Local former tennis athlete gives back to his community through coaching

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Eleazar Vazquez started playing tennis at Indio High School at 16-years old. It was a near-random decision for him, but he was quickly drawn into the sport; leaving his soccer career behind.

"I was a soccer prodigy and then turned into tennis completely and I never looked back after that,” Vazquez said. "The fact that it was more of an individual aspect for me, but also it opened different doors as well that soccer wasn't providing for me.”

It's been over 10 years since Vazquez switched out the field for the court. After his time with the Rajahs, he joined the tennis team at College of the Desert.

Now, Vazquez is a coach and he's pouring his knowledge back into his community.

"I form a really good relationship with a lot of the kids, including a lot of the players here behind me," Vazquez said, talking about the Xavier Prep girl's tennis team. "I've coached them personally for the past few years as well.”

Vazquez started coaching full-time five years ago at Palm Valley Country Club. Since then, he's become a coach at TTC Palms at Shadow Mountain Resort and Xavier College Prep.

“He's always organized and always has everything prepared for everyone to make sure everyone has everything they need,” Xavier Prep freshman Charlie Brann said.

“He brings a lot of fun on the team and strictness," Xavier Prep sophomore Presley Johnson said. "He's pretty strict, but he also makes it his goal to know every player and know a lot about them and make it fun.”

Vazquez's plans for the future don't end with coaching. He wants to bring more opportunities for tennis players to advance their career in the Coachella Valley.

“The sport has definitely grown," Vazquez said. "It's gotten a lot faster from when I used to play competitively, but now seeing all the kids want to compete and get better. It's still the same atmosphere. Currently, I'm working with us to bring more tournaments here, more opportunities to every inch of the valley here to create more tennis possibilities for all the kids.”