Vance Van Pelt

Position: Head Professional

Vance VanPelt, a USPTA P1 instructor, came to the Jayhawk Tennis Center after serving for six years as the director of Top Gun Tennis Academy in Hutchinson, Kansas.

A native Kansan, he grew up in Osborne, Kansas, where he first started his tennis career. He became the first player in his high school's history to qualify for state all four years, winning regionals three straight years and finishing in the top four in the state tournament each of those years.

Vance attended Bethel College and was captain of a team that went to Nationals three times while finishing nationally ranked in the top 25. He left Bethel with the third most wins in the program's history and was a two-time unanimous all-conference selection. Vance returned to Bethel in 2009 to be inducted into the Bethel College Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 2004, he won the Kansas Adult Player of the Year Award. In the coaching ranks, Vance led the Hutchinson Salthawks to their first State Championship in 2010. He has coached 27 All-State First Team selections, 13 State Champions and the National Player of the Year.

Vance has won the Coaches Association awards for the Kansas Girls, Kansas Boys, Overall, and the Midwest Sectional Divisions. In 2010, he was selected the Missouri Valley USPTA Coach of the Year award, and later that year was honored as the USPTA National Coach of the Year.