Ray Bilsey, Tennis Director and head Tennis Pro
Call (650) 854-3101 ext. 3020.
Ray Bilsey, says "Ladera Oaks is just a fantastic family club with the highest quality programs in Swimming, Tennis and Fitness.” This is true in large part due to the enthusiasm and expertise Ray brings to his work. As a youngster, Ray took up competitive tennis because he truly loved the sport, and he has never looked back. At age 14, he won the Most Improved Junior NorCal award and went on to become a top NorCal Jr. player and later a nationally –ranked collegiate player. In college, Ray learned from one of the best, Tom Chivington (Tom was Brad Gilbert’s throughout his career and Brad went on to become Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray’s coach).
In his early 20’s, Ray began his teaching at Burlingame Country Club and when he received feedback that the membership really enjoyed his coaching, he realized that he “was really enjoying helping players improve and having fun doing it. From that time forward, I knew my professional career path.” Ray’s teachings then brought him to Pacific Athletic Club shortly after PAC first opened and helped to build up the program from the ground up. Fastforward and Ray has now been leading Ladera Oaks Tennis program for 15 years. He holds the prestigious U.S. Professional Tennis Association Pro 1 rating. He is a highly skilled instructor and coach whose athletes have had remarkable success. Two recent examples of his athletes’ success: Ladera Oaks member and protege, Conrad Russell, won his first National Tournament and is the #2 ranked Boy’s 12 and under junior player in Northern California and top 25 Nationally. And the Ladera Oaks USTA Senior Ladies 4.0 team recently finished in fourth place nationally and advanced to the Nationals twice in a 3-year window. While he is justifiably proud of his champion athletes, Ray is equally proud when Ladera’s tennis program makes the sport “an absolute joy” for a player who is just learning or is being re-introduced to tennis. As he says: “It's a wild ride and I can't wait to share the next day's success story.”
In addition to coaching and teaching, Ray enjoys organizing special events at Ladera, including Tennis Mixers, Twilight Tennis, and Friday-night and weekend tournaments. While at Ladera Oaks, Ray founded SquareHit Tennis, a leading tennis training and accessory products company that has sold its popular WristAssist and Victory Band into 50 countries.
Call (650) 854-3101 ext. 3020.
Bobby has literally had a lifelong career in tennis, being born into a tennis family where both his parents were tennis instuctors and ran the Central Park tennis program in New York City for over thirty years (Bobby’s parents taught tennis to John and Caroline Kennedy). Bobby was a highly ranked junior and collegiate player attaining the number one junior college ranking in California while at Foothill College and gaining the status of NCAA All-American at Cal State Hayward. He also won the Lipton National Amateur Mixed Doubles Championships with his sister, Jill.
Bobby is a USPTA instructor and has been teaching tennis for over 30 years. His experiences range from teaching as a teen in Central Park, teaching in Greece, teaching at Pacific Athletic Club for 5 years and has been teaching at Ladera Oaks for 15 years. Bobby enjoys teaching tennis to all ages and levels, with students as young as 3 and as old as 85.
Call (650) 854-3101 ext. 3020
Celso Onofre brings international flavor and an impressive resume to his position of Tennis Pro at Ladera Oaks. He grew up playing competitive tennis in his hometown of São Paulo, Brazil, and graduated from the Physical Education College in Santo André in 1984. Before joining the Ladera Oaks staff in 2007, Celso was a tennis instructor at locations from Central Park in New York City to several prestigious tennis academies in Florida. He worked at the International Tennis Academy, where Australian stars and Wimbledon winners Pat Cash and Wally Masur trained. From 1994-1996, he worked at the Pablo Arraya Tennis Academy, a training facility for top Latin American ATP* players.
Since coming to California in 1996, Celso has coached current ATP Russian player, Dimitri Tursonov, and coaches the Woodside Priory tennis teams, in addition to coaching and teaching at Ladera. Celso loves to travel, and has worked as a teaching professional for Club Med Resorts in Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. What Celso likes best about Ladera is the friendly environment and the nice people. Celso is a member of the Association of Tennis Professionals
Bryan Richter, Tennis Pro & Stringer:
Call (650) 854-3101 ext. 3020.
Bryan Richter is both a teaching professional and a tour certified racquet stringer. Coaching in the Bay Area for over 4 years,
Bryan has worked with students of all ages, specializing in youth tennis. Coaching Boys and Girls Varsity at Bay High School in San Francisco, as well as Cunha Middle School in Half Moon Bay, has provided great team coaching skills and developmental experience. Bryan is currently working out of Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, and here at Ladera Oaks. He began playing and stringing as a Junior in high school in Southern California, both at the Varsity level and at USTA tournaments.
Over the last 15 years he has been developing his game, coaching and stringing techniques. As a world class stringer, whose work is both consistent and dependable, Bryan has been certified by Wilson to string on tour for tennis professionals at the Ericsson Open in Miami and at the US Open in New York.