COACHING WITH A LONGER VIEW

Michael LeVan

Founder & Head Coach

Michael LeVan has spent more than 25 years in tennis, working with players from their first day on court through nationally competitive levels—and experiencing the sport from far more than one side of the net.

His own path through tennis was anything but traditional. Basketball was his primary sport growing up, and tennis was largely limited to the high-school season, without the year-round lessons, academies, and tournament schedules common in junior tennis. At Principia College, that changed. Given the opportunity to develop as both an athlete and a tennis player, Michael went from an average high-school player to a nationally ranked NCAA Division III competitor, reaching No. 34 in the ITA national rankings and finishing undefeated in conference singles.

His education in tennis continued well beyond college.

Over the years, Michael has coached and learned in a wide range of environments—from major tennis destinations such as Saddlebrook and John Newcombe's Tennis Ranch to clubs, schools, academies, and community programs. He has traveled throughout Europe with Tennis, experiencing different approaches to player development and tennis culture firsthand. His work in the sport has also extended beyond coaching: he served as tournament director for both the Copper Bowl and USTA Winter Nationals, gaining another perspective on junior competition and the larger developmental pathway.

Those experiences have given Michael the opportunity to learn from excellent coaches, players, directors, and programs while seeing what works—and what doesn't—across very different corners of the tennis world. Tenet Tennis is not an attempt to reproduce any one of them. It takes the best lessons from those experiences and applies them through a philosophy built around long-term development.

Michael believes athletic development comes before early specialization, fundamentals should outlast trends, and players develop best when they understand the game rather than simply follow instructions. Competition matters, but so do curiosity, character, resilience, and learning how to solve problems independently.

Today, Michael is the founder of Tenet Tennis and Head Coach of the boys' and girls' tennis programs at St. Francis High School in Traverse City. Tenet is the product of more than two decades of playing, coaching, teaching, traveling, directing, observing, and continuing to learn—a place built to develop athletes first and tennis players for the long term.

EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE GAME
More than 25 years seeing tennis from different sides of the sport.

PLAYING | COACHING & DEVELOPMENT | INTERNATIONAL TENNIS | TOURNAMENT LEADERSHIP

PLAYING
NCAA Division III competitor at Principia College
Career-high No. 34 ITA national ranking
Undefeated in conference singles

COACHING & DEVELOPMENT
25+ years coaching across levels
Experience with beginners through nationally competitive players
Learning and development experiences at Saddlebrook and John Newcombe's Tennis Ranch

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS
Travel and coaching with Tennis:Europe
Exposure to European training, competition, and tennis culture
Experience seeing player development beyond the American system

TOURNAMENT LEADERSHIP
Tournament Director — Copper Bowl
Tournament Director — USTA Winter Nationals
Experience with major national junior competition