 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence, and finding greatness. Today's special guest is someone that I've closely worked with for many years at Punahou School. He is a tennis pro certified by the ITPA and USPTA, and is a USTA high performance coach. He is Brent Hunter, and today we are going beyond tennis. Brent, great having you here. It's an honor to be here, Rusty. You and I, we've known each other for many, many years. I know that you grew up in Lubbock, Texas, but how did you first get involved in tennis? Well, I grew up around tennis. My dad was a club pro, but I didn't play tennis to begin with. I actually played soccer, baseball, basketball, and then eventually gravitated towards tennis. But I think that's part of the reason why I ended up liking it so much was because I chose it. I wasn't forced into it. So was your dad a coach in tennis? He was. He was the club pro at Hillcrest Country Club, the head pro. Like I said, I grew up around it, was there all the time, actually strung some rackets before I actually got into playing. Yeah. Stringing, that's a talent, too. Oh, yeah. Now, what kind of player were you? Were you always this fit? I was a tubby kid growing up, and as I was playing baseball and some other sports, I could make contact with the ball and did good, but I couldn't run very well. So that was my challenge with tennis, was I could make contact, put the ball where I wanted to, but I couldn't move really well. But eventually I got the hang of it, kept working hard, and it worked out. Well, you move very fast on the tennis court nowadays. Thank you. Yeah. Now, how did you end up coming to Hawaii, Brent? Ended up. I played tennis at Tyler Junior College for two years. We actually won the national championship there and was part of a great team. Very fortunate to be part of that team. And from there, I knew John Nelson was a new coach over in Hawaii, and we connected. And I ended up coming out to play at UH under his recommendation. He was hoping that I would come, and I did, and loved it. Loved the experience. Now, John Nelson is a great coach for UH, and what did you learn from him while you were playing for the University of Hawaii? Well, John's a great fundamentals coach. He's all about, he's big into martial arts. Very places his kids at the top, his students. So if you ask for time from him, he's going to give it to you, which I think was a huge quality. He understood that every position is extremely important. So I would take lessons from him, and we would go onto the mats as a team, and he's really good. So he'd always take us down, but he would be open to challenges. And some of our teammates did challenge him sometimes. Well, yeah, he's a martial arts master, and I wouldn't want to do martial arts with him. Now, let's talk about your parents, Terry and Susan. I love them when they come to Hawaii and we're able to go to dinners with them. I mean, they're amazing people. What are two principles that you learned from them? Number one is work hard at whatever you do. And number two is have a good attitude. And if I can share one small story from that, my dad, when I played one of my first tournaments and competitively, he saw me kind of give up a little bit, and he knew how much I loved tennis at that time. So he actually had me taken out of competitive tennis for a year, because that's how important those values were to him, and he wanted that to be instilled in me. Oh, that's because he goes beyond the lines. Now, after graduating University of Hawaii, you started teaching tennis with us at Punahou School. What do you like about Punahou School? Why is it such a special place? Well, I love the culture. I think the culture is incredible. It's a constant learning environment. Everybody seems to want to be on the cutting edge of what's out there. And the people are great. Everybody seems to be really nice. Everybody seems to be working towards the same goal. And it's really a culture of excellence over there. And for a long time, Bernard Guzman was our long time director of tennis. What did you like about Bernard's leadership? Well, Bernard was a visionary, and I think he created an incredible environment at Punahou and the program that's there now is largely, I think, from what he had done. But he placed the people first without a doubt. Number one was the people. Yeah. No, I mean, I've been with Bernard from the beginning, and I totally love Bernard and his vision. And he's, you know, he's all about words and actions, and I know you are too. Now, Ikaika Job is currently the director of tennis, and we both love Ikaika. And he has a great tennis staff around him. What are some of the strengths that Ikaika has? Well, Ikaika's got great experience. I mean, he's played at all levels. He went to Punahou, had a lot of success at Punahou and beyond. I also think he's got a lot of experience coaching at a lot of levels. And that combination puts him in a unique position as well as his law background to be a great director at Punahou. Yeah, I had Ikaika on the show a couple of months ago. And he's a great guy, and we're all friends. And he's doing really good for Punahou. I mean, he's just a great guy, great character. You've coached many, many students, hundreds of students, and you've taken a bunch of beginners and turned them into number one ranked players in the state. How did you do that and what did you focus on with them? Well, I think development in the beginning, if you know what it is you're doing, I think can be great because you're working with a clean slate. You can build fundamentals the way that they should be. And look at the big picture, the big overall picture of where that player wants to be, and then map it out. Yeah, why is tennis such a great sport in your eyes? Oh, for a bunch of