Q&A with YTA’s new Director of Tennis and Academic Operations and Partnerships.
YOUTHTENNISADVANTAGE.ORG 11
10 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
Q: Where are you from?
What was your childhood like?
A: I was born and raised in Isfahan, Iran, a very
beautiful city. My childhood was filled with
activities, sports and school, but tennis always
held a special place in my family. Many of my
most cherished childhood memories are cen-
tered around tennis.
Q: What is your academic story?
What did you study and where?
A: My kindergarten through 12th grade was
in Isfahan, Iran. In high school I chose the STEM
path to pursue engineering and followed my
passion for it all the way up to joining YTA.
Here’s my academic story in a few bullet points
after high school:
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan, Iran
• MS in Management Engineering,
Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
• MS in International Business, Hult University,
Boston and San Francisco
• AS in Computer Science, Foothill College,
Los Altos, California
• Technology Project management
Certification, UC Berkeley Extension
Q: Who was your first tennis coach?
A: I was fortunate to have my grandfather as
my first tennis coach. I’m forever grateful to
him for introducing me to the sport. I played
year-round and in the summer my friends and
I would spend hours and hours on the courts
practicing, sometimes playing tennis on the
soccer field when the tennis courts were full.
My grandfather used to drive to my parents’
house, pick me up and drive me to the tennis
club. There, he would teach me tennis by
showing me tennis magazines and books,
followed by practice. After practice, we’d go
to dinner together and some days go swimming.
Much of what I now have as a tennis player,
coach and mentor is because of his wisdom
and unconditional love.
Q: What’s your favorite tennis memory as a child?
A: I have so many memories of tennis from my
childhood but one that stands out is when I went
to my first national tournament as part of a team
from Isfahan province. Four top players from my
hometown, accompanied by two coaches, went
to Tabriz, a city in Northern Iran, to compete with
other provinces’ best players. It was such a great
experience to represent my hometown in the tour-
nament. After a week of competition, we won the
championship and brought home the 1st place tro-
phy. We could not believe that we were the best
team in the entire country!
Q: What does the successful YTA graduate look
like to you?
A: My short answer is to be a better version of
themselves by the time they graduate high school.
We try to give them as many life-skill tools as we
can to prepare them for their next stage in life,
whether that be college or another avenue. In
addition, if we can help parents be more involved
with their kids’ journey that would be another
great success. I would love to see our students
playing some level of college tennis and ultimately
get accepted into college with fewer financial con-
cerns and burdens. But most of all we want them
to recognize their potential in life and give them
the confidence to pursue their passions.
Q: If you had a magic wand, what would you wish
to improve about YTA and how we serve kids
across the Bay Area?
A: I don’t think we need a magic wand for my
wishes for YTA and the kids in the Bay Area. We
simply need more people to support us with their
time, resources, and/or donations. If more people
learn about our students’ stories and realize how
impactful YTA is for our students and their fami-
lies, then hopefully we can get more support from
people who love YTA’s mission.
Q: You are a leader of many people (site leaders,
coaches, volunteers, etc.) that positively impact
the lives of kids on a day-to-day basis.
Who inspires you to lead and what principle(s) is
your North Star for leadership?
A: There are many people from whom I get inspi-
ration and each of YTA’s 424 students and their
smiles have a big role in that! Our long-term Head
Coaches and Site Directors have been with YTA
for many years, some for decades. I am grateful to
call them my mentors. They inspire me to do my
job to the best of my ability. Finally, our legend
and hero, Arthur Ashe. His life story inspires me
every day. I believe that as a leader, you must be
a good listener, be respectful, and be able to put
yourself into other people’s shoes to understand
their day-to-day challenges and concerns. Also, I
make sure my team knows that I am here for them,
to support them and be a resource for them to
continue to improve and excel at their positions.
Q: What excites you the most about YTA?
A: When I started working as a tennis coach for
YTA in 2018, I fell in love with its mission to close
opportunity gaps by providing free tennis coach-
ing, academic tutoring, and life skills programs.
I quickly realized how exciting and beautiful it is
to develop student-athletes, especially those that
are under-resourced, into better versions of them-
selves. Also, since YTA is spread across the Bay
Area, our community across the six sites is a mul-
ticultural one and that is exciting to me given the
international upbringing I experienced. The pos-
itive impact YTA already makes and the potential
for even greater impact over the coming years mo-
tivates me to elevate our students’ even further.
Shahand, left, with his
grandfather and brother.