Blackburn Coaching Staff

Managing Partner Stewart Russell is a 1987 graduate of Roanoke College in Virginia, where he earned a BA degree in Sociology. He played number 1 singles and doubles for three years at Roanoke. He captained the team for his Junior and Senior years, and achieved a ranking of #15 in Division 3 doubles his Senior year. He became the Head Mens Tennis Coach of Roanoke College in 1988 and coached the team for four seasons.

He's been teaching tennis to all ages and ability levels ever since.  He is part of the USTA National Player Development Program and is a USPTA Certified Level 1 Professional. Stewart plans on completing the qualifications to achieve the USPTA Master Professional Rating soon.

Today he is part of the team that runs Blackburn T.C. and is Manager of the Nike Team Tennis Sales Program. Stewart has also been a sponsored Nike Professional and a member of Wilson's Advisory Staff  for the past 20 years.

 Paul Danielson

Paul is a native of Atlanta and is currently the Director of Adult Programs at Blackburn Tennis Center.

 Paul held State and Southern Rankings as a Georgia Junior player, then went on to play collegiate tennis, and is a graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in Criminal Justice.   With a USPTA P1 Certification, he spent 10+ years with Piedmont Driving Club as the Head Pro, before moving on to Director of Tennis with Gadsden Country Club for another 8 years where he specialized in coaching adult teams and coordinating adult league play.  Paul’s, tennis career started over 25 years ago as a junior player at Blackburn Tennis Center, and UTA is delighted to have Paul return as the Director of Adult Programs.

  Paul currently holds two specialized certifications with USPTA and USTA for Junior Competitive Player Development and Junior High Performance training.  In his 25+ years of junior development/coaching he has worked with numerous State, Sectional and National ranked junior players from AL, AR, GA, KY, LA, NC and TN.  He has coached for the Southern Team in the USTA National Zonals and instructed with the USTA Player Development/Junior Training Camps for boys and girls.

 Ross Beall Assistant Director of Junior Programming/Site Administrator

 A native of both Atlanta and Universal Tennis Academy, Ross has been with UTA for more than 7 years serving staff positions and administrative roles at both Chattahoochee Plantation Tennis Club and Chastain Tennis Center.

 Ross is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he earned a degree in Business Administration. While at Oglethorpe, Ross helped lead four of the most successful tennis campaigns in program history. Serving as captain his junior and senior year, Ross played #1 doubles and #2 singles helping to lead a Stormy Petrel squad to their first top-4 conference finish in 17 years. During his senior year, Ross achieved the highest regional doubles ranking in school history by finishing #7 in the Atlantic South. Ross was named to the SCAC’s All-Academic team all four years and was recognized by the conference for his leadership abilities inside and outside the classroom. In his spare time, Ross serves as the volunteer assistant coach for the men’s tennis team at Oglethorpe University.

 Specializing in junior performance and development, Ross oversaw and helped create the fitness program for the men’s team at Oglethorpe University. Ross has worked with numerous state, sectional, and national players both on and off the court in effort to help them achieve and realize their full potential. UTA is thrilled to have Ross and is excited about his wealth of knowledge and expertise he brings to our junior program!

 Staff Professionals:

 We are proud to announce our newest staff member Amanda McDowell - Amanda is a 2010 graduate of Georgia Tech, where she earned a degree in International Affairs and played on the Women's Tennis Team. 　Her collegiate accomplishments include a 2007 Team National Championship, as well the 2008 Individual National Championship. 　After college, Amanda competed on the pro tour and reached a career high ranking of 400 in the world. 　Amanda grew up training at UTA and is thrilled to able to work as a coach at the place that was such a pivotal part of her junior tennis career.

 A native Georgian, Vance Exley also lived and worked in Big Sky, Montana working for the Big Sky Resort as an activities coordinator. He began playing tennis at age 5, participating in Junior ALTA, competitive junior USTA tournament player in Georgia and as well as playing at the high school and collegiate level. In addition to working with UTA, Vance is attending Kennesaw State University pursuing a degree in Sports Management.