Ken Herrmann Pickleball Academy Future Stars: Ken Herrmann, founder of the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP), is training young pickleball players at The Fort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With his new high-performance academy and a planned boarding program, Herrmann is preparing the next generation of pros like 19-year-old Jae Centonze and 14-year-old Bella Houghton.
Long Drives, Big Dreams
Jae Centonze travels over five hours from Ocala to Fort Lauderdale several times a month to train under Ken Herrmann. His mother, Monica Centonze, wakes up at 3 a.m. to make the trip, balancing her two jobs while supporting Jae’s dream.
“We go down there at least two or three times a month,”. “We wake up at 3 a.m. Jae sleeps in the backseat while I make the drive. We get there by 8:30, and he’s ready to play for several hours. Usually by 5 p.m., we make the drive back.”(Monica Centonze)
Jae Centonze was once a strong tennis player but burned out at age 13. Now, he is fully dedicated to pickleball.
“He was a really good tennis player until he got burned out at age 13. In tennis, he did just enough to get by. But in pickleball, he’s doing all the extra stuff.
He watches pickleball videos; he gets professionally stretched; he goes to a chiropractor; he has a trainer …” (Monica Centonze).
Building the Future of Pickleball
Ken Herrmann trains about 24 to 28 players weekly at the APP High Performance Academy, focusing on athletes aged 12 to 18. On August 18, Herrmann plans to launch a boarding program where students will take online classes and train daily at The Fort.
“My vision is to rent a home for the initial six players and have an adult supervisor on staff be in there with them,” (Ken Herrmann).
“This will be the first Nick Bollettieri-type boarding program … but for pickleball instead of tennis. This is a pilot program for us. It’s exciting. It’s a big first step.”
About 15 students, including some from Australia, England, and Costa Rica, have shown interest. Herrmann plans to limit the first group to six students.
“We want to make sure we are successful,”.
A Coach With a Strong Track Record
Ken Herrmann, 60, has been coaching for over 40 years. In the 1990s, he worked for the USTA High Performance National Development program, helping stars like Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and twins Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.
Later, he opened a tennis club in Chicago that helped over 50 kids earn college scholarships. He sold that club in 2011 and was soon introduced to pickleball.
“I took my plans to the executives from Wilson,”. “They said: ‘Where are the pickleball courts?’ They said the sport was booming in Arizona, California and Florida, and they highly recommended I made space for pickleball.”(Ken Herrmann)
Herrmann started playing, got certified to teach, and quickly joined the fast-growing sport. He ran his first pickleball tournament in 2018 and launched the APP Tour in 2019, which is now a major international series with corporate offices in Chicago.
Training Rising Stars
The Fort officially partnered with Ken Herrmann in January. Since then, it has attracted top junior players like Bella Houghton from Minneapolis. She and her mother moved to Fort Lauderdale so she could train full-time.
“I love the community here, and the coaching is amazing,”. “(Herrmann) has a bunch of different perspectives that help me get better. Most of the things he has taught me have clicked quickly.”(Bella Houghton)
Ken Herrmann continues to follow his passion for training young athletes.
“I’ve always had a passion for developing players,”. “I remember sitting with (tennis Hall of Famer) Billie Jean King, and she said: ‘Each generation inspires the next one.’ That’s what we hope to do here at The Fort.”(Ken Herrmann)
News in Brief: Ken Herrmann Pickleball Academy Future Stars
Coach Ken Herrmann is leading The Fort’s training program in Fort Lauderdale, preparing young pickleball players like Jae Centonze and Bella Houghton for the pro level. With a new boarding program launching this August, The Fort is set to become a major center for youth pickleball development.
ALSO READ: Rising Stars Shine: How APP Pickleball Academy Is Transforming the Future of the Sport