reasons. But I think that it's a great exercise. I like the individual aspect. Even though there is a team aspect to it, I think it's unique to find a sport where you're on your own having to problem solve and find ways to battle adversity. And you got to hit it in. You got to hit the ball in. Cannot hit it out and win. We would talk about that to our players all the time. Just hit it in one more time, right? Now, when you were coaching the Punahou JV and Varsity team, what would you focus on in terms of team? Because tennis, like you said, is such an individual sport. And it's so special when players can come on a team like that. But what was your focus with the team? Well, I think when you're on a team, I think that's a great opportunity to build leadership qualities within the team for everyone. And I also think that it's important that everyone, regardless of what position they're playing, feels equally important. Because a win is a win. And you're only as good as what your weakest player is. What are your thoughts, Brent, about the physical part of tennis versus the mental part versus the emotional part? I think they're all important. I think you have to have balance in the mental and emotional part is extremely important. The physical part, I think, is constantly changing and growing. And as tennis is evolving, so are the athletes that are playing. Yeah. And a lot of tennis instructors, they're certified with the USPTA, which you are. And you're also certified with the ITPA, the International Tennis Performance Association, which is a fantastic organization headed by Mark Kovacs, who's an amazing guy. Tell me about, well, you and I were the first two tennis pros in Hawaii to be certified by the ITPA. And then you went beyond. You got another certification with them beyond what I got. Tell me about that. ITPA is a great organization, the International Tennis Performance Association. You were actually the one who got me interested in getting the first certification. But what's great about it is, like you said, Mark Kovacs leads it. And he's just a world leader in injury prevention, the science behind getting stronger, but also preventing injury. And he's also fantastic at the biomechanics specifically behind the serve. And that's really what the ITPA highlights in detail. So would you, without a doubt, have suggest every tennis coach be certified with them? Absolutely. It's an incredible thing. Now, you also became a USTA high performance coach. And I mean, that is tough to do. I mean, there's a tough certification process that goes along with that. Can you share with me what happened with that? Sure. Well, they want to know what certifications you already have. There is an application process, as you mentioned. They want to know who you're working with, how long you've been working with them, what their rankings are. You submit the application, and then they let you know if you get accepted. This is just to go to Florida to take part in the exam, which is a few days long. You stay in Florida. You take a course in person. And then you're sent back to wherever you came from with an assignment. You're supposed to do a year-long development plan with one of your students. And after that's done, then they call you one of the coaches from the USTA high performance calls you. And you go over the plan, and they let you know if you passed or not. Yeah. And because you became certified as one of these USTA high performance coaches, you were able to go to some of these pro events. Tell me about that. Oh, that's an incredible experience. One of the ones that I went to that I absolutely loved was Indian Wells. And when you go, you actually get to meet with some of the coaches, the players. One of the ones we met with was David Nankin, who's coaching Taylor Fritz. Who's doing well right now. We got to watch him play. And then also meet with Jose Higueres and just kind of talk about where the game's heading. They're very big on that the game is changing every six months at the pro level, and they want to stay on top of it. So where is the game heading? It's becoming more and more athletic. And that was one of the things we touched on was for a time, as you know, American tennis wasn't doing so great. And what we're focusing on now is training the complete athlete. Tennis obviously is hugely important, but the overall athleticism as well, balanced with everything else. And Wimbledon's going on right now, as you know. And there's that phenom, 15-year-old girl, Coco Goff, that is just amazing. What do you see when you watch her play right now? I loved when they showed some close-ups of her because the intensity and focus in her eyes, the clarity, was very impressive at her age in the environment that she's in right now. I think she's keeping her cool, extremely mature. Yeah. What do you think she needs to do? Because this is all new to her. I mean, she can learn from Venus and Serena Williams, who were her idols. And then she beat Venus in the first round of Wimbledon this year. But what do you think she needs to do to have success like the Williams have for the long term? I think consistency with the little things, the details, which is what you talk about in your book. She's obviously an extreme talent. She's doing great in this tournament right now. But to keep that up, obviously, if everybody could do it, it would be easy. So I think consistency doing the little things and the commitment. And really having great people around her, that's a key thing. Now, Brent, I want to ask you, why did you end up leaving Punahou School? Well, I love Punahou School. And I learned a ton from them. But I had a couple of things happen. Number one was my sister had a serious medical condition. She actually had a stroke while she was pregnant and had effects from