Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco – and located at the northernmost reaches of the Southern California USTA Section and just off Highway 101 – is a new and unique tennis ranch that is hoping to become a future destination for the serious and casual tennis player alike.
If you’re planning a trip to Central Coast wine country this summer, or just looking to get away, you’ll surely want to check out the Templeton Tennis Ranch. It’s located just five miles south of the quaint little town of Paso Robles, known for its abundance of wineries.
Set amid a tranquil wooded property, the Templeton Tennis Ranch’s website describes the facility as having a “stunning clubhouse, versatile fitness center, infrared sauna and state-of-the-art tennis and pickleball courts.” The club also has a bocce court, a stage for live music, is adding a café and will have wine tasting on its premises on weekends this summer. Guests and visitors are welcome.
Scott Cleere was named the Director of Tennis of the facility nine months ago, after teaching tennis for the San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach Park, Rec Departments, Santa Maria Country Club and Avila Bay Club.
“We really hope to turn this area on to tennis in a big way,” said Cleere, who received his USPTA P1 teaching certificate in 2010.
Templeton Tennis Ranch opened in March 2015. The business is owned by Templeton residents Ralph and Judy Goehring and their son, Simon Goehring.
Cleere said TTR recently announced big news that the facility has been approved to host a USTA Women’s $60,000 Pro Circuit event the week of Sept. 25.
“We’re definitely excited to jump right in and host our first Pro Circuit event,” said Templeton Tennis Ranch owner Ralph Goehring. “Our goal is to elevate the sport of tennis in the region and deliver a first-rate and quality product. We invite everyone to join us at the end of September, to tour our new facility and to catch some of the rising stars in women’s professional tennis.”
Cleere was first exposed to the game of tennis in 1975 in Greeley, Colo. “My dad started me out and I began my teaching career in Denver,” said Cleere, who was the USPTA District 1 Pro of the Year in 2015 and also won the SCTA Service Award that year.
Cleere took a break from tennis in the 1980s and became an international star in the game of footbag, better known as the name-brand Hacky Sack. Cleere described footbag as a game where you kick a Hacky Sack with your feet over a net like volleyball. He won a world championship in footbag in 1986 and 1987.
He was also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for organizing the largest circle of people playing footbag with 862 people participating.
Cleere fashioned a career out of teaching alternative sports like footbag and juggling and has traveled the world, visiting places like Europe, Thailand and Malaysia. During that time he started a business called Created Athletics performing mostly at school assemblies.
In 1996 he moved to San Luis Obispo and got back into tennis in 2006.
Cleere’s describes his tennis teaching philosophy like this: “I incorporate play based training which means that I prefer to have my students playing actual games to help them learn correct techniques, strategies and methods that can help them win and improve every time they step on the court. I find when my students experience the joy of winning a hard fought point in a game situation that the desire to hit the ball correctly follows along and with it more motivation to improve.”
Another one of Cleere’s passions is court construction and he serves his area as an account manager for the Southern California based company Sport Court. “I’m pretty lucky because I have both of the jobs I’ve wanted for most of my life,” Cleere said.
For more information about Templeton Tennis Ranch’s summer camps, check out www.ttrtennis.com/kids-summer-camp-2017