where world-class facilities can have their greatest impact. They give coaches space, structure, resources and a culture of experimentation. They make it possible to test new ideas, refine programming and connect players to the game in ways that last.
“At a public tennis center,” Gordon-Poorman says, “we have an obligation to find ways to create connection among players so it sticks.”
