Coach John Peterson began his tenure in Tyler in 1987, and his teams have experienced great success throughout the years.  His men's tennis teams have won twelve national championships, and his women's tennis teams have thirteen national championships, including winning the title the last two years.  In his 24 years at TJC, Coach Peterson's overall men's tennis record is 394-101 and his women's teams are 434-88. 

Coach Peterson graduated from Buena Vista College in 1967, earning four college football letters, two basketball letters, and one track letter.  He was inducted into the Buena Vista College Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, and is still their fourth leading all-time rusher with 2,463 yards from 1964-1966. He still holds their school records for most points in a season (96 in 1966) and most points in a career (252 from 1963-1966). He was named to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All Conference Football Team in 1965 and 1966. 

After coaching and teaching at Fort Dodge High School, he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1971.  In 1975, he left the Air Force and went to Nimitz Middle School in San Antonio, Texas.  He was the head of the athletic department, and taught middle school physical education and coached football, basketball, track and tennis.  In 1979 he was named Head Tennis coach at San Antonio Churchill High School.  His teams at Churchill were state champions in five of his eight years, and were state runner-ups twice. He also coached state individual champions, and twenty seven players from his Churchill programs were awarded scholarships to play college tennis. He was named the Texas High School Tennis Coach of the Year in 1979 and 1983.  

He is a member of the NJCAA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame, the NJCAA Women's Tennis Hall of Fame, and is a 2007 inductee of the Texas Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame. In December of 2000, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association named Coach Peterson the Junior College National Coach of the Decade.  He was the only coach named coach of the decade in both the men's and women's division.

Coach Peterson is married to the former Dorothy Driver and has two children and four grandchildren.

For information about Apache Tennis, contact Coach Peterson at jpet@tjc.edu or 903/510-2313.

 

 

Coach Ketelsen arrived at TJC in January 2001, and is the chair of TJC's Professional Tennis Management program.  He has been the assistant men's and women's tennis coach since August 2005.  He received his Bachelor's degree from Southeastern State University in Durant, OK.  He is a 2-time NAIA tennis All-American, and has been ranked in the top 10 of his USTA age group.  From 1995 until January 2001, coach Ketelsen was the Assistant Women's tennis coach at the University of Texas, helping the Lady Longhorns capture the National Title in 1995.  He and his wife, Sheryl, live in Tyler.