Vikko Suarez Casanova

High Performance Coach

My first exposure to tennis was through a free tennis clinic offered during the summers in my neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey. My family had recently immigrated from Santa Cruz, Bolivia so in the spirit of trying out new experiences, I was also the first in my family to pick tennis as my sport instead of soccer. I played throughout high school both at McNair Academic High School and Roselle Park High School and spent time training at the Club de Tenis back home in Bolivia. While I chose to not play tennis during University, I kept my passion for the sport by working as a tennis instructor for Super Duper Tennis LLC, a tennis company focused on putting on “fun” in fundamentals to aspiring tennis juniors in Hoboken, New Jersey, and serving as an assistant coach for the women’s tennis team at my alma mater, Kean University. I moved from the Garden State to Massachusetts to continue my studies, keeping my connection to the sport in a variety of ways. I play on the Tennis On Campus team at Brandeis University during my graduate studies, with one of my favorite memories being our bid to Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Outside of University, I compete in a variety of different tennis leagues including USTA Men’s, two USTA Mixed leagues, Tri-Level, CMITA, and WTT having gone to sectionals, districts, and nationals. Ask me about joining the USTA Social League for those of you who want to meet new people, play some tennis, and overall have fun.

Tennis has been one of my great mentors during my lifetime, and I have learned so much from playing and competing: sportsmanship, dedication, and accountability. My goal is to instill those traits into the players I work with and help them develop into independent athletes, each with their own style and flair. Off the court, I am PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Brandeis University where I study circuit development in the visual cortex. I completed my B.S. in Molecular Biology & Chemistry and M.S. in Biotechnology. When I am not in the lab or on court, I enjoy running – preparing for my first marathon! –, reading, and learning new languages; I am fluent in English and Spanish with a growing mastery over French.