HighFIVE: Ken Tronco

Ken Tronco looks to share his experience and passion for youth development in his new role at Denver Tennis Park

When Ken Tronco was 8 years old, he wanted to try baseball. It didn’t take long for Ken to ask his mom if there were any other sports where he didn’t have to wait eight turns to hit the ball. She enrolled him in a city tennis program in his hometown of Greeley, and Ken says, “I fell in love at first hit!” And, Ken, the Director of Youth Tennis Programs at Denver Tennis Park, has been making his mark on tennis in Colorado ever since.

Ken had a successful junior career playing tournaments throughout the state and the Intermountain Section and was an impact player at Greeley Central High School where he played varsity all four years, including No. 1 singles his senior year. His junior year, Ken finished 4th at state at No. 3 singles, the best showing ever by a Greeley Central High School player.

Ken’s love for tennis has not just been about playing. During high school, he started coaching and found a passion for working with young players. 

“I found that the impact I was making as a coach was so important to youth tennis players and it kept me inspired all the way through college as well.” 

During his college years, Ken coached at city programs in Greeley and Fort Collins. He also helped coach various high school teams, including a three-year stint at Poudre High School. 

“Youth development is such a unique experience. As we all know, there’s so much development that happens through age 18. I have always preferred coaching kids because you see them grow up with you and, as a coach, it’s such an incredible experience”, says Ken.

In 2018, Ken became the Head Tennis Pro at Eastmoor Tennis Club in Denver. During his time there, he developed the largest USTA Junior Team Tennis Program in the state of Colorado.  He says, “It was my first opportunity to run a tennis program in a full capacity, and I will always remember Eastmoor as the club where I developed confidence as a leader in the tennis industry.”

After seven great years at Eastmoor, Ken took on his current role at Denver Tennis Park (DTP). “Denver Tennis Park has such an amazing tennis culture as a non-profit and specifically a part of the National Junior Tennis & Learning network,” says Ken. DTP’s focus on providing tennis programming to the entire youth community, while also teaching character and values to kids, matches perfectly with Ken’s coaching philosophy. He says, “I have really been excited about growing our footprint to introduce kids to tennis. There are many youth who wouldn’t experience tennis without this program.”

While Ken will focus on continuing to build strong programming at DTP, he will also be a Coach Developer as the facility has become a Coaching Education Center for USTA Coaching, a new pathway to becoming a certified tennis coach/professional. Ken will lead workshops held at DTP and has already had the invaluable experience of getting to train at USTA National in Orlando and work with some of the great minds in coach training and development.

Opportunities like this are key to helping Ken achieve his long-term goal of making DTP one of the leaders in the country for youth programming and to be a trailblazer in the industry for youth development. Ed Anderson, DTP’s Director of Strategic Partnerships and Adult Programs, is confident in Ken’s ability to meet this goal. 

“Ken leads with compassion, collaboration, and a growth mindset. Combine that with his fun, energetic and genuine personality, and you have someone who people want to be around and work with. Our community is so fortunate to have Ken on our team.”

Ken’s connection to DTP runs deeper than coaching on court. As an active 4.5 player, Ken was on a DTP mixed 10.0 team that went to Nationals last year. 

“One of my favorite personal tennis moments was the mixed Nationals experience. It is such a great memory, in part, because many of my teammates are people I get to work with at DTP.” 

He’s also excited to blend his home life family with the DTP family. Ken says, “My wife, Molly, is an avid tennis player and we are both looking forward to our 2-year old son, Ellis, getting on the court and growing up at DTP.”

While Ken does spend much of his time on the courts, he does have quite a few hobbies. “One thing most people don’t know about me is that I love to play pinball. I always compare it to tennis though because, just like tennis, it’s all about ball control!” He might also like pinball because you get to hit the ball more than once every 8 turns!

To learn more about the programs at Denver Tennis Park, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

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