USTA Southern California has named David Hoffman of Westlake Village as the June 2023 League Captain of the Month.

David Hoffman was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, and moved to California in 1975. He has been a Mortgage Loan Consultant for the last 24 years, however, coaching has always been a passion of his. His first coaching gig was at the mere age of 17 when he took on the responsibility of guiding young 5th graders in basketball. This experience ignited a spark within, leading him to delve deeper into the world of sports coaching. He then found himself coaching high school basketball Chaminade & Calabasas High School for several years. 

In June 2013, at the young age of 57, David started playing tennis as a way to meet new people and stay fit. On December 10 of that same year, he was on court #10 when he met his “better half Kim and we have been together ever since.”

In 2019, David began captaining tennis in Westlake Village at the Westlake Athletic Club, where he has had an amazing experience: “I was fortunate to have some very good players and things took off from there. I always tell our new teammates that the best part of Sectionals is the team dinner. I know that people play for different reasons, but I think it would be nice for them to experience Sectionals at least one time.” 

He mentioned that making it to Sectionals allowed him to develop a close friendship with Mark Warren, the San Diego Captain. They exchange scouting reports before Sectionals. Although he says being a captain involves a lot of work, including organizing practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and some Saturdays, which is made easier using Tennis Point, he absolutely loves it. “The new friendships that I have made with my players, the other captains and their players have been incredible,” exclaimed David.

His advice to new captains is to prioritize making the experience as enjoyable as possible for the team. If the goal is to reach Sectionals, he suggests communicating the game plan clearly to achieve it. He also encourages players to provide preferred teammate choices, which he tries to accommodate if feasible.

For teams that may not be able to reach Sectionals, he emphasizes the importance of ensuring they have fun and maintaining open communication about their progress. Additionally, he recommends sending positive summary emails of match results with compliments on their performance, as this has a positive impact.