Meet Bennet Slusarz

We were lucky to catch up with Bennet Slusarz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bennet, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I believe I got my work ethic from my father who although was fairly strict being from a military background (pilot WWII), he helped guide both myself and my siblings (6) through example, tough homework assignments, and visionary work in terms of landscape design projects. He was a bit of a taskmaster in terms of studying and getting good grades but he also helped all of us with our homework whenever it was necessary. From a very early age he taught me to work for what I wanted and through that process came a sense of fulfillment. I came from a very modest background in terms of money and didn’t receive any “allowance” like many of my friends and I remember asking my father about 8 or 9 yrs old what I could do to make some money? He said, “You can ask a neighbor if you can weed his garden or get a paper route.” I did exactly that and my first job was weeding my neighbor’s small garden for $1 dollar an hr! After some time, I got a paper route at age 10 and saved $750 that year. This led to creating goals and working toward them, soon realizing that if I never gave up, I would eventually succeed! Hard work was never an issue and I had many small jobs from cutting lawns, washing dishes & bussing tables to painting and even roofing before I was out of high school. I think my toughest job was attempting to play pro tennis after college without any lessons but simply through hard work and a desire to improve, it allowed me to learn about the world, foster great relationships and evolve into a tennis coach!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I first and foremost teach tennis and coach a variety of levels of players from those starting off to college level players at Live Oak Park in Manhattan Beach. I’ve been doing this for over 35 years and in the process, I’ve realized that there is much more to not only the game of tennis but learning from my students as much as they are learning from me. It is a joy and a passion that I have for the game to constantly learn about it like layers of an onion and in turn, help my students grow in their process of learning the game as well as fostering self-esteem with their improvement. The game of tennis is a metaphor for life which enables the characteristics of a strong work ethic, patience, resilience, and loving the process!

I also created a seasonal challenge ladder almost 30 years ago which evolved into an online platform in which players can improve their game through weekly match play. See www.TennisMatrix.net. This keeps me busy in the mornings and I’m usually on the court coaching 3-4 hours in the afternoon.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First, I believe in studying a variety of subjects as well as playing sports to acquire an education early in life as that is paramount to one’s basic growth.

Second, through that process, gravitate towards a passion that can be applied to your life and eventually, a career you love!

Third, never quit believing in yourself or the process as only then, you will grow and achieve greater heights!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I would love to partner or collaborate with a young, energetic and preferably a college graduate who understands and has a love for the game of tennis that is capable of marketing TennisMatrix.net to other Pros/Directors across the nation in order to make them more successful as well as build grass roots tennis in their area to include thousands of tennis players across the country via our format of seasonal match play. They can connect with me via TennisMatrix.net by clicking on Contact and then Pro Instruction or simply call or email me… Tel: (310) 766-2466 Email: [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.TennisMatrix.net
• Linkedin: Bennet Slusarz