Farmers Classic Honors High School Coaches

Written by: Staff on 21st July 2011

Farmers Classic Honors High School Coaches |

Fourteen area high school tennis coaches will be honored during Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, as the tournament and Farmers Insurance team up to host a workshop for California Interscholastic Federation tennis coaches on Tuesday, July 26, at the LA Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA.

During the luncheon, 14 Southern California high school coaches who have won division championships will be honored along with former Van Nuys High School coach Jim Buck, who will receive a lifetime achievement award for his 33-year coaching career.

In addition, the high school coaches will take part in workshops, including sessions featuring ATP World Tour personnel.

“We look forward to welcoming these high school coaches to Farmers Classic,” said tournament director Bob Kramer. “Farmers Insurance has a strong commitment to high school athletics through their CIF sponsorship, and similarly, as a tournament we are very invested youth participation by benefiting the grassroots programs of the Southern California Tennis Association. Bringing these groups together for this event while giving the coaches a chance to see the ATP World Tour pros up close is a great opportunity.”

The coaches to be honored include Steve Kuechel (Campbell Hall), Ronald Machuca (San Marino), Rick Trager (St. Margaret’s), Sue Sherman (Buckley), Brett Ackerman (Linfield Christian), John Kessler (University), Randy Blalock (Palm Desert), A.G. Longoria (Sage Hill), Travis Kikugawa (Viewpoint), Eric Biddle (Arlington), Simon Robertshaw (Granada Hills Charter), Sallie Kane (Bell), Bud King (Palisades Charter) and Martin Garcia (Hamilton).

Buck will be honored for his 33-year-career at Van Nuys High School. Though he retired from Van Nuys in 1998, he is still very active in junior tennis in Southern California, and is also serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the USC Women’s Tennis team. As a player, Buck was a member of the USC 1959 NCAA Championship team. Buck is Vice President of the SCTA and a previous winner of the USTA Family of the Year award.

The CIF luncheon will take place during the 85h annual Farmers Classic, which will be held July 25-31 at the LA Tennis Center on UCLA’s campus featuring ATP World Tour stars Juan Martin del Potro, Mardy Fish, Fernando Gonzalez, Marcos Baghdatis, James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt, Dmitry Tursunov, Janko Tipsarevic, Xavier Malisse and Kei Nishikori, among others who are scheduled to play.

The Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, is an Olympus US Open Series and ATP World Tour event. It will once again be played to benefit the programs of the Southern California Tennis Association. In 2010, the tournament and associated special events raised more than $500,000 for the SCTA and other charities.

Season tickets, mini-plans and individual sessions for the 85th annual Farmers Classic presented by Mercedes-Benz are on sale now. Tickets for the whole week or through Ticketmaster. More information can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com/Tickets or by calling (310) 824 -1010 ext. 251.