Our Team
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Brandon Diaz - Founder/Head Instructor, Owen Memorial Park
Raised in the Antelope Valley since 1995, Brandon first found tennis at the age of 11. He graduated from Highland High School in 2010 on the varsity tennis team. He began coaching in 2013 becoming the Quartz Hill High School boys' head coach (2013-2016) and Highland High School girls' head coach (2015-2016). He is a USPTA Professional coach and founded Excel Tennis with close friends. His health and fitness background paired with a degree in kinesiology and knowledge in tennis is the foundation for Excel Tennis. His unique teaching framework spreads to his coaches and students. He also teaches nursing and EMT at the local community college. You can find Brandon teaching at Owen Memorial Park.
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Linda Ruiz - Instructor, Owen Memorial Park
Linda Ruiz played for Pierce College and helped drive the team to win State Championships. She has many years of USTA playing experience and countless USTA tournament wins to compliment it. She began teaching in San Fernando - quickly becoming the manager of the Northridge Tennis Club. She moved to the AV and started the tennis program for Highland High School. With 20+ years of coaching experience, she now coaches with Excel Tennis at Owen Memorial Park and continues coaching as head coach for the boys and girls of Highland High School.
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Boris Alvarez - Instructor, Domenic Massari Park
Boris played for Highland High School for 3 years, quickly growing into a top player and leader for his Varsity team. He has been playing competitive tennis for over 7 years and continues to compete in the local community. His passion for physical fitness is a central foundation for his coaching style. As one of the founding members of Excel Tennis, Boris remains one of the leading influences on the development of tennis in this community. He serves Highland High School as the JV coach alongside Linda.
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Jovie Fransisco - Instructor, Marie Kerr Park
Jovie was a top 3 overall singles player in the Antelope Valley, serving Highland High School for all four years under the coaching of Linda Ruiz. He graduated as singles number 1, and now serves the Antelope Valley as a coach for Excel Tennis under the instructional vision of Brandon. He is studying nursing at the local college while serving the community he was raised in as one of Excel’s coaches. You can find Jovie coaching Marie Kerr classes on Sundays.
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Elaine Ma - Instructor
Elaine was coached under Brandon Diaz in her 2015-2016 school year as a line 2 Varsity doubles player. She trained privately with Brandon to finish off her next year as the #1 ranked singles player on her Varsity team at Highland High School. Elaine assisted Brandon for over a year as an aid where she learned the ropes to teaching and developed a passion for coaching. Elaine coaches for Excel Tennis and loves working with the 5-8 year old classes.
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Raul Feliciano - Stringer
With 14 years in tennis and eleven years in stringing, Excel Tennis is proud to partner with Raul Feliciano and make him our go-to stringer. Raul keeps Excel’s preferred strings (Volkl, Genesis, Solinco) in stock, as well as many others. He has a great turnaround time for your rackets in case you need a rush order. Raul has been in the Antelope Valley for 20 years, where he discovered his passion for tennis. You can catch Raul playing morning singles or doubles at Owen Memorial.