that. And number two was my dad actually owns an online tennis retail business. And I had an opportunity to go and learn from him. And so for those two big reasons as well with a lot of little nieces and nephews growing up in Texas, I wanted to get to know them. That's why I went back. Yeah. And your dad is an amazing guy, like I said earlier. But his tennis business, tennis outlet, let's talk about that when we come back from Brent. You're watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Brent Hunter. We will be back in a quick minute. Aloha. My name is Mark Shklav. I am the host of Think Tech Hawaii's Law Across the Sea. Law Across the Sea is on Think Tech Hawaii every other Monday at 11 a.m. Please join me where my guests talk about law topics and ideas and music in Hawaii, Anna, all across the sea from Hawaii and back again. Aloha. Aloha. I am Dayla Nyonegira, a host here at Think Tech Hawaii, a digital media company serving the people of Hawaii. We provide a video platform for citizen journalists to raise public awareness in Hawaii. We are a Hawaii nonprofit that depends on the generosity of its supporters to keep on going. We'd be grateful if you'd go to thinktechhawaii.com and make a donation to support us now. Thank you so much. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is a tennis pro certified by the ITPA and USPTA and is a USTA high-performance coach. He is my friend, Brent Hunter. And today, we are going beyond tennis. Brent, your dad is the owner and founder of Tennis Outlet. And it's such a successful business. Tell me about why it's so successful. Well, my dad has a kind of a unique story. He actually grew up in a trailer part. And his parents were not well to do. Both of his parents actually passed away before he was a teenager. So he was largely raised by his uncle and really had to do everything on his own from an early age. He ended up becoming the head pro at Hillcrest Country Club, which we talked about a little bit earlier. And he was there for many years and up until the point where I was a junior in high school. And then he lost his job and we didn't know what we were gonna do. He was looking for a job kind of scrambling a little bit and thought maybe we're gonna move to another small town in Texas. I really didn't wanna move because I love the friends that I have, the high school I was going to. I was having some decent success with tennis. And so he took a big risk and decided to start an online tennis business in our house actually to begin with. And from there, it grew eventually into what it is today. So what is it today now? Well, Tennis Outlet is an online tennis retail business. We do individual sales. You can go on and buy a racket or close if you want shoes, but really that's not our main focus. The main focus concentrates on team. So we do a lot of high school team uniforms, even small colleges, equipment, bags, rackets, a lot of things like that. And thank you because you guys are my sponsor or my tennis. Proud sponsors. I'm proud to be connected with Tennis Outlet. It's such a classy, great company. Thank you. Now Brent, you have been one of the best promoters of my book, Beyond the Lines. What is it about the book that you like? What I love about the book is that you make incredible success and an attainable thing in a step-by-step process where literally anyone can do it. The amazing thing that I witnessed because I know you and we spent so much time together is the detail and the consistency that you do those things that you say in the book. Yeah. Well, it's all about creating that superior culture of excellence and superior discipline details. I mean, a lot of our competitors, our opponents would have a great effort and a great attitude. I would always tell my guys, hey, we can't do the same. We need to have a superior effort and have a superior attitude in order for us to achieve what we did and to sustain that success. Now, what are your thoughts about risk? Because risk promotes growth. Risk determines destiny. What are your thoughts? I think to a certain degree, you have to. And especially if it's something that you're passionate about, it's always worth it to see what's out there and follow what it is that you're passionate about doing. Yeah. What about character? What about your thoughts about character? Because for me, I'm always telling my guys, hey, I would be ashamed if I had a player to win the state singles championship, for example, and they had bad character. I mean, that would be bad. I would be so proud of somebody who would lose in the final with great character. I think it's hugely important. I mentioned earlier my dad instilled that in me whenever I was first starting competitive tennis. And that's something, one of your favorite stories that you shared with me was your first year coaching now. One of your students came off the court one love and love but didn't have a great attitude. And so when he was so proud telling you one love and love, your response was great. You're off the team. Yeah. Yeah, because he behaves so poorly on the court. It was embarrassing. But, and for us, it wasn't about winning. It was doing all the things that you should be doing to be a good person. And when you do all that, you go beyond the lines, you know, results, productivity, winning, become a byproduct of going beyond the line. Absolutely. What are your thoughts about discipline and habits? I think they're crucial to any successful team and or business. You have to have those things in place. One of the things I feel is hugely important that you do really well is you always place the people first but you make it a point that these other things are also just as equally important and everybody understands that and whatever it is that you're doing. Empathy. Empathy is huge. Yeah. Brent, let's