The Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center (STEC) is proud to announce that it has included two new skilled coaches to its expanding team, Trang “Tk” Dao and Dominique Coicou. Both have elite playing experience with a passion for youth development, bringing international experience as well as a commitment to helping advance athletes.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Coach Tk and Coach Dominique to Sportsmen’s,” said Toni Wiley, CEO of STEC. “Their unique experiences as international competitors and mentors add incredible depth to our standout coaching team. The diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and playing styles among our coaches is one of our greatest strengths. It reflects the richness of our community and strengthens our ability to meet the needs of every player we serve.”
Born and raised in Vietnam, Dao started playing tennis at 8 years old. She came to the United States in 2015 to play a tournament as a Division I student-athlete at the University of New Orleans. Four years later, in 2019, she was titled Female Athlete of the Year at the school. Dao graduated with a bachelor of science degree in human performance and health promotion at the University of New Orleans. She returned to Vietnam to play tennis professionally, became country’s highest-ranked player and won a silver medal in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games. She has also represented Vietnam during the Billie Jean King Cup.
Dao recently completed a master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Studies at Smith College and was an assistant tennis coach, expanding her leadership and mentorship skills. Her view on coaching is focused on four standards: respect, gratitude, purpose and growth.
Dominique Coicou has expansive experience as a competitive tennis player and coach. He has played at international junior tournaments across the Caribbean as well as multiple Junior Davis Cup events in the Dominican Republic. A native of Haiti, in 2023 he represented his country in the Davis Cup Pro Group 4 in Trinidad and Tobago.
Coicou coached at premier tennis institutions in Haiti prior to being at STEC. During his time as a student at Quisqueya University, a private educational institution in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, he studied agronomy. During the last couple of months, Coicou has been playing with Sportsmen’s Academy.
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