Texas' Brian Notis honored for his service as a junior tournament director

For 30 years, Brian Notis has been serving the sport of tennis as a tournament director for all levels of junior events both near his Texas home and nationally for the USTA at large, in addition to his roles as a college and academy coach, facility director and local volunteer, and still-competitive player. But after a particularly successful 2023 year as a tournament director, Notis has added another feather to his cap as the newest Blue Ribbon Tournament Director honoree.

Tournament directors are a crucial lynchpin in the junior tennis ecosystem, as they ensure events run on schedule, adhere to appropriate rules and regulations, and deliver a high-quality experience for participants and parents on and off-the court. The Blue Ribbon Tournament Director honor, first given in 2015, recognizes the top junior tournament directors in the country, and after the program stalled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Notis is the first honoree in four years.

A former All-American at the University of Texas at Tyler and currently a coach at the Austin Tennis Academy, Notis first ran a tournament in 1994: the East Texas Open in his college town. Following his freshman season, he got a summer job coaching at Tyler Tennis and Swim Club, where then-director Greg Alexander asked him to run the event. 

"I knew nothing about running a tournament, but I dove in head first," Notis said.

He was thrown into the fire immediately: "The data got corrupted a few days before the tournament, so I had to start all over again and enter all the data from all 600 participants."

But poise under pressure has served him well since. A tournament director, at the core, needs to be a people person, and good communication skills and adaptability are two chief traits that can breed success in the role. They are particularly important for Notis, who at this stage in his career, is one of the most prolific tournament directors in the country. Last year, Notis helped run more than 25 junior tournaments nationwide, including the 2023 National Winter Championships, which scored an average of 4.73 out of 5 stars in competitor evaluations.

His events averaged 4.4 stars throughout the year, and he ran at least one at all seven of the USTA's junior competition levels.