Coaching Spotlight: Aaron Rittberger, Eastern Athletic Club Dix Hills

When he was eight-years-old, Aaron Rittberger’s first introduction to tennis came on the courts of Eastern Athletic Clubs in Dix Hills. He played many other sports at the time including baseball, basketball and soccer, but his parents wanted him to try a one-on-one sport to help build his self-confidence.

“My older sister played tennis at Eastern Athletic, so my mom decided to put me into a lesson there,” Rittberger recalls. “It was simple, but I remember feeling good about being able to hit the ball hard. It kind of took off from there. One of the EAC coaches said I was pretty good, and so I stuck with it. Next thing you know, I was playing tournaments, and ready for continued training.”

Rittberger’s life has come full circle as he now works as a teaching pro at Eastern Athletic, helping players of all ages and levels find their love for tennis, just like his coaches did for him when he was younger.

“I had a really good connection with Sheldon Grant, my first coach, a personal connection, which is why I think I love coaching so much. It changed my life completely,” he said.

Rittberger was a top junior player who played on the Harborfields varsity team in seventh grade and eighth grade, before making the decision to move to Miami so that he could place more focus on his training and competition.

He attended high school online while living in his coach’s house with other like-minded players who were dedicated to their tennis careers and development. Rittberger competed on the ITF circuit and had dreams of making it on the ATP Tour.

“I was living in a house with eight or nine other players, and we all had the same goal, which motivated us and helped keep pushing us to get better,” he recalls. “There were definitely some weird parts. I didn’t get to have a prom and a lot of other stuff you get to do while attending a normal high school. But I wouldn’t change it for a second; I was 15, traveling internationally to compete in tournaments, which was a dream for me.”

Rittberger began playing in Futures tournaments and had his sights set on becoming a professional, until injuries derailed those plans. A torn rotator cuff and labrum in his right shoulder put his playing career on hold. And then another set back while undergoing physical therapy forced him to reconsider what his next steps would be.

He returned home to New York prior to his surgery and finished his homeschooling. As he continued training and studying for his degree, he still traveled internationally to compete. During this time, he started teaching more and more, which is when he began to find his calling for teaching.

“I then took a two-month break to finish up school, and just sort of focus on myself,” he said. “And then I reached out to Mike Fehrs and Alexa Sferrazza at Eastern Athletic. I realized how much I missed teaching the game, seeing people smile and seeing them having fun on the court. I wanted to bring joy to people playing, the way my coaches did for me. With everything going on in people’s lives nowadays, it’s nice to help someone be able to step on the court and put everything else aside. That’s how I view it when I practice with my friends, I don’t think about anything else going on in life. The tennis court is my getaway place.”

It was during that time when he was dealing with those injuries, and time spent off the court, that he gained a lot of perspective, and when he truly developed his passion for coaching. It’s that same passion he brings onto the courts while giving lessons, and has found his calling as a coach on the tennis court. Rittberger taught sparingly when he was a kid, helping Jason Wass with Red Ball groups when he was a teenager, and he credits Wass with molding who he is as a coach.

But he has found a home at Eastern Athletic in Dix Hills:

“It’s a great, friendly and fun environment,” he said. “I’ve worked at a lot of places and this is the best environment I have been a part of. Everybody’s working together, we’re not out trying to take other people’s lessons. There’s great respect amongst the coaches and we have a shared goal in growing the sport. Between Alexa, Mike and Laurie [Fehrs], I couldn’t ask for a better team to be a part of.”

He emphasizes to his students, especially the high-performance players, about striving to practice until perfection. It’s a mindset he had as a player, and one he tries to stress to his players.

“You have got to try and be as perfect as possible, and that only helps you when it comes to practicing,” he said. “I have a rule with the kids and adults I teach: if we’re doing a drill and it’s 12 balls side-to-side, we’re doing the whole drill again if you miss the last ball. It’s a way to establish a focus level, and if you practice like that, it will help when you begin competing.”

It’s an approach he continues to use when he is playing. Still only 23-years-old, Rittberger has plans on rekindling his playing career. Over the last six months, he has begun training again with Tyler Hoffman, one of his friends and a fellow coach at Eastern Athletic.

“He’s trying to get me to go back and play. I’m actually getting back into full playing shape now, and I think I’m going to try and give it a go,” Rittberger said.

Tennis journeys are not always linear, and don’t always go according to plan. And for Rittberger, his is uniquely his. It began on the Eastern Athletic courts when he was a kid, and continues to this day on the very same courts, where he is sharing his love for the sport with a new crop of players. As we approach the spring and summer months, he is excited to see what lies ahead both for his own tennis playing, but primarily for the players who join him on court every day.