talk about welcoming adversity because in the book, I talk about looking forward to challenges and really welcoming adversity. But I wanna ask you, have you had, you know, what's been like the biggest challenge in your own life that you have faced and that you have to overcome? I would have to say alcoholism and sobriety. Tell me about it. Well, you know, when you're in college and everybody's drinking to a certain extent and then you get out and then you find your life and you start doing what you're doing, most people kind of tone it down. Well, I had a problem with drinking and took me a long time to get to a point where I understood that. But once I did and I understood what it was, I asked for help and got sober and that was an incredible thing for me because for a long time it had been something I had struggled with, but also didn't want people to know, didn't want it to be something that was out there. But I think once I embraced it, maybe I did have a problem and was willing to look for help, things happened pretty quickly for me. How many years now have you been sober? It'll be nine years in December. And you know what, Brent? I'm very proud of you, very admirable, very courageous of you to do what you did. And the best part of it all is you're my driver. I am. Yeah. I like that you're my driver now and then you often ask to just smell my wines, right? Yeah, yeah. You do the drinking, I'll do the sniffing. Oh, okay. Now Brent, I gotta ask you this. We've both been on teams, whether it be in business or sports in our lives, and we know what some of the good leaders do and what some bad leaders do. What do you feel the best leaders do? I think the best leaders have a clear vision and they make whatever it is that they're doing about the people. They place the people number one and they're passionate about it. What are you passionate about? I love helping people and I think that tennis has been a great outlet for me to do that. Tennis outlet is something new that I was intrigued with but coaching tennis and having that personal touch and impact on someone's life or a team, not only to help them get their tennis better but to help them develop in their lives and become young adults and good people is hugely touching to me. Yeah, for you and I, I mean, we're not just teaching tennis. We're really coaching our players about life and really preparing them for the future and it really comes down to just really being a good, decent person. And you know, I wanna ask you Brent, what's the most valuable piece of advice you've ever received? Whatever it is that you do, make sure that you are 100% passionate about it. Good, I love that. Yeah, because when you do what you're passionate about, it doesn't really seem like work, right? And for us, I mean, we love tennis but we also love other stuff. What's something that you want to do in your life that you just haven't been able to do yet? I actually wanna have more of an, so I was involved with the substance abuse community out here in Hawaii to a certain extent. I was volunteering at a treatment facility. I wanna have more of an impact. I wanna find an outlet. And there are some out there already but I'd like to have something that I can do to contribute to the people who are maybe struggling with similar things out there as to what I had. So what are you learning from those other people and what have you learned about yourself through that experience? Well, number one, I think to understand that first, maybe you might have a problem. You know, and number two, that it's okay to ask for help. That's not a bad thing. Most of the people that I've come in contact with and myself included, I feel, aren't necessarily bad people but they just have issues with maybe substances or alcohol and they need help. Oh, I mean, you're such a great example because there's a lot of people that look up to you not just in tennis, but you being, you know, sharing your story about sobriety. That's a very admirable brand. People tend to define success in different ways and I wanna know what your definition of success is. My definition would have to be find whatever it is you're passionate about and put 100% of yourself into that in the smartest possible way. Good, I like that. What do you do to keep improving and to keep bettering yourself? Well, one question you asked me a little bit earlier was what do the best leaders do? And I think that for myself to continue to get better is constantly learn, you know, I think the best leaders, the best people out there and what they do constantly learn, stay on the cutting edge of whatever's out there and surround themselves with like-minded people. But what do you do specifically to learn? I do those certifications. The ITPA was fantastic. And again, I went, I tried to go to another tier with that and then the USTA high performance certification was great. I'm trying now to do the continuing educations with them. Even though high performance is great, I actually like learning some of the more fundamental beginning stage things too, because I think you can apply some of those things to the more advanced players as well. Awesome. Brent, before we wrap, I wanna ask one more question. What do you see when you look in the mirror, right? I see someone who is a good person who's trying to help people who loves tennis, who loves Hawaii and is always striving to get better. I like that. Brent, it's been great having you on the show today. I mean, I'm very proud of you. I mean, the future is even brighter for you. I wanna really thank you for being on the show today, Brent. Thanks for having me, Rusty. Brent's a genuinely great guy, as you can see. Love, Brent. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Brent and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.